Current Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Spring-Summer 2024

Childhood is the most important period of a child's growth and development. Considering the role of the mother, this age period is important due to the formation of eating habits and the start of complementary feeding. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of education on improving the health literacy of mothers in the field of child nutrition.

The current research is a semi-experimental before-and-after study that was conducted on 696 mothers covered by the health center of Pakdasht city in 2017. The samples were randomly selected in two groups of 50 case and 50 control group. The tool for collecting information is the parents' health literacy questionnaire and the food pyramid scale, which were completed by mothers two times before and 3 months after the intervention. After the pre-test, educational intervention was conducted in 8 sessions. SPSS version 22 and Kolmogorov Smirnov, Wilcoxon, linear regression, Mann-Whitney, Fisher, chi-square statistical tests were used for data analysis. It should be noted that the level of significance in the present study is P<0.05.

There is a significant difference between the average knowledge scores of the case and control groups after the training, which shows the effect of the training. Before the intervention, the average scores of the two intervention groups were 37.43, attitude 20.03, and behavior 8.45. The intervention had increased by 40.25, 20.52 and 8.53, respectively.

According to the findings of this study, education can be an effective tool to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers towards children's nutrition.

Considering the impact of serum testosterone levels on metabolic diseases, this study aims to investigate testosterone levels in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

A prospective cohort study was performed between two groups: Group A, 58 patients with NAFLD, and Group B, 59 patients without NAFLD. Fatty liver was diagnosed based on Abdominal ultrasound using the Hamaguchi score. Blood specimens were obtained from all patients between 8 and 10 AM and analyzed for testosterone, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, serum lipid profile, ferritin, and fasting blood sugar levels.

The mean weight and body mass index were significantly higher in the study group (Group A) (P-value = 0.0001). The mean aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase were 37.7 and 56.6 in Group A, respectively, and were significantly higher than the control group (Group B) (P-value = 0.0001). Fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, and serum ferritin differed between the two groups. The mean serum testosterone level was 3.38 ± 0.72 in Group A and 4.79 ± 0.88 ng/dL in Group B (P-value = 0.0001). The testosterone level negatively correlated with age and hepatic steatosis grade (P-value = 0.0001). However, it has a weak and positive correlation with BMI (P-value = 0.454).

This study revealed that the patients with NAFLD had a significantly lower level of testosterone compared to the other individuals. This study highlights the role of NAFLD as a potential cause of hypogonadism in men.

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common complications after lower limb orthopedic surgery, which leads to many significant limitations and problems for patients and society. The aim of the present study was to investigate LBP incidence rate following general anesthesia (GA) and spinal anesthesia (SA) in lower limb orthopedic surgery.

In this randomized clinical trial study, all patients who were candidates for elective orthopedic surgery referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Babol, entered the study with informed consent.
Patients were divided into two groups and LBP incidence rate following spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia was evaluated.

Out of 110 patients, 46 (41.8%) complained of LBP as a postoperative complication and 64 cases (58.2%) did not report it. The mean pain decreased over time in patients with LBP. Results also showed that LBP intensity was higher in spinal anesthesia group one day and one week after surgery. One month after surgery, the general anesthesia group did not report LBP, but the spinal anesthesia group still complained of LBP. There was no significant relationship between sex, age, BMI, duration of surgery, type of surgery and cause of fracture with LBP incidence.

According to the present study, the mean LBP intensity in the general anesthesia group is significantly less than spinal anesthesia group one day, one week and one month after surgery. patients should receive necessary explanations about the complications of both types of anesthesia preoperatively so that they consciously choose the method of anesthesia.

Considering the impact of serum testosterone levels on metabolic diseases, this study aims to investigate testosterone levels in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

A prospective cohort study was performed between two groups: Group A, 58 patients with NAFLD, and Group B, 59 patients without NAFLD. Fatty liver was diagnosed based on Abdominal ultrasound using the Hamaguchi score. Blood specimens were obtained from all patients between 8 and 10 AM and analyzed for testosterone, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, serum lipid profile, ferritin, and fasting blood sugar levels.

The mean weight and body mass index were significantly higher in the study group (Group A) (P-value = 0.0001). The mean aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase were 37.7 and 56.6 in Group A, respectively, and were significantly higher than the control group (Group B) (P-value = 0.0001). Fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, and serum ferritin differed between the two groups. The mean serum testosterone level was 3.38 ± 0.72 in Group A and 4.79 ± 0.88 ng/dL in Group B (P-value = 0.0001). The testosterone level negatively correlated with age and hepatic steatosis grade (P-value = 0.0001). However, it has a weak and positive correlation with BMI (P-value = 0.454).

