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  ABSTRACT

  Background and Aim: Patients hospitalized in coronary care unit experience various stressful events which may lead to anxiety in the patients. Anxiety affects recovery and disease prognosis. The object of this study was to determine the effects of music and massage therapy on anxiety in the patients hospitalized in the coronary care unit of selected hospitals of Isfahan University of medical sciences.

  Materials and Methods: In a Quasi experimental research 90 patients were selected by simple method and were divided into 3 equal groups: back massage, music and non-intervention groups. A questionnaire was designed to register required information. All three groups were interviewed at the beginning of the research and the questionnaires were completed at the time of admission. In the massage group, massage was used for two days, each day for two times. In the music group, cassette tape was broadcast two times a day for two days. The questionnaires were completed once again at the end of the first 48 hours of admission. Statistical analysis was performed by means of SPSS software using one-way ANOVA.

  Results: The results of this study showed significant statistical differences in the mean scores of anxiety after 48 hours among the three groups. Also there was a significant difference in the mean score changes of anxiety at the time of admission and after 48 hours.

  Conclusion: Music and massage therapy are effective methods for reducing anxiety of the patients in the coronary care unit.

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ABSTRACT Background and Aim: High incidence of ground falling in hospitalized old patients is an important cause for concern in every treatment system. A very common fall assessment tool is Morse Falls Scale. This study was designed to determine the probability of falling in hospitalized old patients in Isfahan, 2009. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive analytic study. Sample size included 400 subjects who were selected by Quata sampling method. We used a questionnaire consisted of two parts, the first part comprised demographic characteristics, number of drugs, diagnosis, name of the hospital and ward, and the second part included Morse Fall Scale. The questionnaire was completed for every subject by trained interrogators. Data was analyzed by means of Chi-square test. Results: This study showed that risk of ground falling had a relation with mean age, history of falling within the last three months, kind of ambulatory aids, having IV/Heparin Lock, estate of walking, mental status, drug consumption of 3 or more drugs, suffering from cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases. In general, risk of ground falling threats 50% of hospitalized old patients. Conclusion: Ground falling is an important threat for hospitalized old patients and is an important problem for care health services. Nurses can recognize patients at risk of falling. Fulfillment of preventive programs can decrease rate of ground falling in hospitalized old patients. Key words: Old Patients, Hospital, Ground Falling. Conflict of Interest: Nill Received: Jan 23, 2010 Accepted: May 3, 2010

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Background and Aim: Past studies have shown that self-esteem (SES) and self-efficacy (SEF) have a positive and significant relationship with the improvement of the patients. On the other hand, it has been proved that mindfulness improves the patient's health. Yet, the relationships between these three variables have not been investigated enough. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of mindfulness with SES and SEF in patients with severe psychological problems.
Materials and Methods: This analytic-descriptive study included all eligible patients. After informed consent (213 participants), necessary data were collected and we used Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, Mindfulness-based Self-Efficacy Scale-Revised (MSES-R) in this study. Using the 20th version of SPSS software, data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson’s coloration coefficient, independent t-test, and simple linear regression.
Results: Among 213 patients, 151 were male (%70/7), and 62 were female (%29/3). The mean age of the participants was 32 ± 10/04. Linear Regression showed a positive and significant relationship between variables (mindfulness with SES r =.489, mindfulness with SEF r =.307. Also, we found that we could predict a significant alteration in mindfulness by self-efficacy and self-esteem.
Conclusion: It seems that mindfulness has a reciprocal relationship with SEF and SES which can have an influence on the effects of each other. It is likely that SES and SEF are among the factors which are associated with the effectiveness of the mindfulness-based therapies

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Background and Aim: One of the most common complications of brucellosis is its skeletal manifestations. This study was performed to identify the different types of skeletal manifestations in the patients with  brucellosis.
Materials and Methods: We reviewed records of the patients with skeletal complications of brucellosis who had been admitted to the infectious diseases ward of Razi Hospital in Qaemshahr from 2011 to 2017. Using SPSS 21 software, data were analyzed by t-test and chi-square (p≥0.001).
Results: In 300 patients with brucellosis, the most frequent cause of referring to the hospital was fever (82.33%). The most, common skeletal complication was lumbar spondylosis. The mean value for hemoglobin was 11.50±1.57 gr/dl in women and 12.34± 1.54 gr/dl in men. Elevated alkaline phosphatase (97%) was the most common laboratory finding. This disease was more common in men than in women which showed a statistically significant difference (p≥0.001). The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 52.78±29.15 millimeters per hour in the women (p≥0.001).
Conclusion: Fever and back pain were the most common causes of referring to the hospital. The most common articular bone complication was spondylosis, which was more common in the middle-aged patients. Therefore, brucellosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in the patients with long-standing fever and also in those with low back pain and arthralgia.

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Background and Aim: Candidiasis is a common opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients caused by different Candida species. The aim of this study was to do molecular identification and determine the antifungal susceptibility profile of Candida species, isolated from the mouths of AIDS patients by the disk diffusion method.
Materials and Methods: This study included 50 samples collected from the oral cavity of 50 AIDS patients with oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) in Ahvaz City. After microscopic and macroscopic identification, these samples were finally identified by PCR RFLP method. For these 50 isolates, antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by the disk diffusion method, based on CLSI-M44-A standard protocol.
Results: In this study, among 50 samples collected from the oral cavity of AIDS patients, we found Candida albicans in 36% (18), Candida glabrata in 30% (15), Candida tropicalis in 26% (13), Candida krusei in 6% (3) and Candida parapsilosis in 2 % (1) of the cases. Our results showed that clotrimazole, amphotericin B, ketoconazole, voriconazole and itraconazole had the highest antifungal effect on Candida species, respectively. While fluconazole showed less antifungal activity compared to the other antifungal drugs.
Conclusion: Considering the better antifungal activity of voriconazole and itraconazole compared to fluconazole and the increasing resistance to fluconazole, which is the main antifungal used in the treatment of AIDS patients with OPC, itraconazole and voriconazole can be used as alternative oral antifungal drugs in the treatment of these patients.




 

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Background and Aim: Infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) with multiple drug resistance is one of the most important problems in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. The purpose of this research is to investigate the prevalence of P. aeruginosa isolated with multiple drug resistance in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Materials and Methods: Articles between 2008 and 2022 were searched. To perform the meta-analysis, STATA 14 software was used both in the fixed model and in the random effects model. To check the heterogeneity of the data, the Q-test (p<0.10) was used with the chi-square χ2 distribution at the 95% confidence level. Two-sided statistical tests were performed with α=0.05.
Results: The highest (100%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99-1.00) and the lowest (4%, 95% CI: 0.02-0.09) prevalence was in 2021. In cross-sectional studies, the prevalence of 44% (95% CI: 0.21-0.68, odds ratio (OR) = 1.55), and in the cohort, 52% (95% CI: 0.26-0.77, OR = 1.68) was observed. Prevalence of both age groups; <20 (95% CI: 0.09-0.97, OR = 1.7, p = 0.000) and ≥ 20 (95% CI: 76. 0.30-0.76, OR = 1.7, p = 0.000) was 53%.
Conclusion: Multiple drug resistance was observed in P. aeruginosa during different years and ages. The findings of this research and the increasing antibiotic resistance of this bacterium indicate the leading challenges in the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis, which must be properly managed and treated.