Efficacy of Half-length vs. Standard-sized Short Arm splint in Soft Tissue Injuries of the Hand and Wrist: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Hand and wrist soft tissue injuries are common orthopedic problems that are traditionally treated with short arm splint, which covers the forearm to 1 cm distal to the elbow crease. Objective: The present study was conducted to compare the treatment efficacy of traditional standard-size splint with half-length short arm splint. Method: In this randomized, controlled, clinical trial, patients with hand and wrist soft tissue injuries were randomly assigned to two groups. Group one received standard-sized short arm splints and the other group received half-length short arm splints. The swelling and pain scores were compared between the groups by the end of weeks one, two and three. Results: A total of 256 patients with a mean age of 36.96 ± 12.27 years were enrolled in this study, and 71.9% of them were male. No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of swelling between the two groups after one and two weeks (P=0.41, P=0.18). None of the patients had swelling after three weeks. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the pain score after one, two and three weeks (P=0.47, P=0.29, P=0.92). Conclusion: In this study, half-length short arm splints were found to be as effective as standard short arm splints

Job Burnout, Stress, and Satisfaction among Emergency Nursing Staff after Health System Transformation Plan in Iran

Introduction: Job burnout, stress, and satisfaction are linked to quality of care, patient outcomes and retention of staff. This study was conducted to determine the mentioned issues among emergency nurses.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on all nurses working in the emergency departments of 10 hospitals in Tehran, Iran, in 2017. Standard questionnaires were used for gathering the data of participants regarding job burnout, stress, and satisfaction. Results: 709 (90%) participants returned the completed questionnaires (58.9% female). The mean age of the nurses was 33 (SD = 7) years. The level of job burnout was moderate in 76.1%, low in 22.5%, and high in 1.4% of the nurses. The level of burnout in the married nursing staff was lower than single nurses (3.78 ± 0.98 versus 4.14 ± 0.58, p = 0.049). The level of job satisfaction was moderate in 61.1%, low in 22.2%, and high in 16.7%. There was a significant correlation between age and job satisfaction (p = 0.027, r = 0.3). Job burnout was directly correlated with job stress (p ≤0.001, r = 0.57) and job burnout was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (p = 0.001, r = -0.41). Conclusion: More than 60% of the studied emergency nurses had moderate levels of job burnout, stress, and satisfaction. Job burnout had a direct correlation with job stress and indirect correlation with job satisfaction. Planning to reduce burnout of the emergency nursing staff seems to be necessary

Investigating the Rate and Affecting Factors of Unnecessary Cervical Collar Use in Trauma Patients

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the necessity of cervical collars in patients with neck problems.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 114 patients who were admitted to the Haft Tir andRasoul Akram Hospitals (Tehran, Iran) from August to September 2022. The Nexus protocol was used to selectthe patients with cervical collars. According to the protocol, a cervical collar was required for individuals whohad at least one symptom. If none of these symptoms existed, the cervical collar was deemed unnecessary. Thedata were analyzed using the Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test.Results: Of the 114 trauma patients, the cervical collar was used unnecessarily by 49 (43%) patients. Tendernesswas the most common complication in 62 patients (54.4%). The prevalence of unnecessary cervical collaruse was 37.5% in female trauma patients and 43.88% in male trauma patients, which was not statisticallysignificant (p=0.63). The prevalence of unnecessary cervical collar use in trauma patients with multiple traumawas 39.42% and 80% in patients without multiple trauma, which was statistically significant (p=0.018). Patientswith a medical history had a higher rate of unnecessary use of the cervical collar (47.96%) than those withouta history (12.5%), and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.008).Conclusion: The guidelines for using cervical collars need to be updated by the EMS. Due to the large numberof trauma patients in Iran, cervical collars for necessary conditions can help reduce healthcare expensesand injuries caused by unnecessary cervical collars

Comparing the Outcome of Immobilizing Lower Limb Injuries Using Standard-Sized and Half-Length Short Leg Splints