This study revealed that the patients with NAFLD had a significantly lower level of testosterone compared to the other individuals. This study highlights the role of NAFLD as a potential cause of hypogonadism in men.

Nowadays obesity is one of the major health problems worldwide, leading many obese patients to undergo surgical intervention. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a common approach for surgical management of morbid obesity. Gallbladder stones are a common side effect of sudden weight loss after bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between weight loss and gallstones and the need for prophylactic cholecystectomy.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on all patients who had undergone gastric sleeve surgery in Babol University of Medical Sciences hospitals during 2013- 2017. Demographic data such as gender, age, weight, and BMI were collected with informed consent via a questionnaire. Patients were followed up over an 18-month period by ultrasound and by a visit from the surgeon. The incidence of gallstones and gallbladder sludge and the need for cholecystectomy were studied.

In this study, 114 patients including 94 females and 20 males with a mean age of 37.4±8.29 years and mean weight of 142.23±10.29 kg underwent LSG. The incidence of asymptomatic and symptomatic gallstones was 23% (26/114) and 7% (8/114), respectively. An apparent relationship was observed between weight loss and the incidence of gallstones during the follow-up periods, except for the first month. Moreover, ursodeoxycholic acid administration reduced significantly the incidence of gallbladder sludge and stones (p<0.001).

The results suggest that the formation of gallstones during the period of weight loss is related to the amount or rate of weight loss in the postoperative period.

The SIRT1 gene is involved in many physiological activities of the body, including inflammation, innate and acquired immune system responses, neurodegeneration, age-related disorders, life-span extension, obesity, and heart disease. But its role in cancer is not yet fully understood. Considering the possible role of Lnc-OC1 in the regulation of SIRT1 and tumorigenesis, this study was designed and performed to evaluate the expression of SIRT1 and Lnc-OC1 genes in patients with breast and colorectal cancer.

In this case-control study, during September 2018 to July 2021, 84 patients (47.61%≤60 years, 52.38 >60 years) with breast cancer and 59 patients (42.37% ≤ 60 years, 57.62> 60 years) with colorectal cancer confirmed by pathological findings and the expression of SIRT1 and Lnc-OC1 were assessed using Quantitative real-time PCR.

In colorectal cancer, it appears that increasing the expression of Lnc-OC1, decreased the expression of SIRT1. The expression of Lnc-OC1 gene in patients with breast and colorectal cancer has increased compared to normal tissue. The expression of SIRT1 in patients with breast cancer increased significantly compared to normal tissues, but decreased in patients with colorectal cancer.

The results showed that Lnc-OC1 could be used as an early diagnosis for colorectal cancer by reducing SIRT expression, and the expression of these two genes could be used to assess the prognosis for breast cancer.

Background : 

Medication errors can lead to serious negative consequences. Meanwhile, reading theory books or listening to lectures away from the real environment may disrupt learning. Simulation-based learning using a virtual environment imitates real-world activities and engages learners in physical and practical activities.   The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of simulation-based education (SBE) on medication administration (MA) knowledge and performance among nursing students.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in the 2018–2019 academic year using a   pretest-posttest design and a control group. The subjects included 66 nursing students of the sixth semester of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Iran university of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran.. They were randomly allocated to the intervention   (n = 36) and control (n = 30) groups. Subjects in the intervention group were trained through SBE in two-hour weekly sessions for four consecutive weeks, and their conterparts in the control group received only routine traditional training.. The knowledge and performance were assessed using a researcher-made MA knowledge questionnaire and four MA performance checklists. Data were collected before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention and were analyzed using    repeated measures analysis of variance as well as  paired-samples t test, independent-samples t, Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, and Fisher’s exact test in SPSS software (v. 16.0). Significance level was set at P≤ 0.05.  

There were no significant differences between the groups before intervention (P > 0.05). The mean scores of MA knowledge and performance of the intervention group  increased significantly after the intervention (P < 0.05).The mean scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group in both post-tests (P < 0.05). The mean score of MA knowledge in the intervention group was 12.36±3.04 at pretest, 18.6±1.13 at the first posttest, and 18.7±1.2 at the second posttest. the mean score of MA knowledge in the control group was 12.43±2.41 at pretest, 12.66±2.39 at the first posttest, and 12.66±2.63 at the second posttest The mean scores of MA performance (Total) in the intervention group was 18.99±9.7, at the first posttest and 18.08±11.05 at the second posttest. and The mean scores of MA performance (Total) in the control group was 10.35±10.39, at the first posttest and 11.35±10.66 at the second posttest.

SBE is effective in  improving nursing students’ MA knowledge and performance. SBE is suggested to reduce medication errors among nursing students.