Hormozgan Medical Journal
Volume:12 Issue: 4, 2008

Scorpion stinging is one of the most important health problems of Iran especially in tropical southern provinces such as Hormozgan, the southern province of Iran. Hormozgan province usually had the second rank of stinging prevalence in the country with more 10 cases of death annually. Detection of scorpion fauna is a necessary factor to plan an efficient control problem. The present study was a Cross - Sectional descriptive study which was conducted in 2006-2007 Cluster sampling method was used and the specimens were caught using Black light and daily resting site seeking techniques. A total of 818 specimens were caught from which, 440 (53.8%) were female and 378 (46.2%) were male. Ten species from three families (Buthidae, Scorpionidae and Liochelidae) were found as the fauna and Odontobuthus doriae (Buthidae) with 28.8% (236 specimens) was the dominant species. Parsian district had the highest density of scorpion with 34.3% (281 specimens). The result showed Hemiscorpius lepturus with 21/6% (177 specimens) was the dangerous species which caused death in high risk areas of Hormozgan province. The density of H. lepturus and Androctonus crassicauda was very high in the border of cities, villages and indoor habitats. Scorpio maurus (Scorpionidae) is reported the first time from Hormozgan province. Besides, this is the first report of Hottentotta jayakari (Buthidae) from the northern costal areas of Persian Gulf.

Photo aging is significantly different from chronological aging in both clinical and histological appearances. It has been suggested that oxidative stress generated by ultraviolet radiation (UVR), leads to photo aging over a long time period. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the indicators of plasma oxidative stress and photo damaged skin in patients who referred to dermatology clinic in Birjand city. In this case-control study, 33 patients with photo aging and 33 controls (matched age and gender) were recruited after confirmation of the diagnosis by a dermatologist. Mean time of sun exposure in patient and control groups was measured separately. Plasma total antioxidant capacity, lipid per oxidation and thiol groups levels (as indicators of oxidative stress) were measured in case and control groups. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (ver.12) software. Mean time of sun exposure in case group (5.5 ± 2.1 hour per day) was higher than control group (1.9 ± 1.2 hour per day) (p<0.001). Mean of plasma lipid per oxidation levels in case group (3.4 ± 1.1 mol/lit) was higher than control group (2.80 ± 0.67 mol/lit) (p<0.003). There was no significant difference between mean of plasma total antioxidant capacity and mean of plasma thiol groups in case and control groups. The results of this study suggest that a relationship exists between plasma lipid per oxidation levels and photo aging.