Background: Soft tissue injuries (STIs) of lower extremities are considered as a very common complaint in those patients that were admitted to the emergency department. One of the main purposes in these patients' treatment strategies is early returning to work and regular activities. This study purpose was to compare the results of two lower limb (leg) splinting methods: standard-sized short leg splinting, and also half-sized short leg splinting. Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial research, we enrolled those patients with STI of the lower limb and without bone fracture. The setting was Haftom Tir trauma center and all patients signed the written consent before the study starting. We categorized participants into two groups: standard-sized short leg splint and halfsized short leg splint. The data were entered into SPSS 18 software and also were analyzed using that. Results: 300 patients were included in this study totally. The splinting complications were similar in two groups, but the splint fracture and skin burn frequency were significantly lower in half-sized short leg splint (p value <0.005). The mean score of pain and swelling frequency had no significant differences in both groups (P>0.005). Conclusions: The results indicated that the performance of standardsized and half-sized short leg splinting was similar in lower limbs STIs. The difficulties were less in half-sized short leg splint. Therefore, this study recommend that emergency physicians could consider half-sized short leg splinting in STIs, but the recommendation may be considered as valuable when this study results reassess in other clinical trials with multicenter researches and more sample size

Comparing the Outcome of Immobilizing Lower Limb Injuries Using Standard-Sized and Half-Length Short Leg Splints

Background: Soft tissue injuries (STIs) of lower extremities are considered as a very common complaint in those patients that were admitted to the emergency department. One of the main purposes in these patients' treatment strategies is early returning to work and regular activities. This study purpose was to compare the results of two lower limb (leg) splinting methods: standard-sized short leg splinting, and also half-sized short leg splinting. Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial research, we enrolled those patients with STI of the lower limb and without bone fracture. The setting was Haftom Tir trauma center and all patients signed the written consent before the study starting. We categorized participants into two groups: standard-sized short leg splint and halfsized short leg splint. The data were entered into SPSS 18 software and also were analyzed using that. Results: 300 patients were included in this study totally. The splinting complications were similar in two groups, but the splint fracture and skin burn frequency were significantly lower in half-sized short leg splint (p value <0.005). The mean score of pain and swelling frequency had no significant differences in both groups (P>0.005). Conclusions: The results indicated that the performance of standardsized and half-sized short leg splinting was similar in lower limbs STIs. The difficulties were less in half-sized short leg splint. Therefore, this study recommend that emergency physicians could consider half-sized short leg splinting in STIs, but the recommendation may be considered as valuable when this study results reassess in other clinical trials with multicenter researches and more sample size

Efficacy of Half-length vs. Standard-sized Short Arm splint in Soft Tissue Injuries of the Hand and Wrist: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Hand and wrist soft tissue injuries are common orthopedic problems that are traditionally treated with short arm splint, which covers the forearm to 1 cm distal to the elbow crease. Objective: The present study was conducted to compare the treatment efficacy of traditional standard-size splint with half-length short arm splint. Method: In this randomized, controlled, clinical trial, patients with hand and wrist soft tissue injuries were randomly assigned to two groups. Group one received standard-sized short arm splints and the other group received half-length short arm splints. The swelling and pain scores were compared between the groups by the end of weeks one, two and three. Results: A total of 256 patients with a mean age of 36.96 ± 12.27 years were enrolled in this study, and 71.9% of them were male. No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of swelling between the two groups after one and two weeks (P=0.41, P=0.18). None of the patients had swelling after three weeks. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the pain score after one, two and three weeks (P=0.47, P=0.29, P=0.92). Conclusion: In this study, half-length short arm splints were found to be as effective as standard short arm splints

Dietary Recommendations in Fracture Healing in Traditional Persian Medicine: A Historical Review of Literature

Background. Fracture repair is a complex process. An inappropriate diet is a contributing risk factor for fracture nonunion. The aim of this study was to extract dietary recommendations for fracture healing according to traditional Persian medicine (TPM) literature. Method. The contents relevant to diets in fracture healing were selected from main textbooks in TPM like Al Qanon fi Al-teb ( The Canon ). Other reference textbooks in traditional medicine were also used for a comprehensive study in this respect. Finally content analysis was used for summarizing and describing the results. Findings. Food stuffs are classified in TPM according to their nutritive value, their assimilability, and the quality of achieved chyme. Some light meals like chicken soup are recommended for the early days of fracture and high-nutrient and dense foods such as goat’s or sheep’s head and nuts are advised in following days for fracture healing acceleration and callus formation. Several recommendations are also provided for pacing the healing process. Conclusion. A comparison of Avicenna and other Persian sage’s recommended regimens with the recent evidence revealed the potential positive effects of their regimen for bone healing acceleration. It can shed light on a part of history of orthopedics and add to current knowledge about bone fracture and its management