QT dispersion in a 12 lead ECG represents the heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization. The prolongation of QT-interval dispersion increases the risk of coronary heart disease, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death in patients with myocardial infarction. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of QT-dispersion in patients with acute myocardial infarction. A total number of 79 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 21 healthy controls were recruited. The QT-dispersion was estimated using a 12-lead surface electrocardiogram, 24 hours and 4-6 days after myocardial infarction. In patient group, the average QT-dispersion was 92.8±42.2 ms and 80.3±33.4 ms after 24 hours and four days respectively; whereas in control group it was 47.1±16.8 ms (p<0.001). The relative frequency of arrhythmia in patients was 24%. Our study showed that the average of QT- dispersion of arrhythmia in patients was significantly different and higher (p<0.05) compared to patients without arrhythmia. We showed that increased QT-dispersion is a potential marker in prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the major cause of death in both industrial and developing countries. Evidences suggest that increase in free radical generation and/or attenuated antioxidant defenses may be involved in the pathogenesis of CAD. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the plasma measures of oxidative stress in patients with coronary artery disease documented by angiography. In this study case-control study, fifty eight patients with angiographic ally proven coronary artery disease as cases and fifty five control subjects (Age range: 41-70 years and 39-71 years, respectively) were recruited from heart centre at Talaghani hospital affiliated with Urmia university of medical science. Plasma vitamin E concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Plasma glutathione and malondialdehyde were studied spectrophotometrically. Data analyses were performed by SPSS-11 statistical software, using t-test. Plasma malondialdehyde levels were markedly higher in the patients group than in the controls (114.9340.65 µmol/L versus 50.4917.52 µmol/L; P<0.05). Both vitamin E or glutathione levels were significantly lower in patient group compared with controls (28.556.3 µmol/L versus 32.077.4 µmol/L; P<0.05 and 43.0148 nmol/L versus 124.463.4 nmol/L; P<0.05 respectively). Significant inverse correlations were seen between malondialdehyde levels and either vitamin E or glutathione concentrations (P<0/05). Our finding of impaired balance between antioxidant/pro oxidant suggest that enhanced oxidative stress may be involved in the pathogenesis of CAD. Understanding of the event that contribute to these changes, may provide new opportunities for rational therapeutic strategies.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is most often asymptomatic in immuno-competent individuals and has lifelong latency especially in leukocytes. However, CMV is a major cause of infection and death in immuno-compromised patients. Transfusion transmitted HCMV (TT-HCMV) can cause serious morbidity and mortality in certain patients who are at risk. In this study, we evaluated the risk of TT-HCMV infection in a seroprevalence survey of HCMV. In this descriptive cross-sectional study that was performed in a period of eight months, the blood samples were collected from 360 healthy blood donors referring to the Fars blood bank in Shiraz, Iran. The IgG and IgM antibodies to HCMV were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. Of 360 samples, IgG was detected in 356 sera (98.9%) samples and only 16 samples (4.4%) were IgM positive. No statistically significant association was observed between seropositivitiy rate, age, sex, number of children and educational level in the studied population. The high prevalence of HCMV observed in this study confirms the necessity of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of HCMV infection in immuno- compromised blood recipients in our community.

Adenoid hypertrophy and its complications such as otitis media and sinusitis are common problems in childhood. Rapid and appropriate detection of interfering microorganisms in chronic nasopharyngitis is very important for better medical and surgical interventions. The aims of this study were to detect major core adenoidal microorganisms and to compare similarity of pernasal and oropharyngeal cultures with adenoidal culture, and also to compare bacteriological resistance in patients with and without complications. In this descriptive study, 50 patients with adenoid hypertrophy and chronic nasopharyngitis were recruited and divided into 2 groups: group I (n=25) with complications such as otitis media with effusion and group II (n=25) without complication. All patients underwent adenoidectomy. A pressure equalizing tube was inserted for patients in group I. The smear and culture specimens were collected for bacteriological study. After 26 months of prospective bacteriological study on 50 patients with adenoidal enlargement, major results were as follow: the most common adenoidal growing microorganisms in two groups of patients, in decreasing frequency were hemophilus influenza, type B beta hemolytic streptococcus and staphylococcus auresus. Pernasal smear and culture results were more similar than oropharyngeal results to core adenoidal cultures (p<0.01). 70.1% of adenoidal microorganisms in group I patients and 21.2% in group II patients were resistant to ordinary antibiotics (without anti-betalactamase activity) (P<0.0001). For better medical management of chronic nasopharyngitis (pre and/or post adenoidectomy), we recommend that in antibiotic selection, the hemophilus influenza type B should be considered as the major growing organism. Pernasal culturing is more appropriate for detection of interfering microorganisms. In complicated patients (cases of otitis media with effusion and/or sinusitis) it is advisable to use more potent antibiotics with anti-betalactamase activity. For infection control in non-complicated patients, use of ordinary antibiotics can reduce the resistance to potent antibiotics in general population.

Clinical education is a complicated process which may be affected by different factors and variables. Therefore, recognizing the current situation and problems is the first step to minimize these factors. The aim of this study was to determine the viewpoints of nursing and midwifery students in Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences about problems that they have encountered in clinical education. In this cross-sectional study, 59 bachelor nursing and midwifery students who were in their last semester were involved. The data were collected using a questionnaire with three parts: demographic data; clinical education problems (measured by Likert scale); and one open question related to clinical education problems. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS (ver. 13) software. The most important problems in clinical education were lack of welfare facilities (71.2%), lack of proper clinical environments (39%), lack of educational aids (37.3%), lack of facilities in clinical environments (35.6%) and lack of skilled clinical trainers (35.6%). According to our findings, it is recommended to provide enough facilities and equipments for students in clinical environments and also to employ expert clinical trainers to improve quality of education.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth cause of mortality and a leading cause of chronic disability worldwide. Given the nature of the disease and lack of any effective treatment, it can profoundly affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients. Studies about the effect of COPD on QOL have yielded contradictory results; however, most studies suggest that COPD negatively affects QOL. QOL is a concept which is influenced by bio-psycho-social factors. In this study, we assessed the effect of COPD on QOL of a group of Iranian patients. In this case we assessed QOL in two groups, each consisting of 80 COPD patients as cases and 80 healthy persons control group matched for age, sex, marital status and education and comparatively similar socioeconomic and cultural status. The brief WHO-QOL questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed with SPSS10 using control study, we as t-test. The results were expressed as means and standard deviations and significance level was set at 0.05. Analysis of data showed, that mean QOL score and mean scores of the five aspects of QOL, i.e. disease, independent life, social relations, physical sensations and mental welfare in the COPD group was significantly lower than in the control group (P<0/05). Our findings are indicative of the negative effect of COPD on QOL in particular. The significantly low levels of QOL in COPD patients demonstrates that COPD affects not only the patients physical health but also other aspects of their lives, leading to decreased QOL. Thus, in spite of ongoing disease, interventions in these aspects of the patients lives can improve QOL as a comprehensive and holistic therapeutic goal.

Pain is a common phenomenon and is an inevitable part of process of childbirth. Continuous labor pain is effective of respiratory system; blood circularly; endocrine glands and other activity of body. Heat as a non pharmacological method of pain relief helps reduce the pain severity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of heat therapy on labor pain and the end of labor in prime gravid women who referred to the hospitals of Babol University of medical sciences in Babol in 2006-2007. In this clinical trial study, 64 low risk nullparous women were randomly divided into two groups (heat therapy and routine care groups). The control group got routine cares in obstetrics ward and heat therapy group in addition to these cares used warm bag for the low back from cervix dilatation of 3-4 cm to the end of first stage of labor and for perinea at the second stage. The intensity of pain was determined in dilatation of 3-4, 6-7 and 9-10 cm and at the end of second stage of labor by Mc Gill pain scale. Data was analyzed with t-test and chi square and ManWitney tests by using SPSS Software statistical. Comparing two groups showed a significant decrease in the intensity of pain in heat therapy group in the first stage, in the second stage of labor (p<0.001). Also, in heat therapy group duration of the first and third stage of labor with p<0.001 decreased but duration of second stage of labor showed no significant difference between two groups. The mean of APGAR score of neonates type of delivery and perineum tear, height of fundus an hour after delivery showed no significant difference between two groups. According to the results of this study, it seems that heat affects on the pain severity in first and second stages of labor and duration of first and third stages of labor without any negative effect after delivery on neonate and mother.

One of the fundamental ways to health promotion is training the hygiene. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of education on the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice of female students in Bandar Abbas city regarding the menstrual hygiene This study was semi-experimental as type before and after. The number of sample was 400 female students on high school in Bandar Abbas city, that they collected by cluster sampling and two methods of training peer education and booklet compare with each other. Information was caught by questionnaire that to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice of students. At the first of study accomplished pretest, then after training plans accomplished the post test. (3 months later).Finally information analysis was performed with software as spss12. The results of this study indicated that there was significant difference between the mean score in knowledge, attitude and practice before and after training in two groups. The effect of peer education on this item was more than the other methods that caused to increase in knowledge and attitudes level in samples(p=0.000). But despite increasing in mean score of practice there was no change in practice level and training with booklet just increased the level of knowledge. Therefore, it can be concluded that health education is effective on knowledge, attitudes and practice of students but health education providers would be able to come up with appropriate methods to empower and educate young girls to adopt necessary life skills.