Modern Care Journal
Volume:13 Issue: 3, Jul 2016

Oxidative stress is a major mechanism involved in stroke pathogenesis. The present study evaluated and compared oxidative stress parameters in patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke (IS and HS) at the time of hospitalization and 1 week after hospitalization.
This was a case-control study with 87 stroke patients (58 IS and 29 HS) as the case and 58 normal individuals as the control group. Sampling was done at the time of hospitalization and after 1 week. The serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiol group, and F2-isoprostan levels were measured using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), Elman, and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ELISA methods, respectively.
At the time of hospitalization, there was no significant difference in TAC and F2-isoprostan levels between the case and control groups (TAC for IS = 852.4 ± 238.9, HS = 1064.1 ± 271.1, and control = 947.6 ± 203.1 µmol/L; P = 0.074), yet, the thiol group levels were significantly lower (P The results showed that antioxidant defense status in stroke patients was lower than for the control group. Improving the antioxidant defense system, especially for HS patients by strategies such as natural antioxidant consumption is suggested.

The use of tourniquet is very common in orthopedic surgeries. By obstructing blood flow in the limb, tourniquet may result in muscle ischemia and skin flap hypoxia. This study aimed at determining and comparing the effects of tourniquet release time on wound healing in patients undergoing tibia fracture plating surgery.
This study was a randomized clinical trial, wherein 40 patients with acute extra-articular tibia fractures were randomly assigned to 2 groups of A (releasing the tourniquet after fracture fixation and before wound closure) and B (releasing the tourniquet after wound closure and application of compression dressing). Duration of surgery in each group was recorded and independent t test was utilized to compare the 2 groups. The wound healing rate was investigated in the patients 24 hours and 14 days after surgery using the Redness, Oedema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, Approximation (REEDA) scale. In this tool, 0 represents “lack of the variable” and 3 indicates “maximum variable score”. The scores in this scale range from 0 to 15. The Mann-Whitney test was used in order to compare the wound healing rates between the 2 groups.
There was no significant difference between the 2 groups concerning the average duration of surgery. Wound redness, edema, ecchymosis, discharge, approximation, and the general condition of wound healing showed no significant difference in the 2 groups 24 hours after surgery, while there was a significant difference 14 days after surgery with the aforementioned parameters being greater in group B than group A.
The results showed that releasing the tourniquet before wound closure in group A led to improved wound healing. Wounds need oxygen for restoration and prevention from infections. As the use of tourniquet occludes blood flow to the limb for a while, it can result in increased wound hypoxia after surgery and delayed healing process; hence, less tourniquet time is more desirable for oxygenation of tissues and wound dryness.

The use of herbal medicine has recently increased because of its effectiveness, limited side effects, and easy accessibility. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant properties and diabetes treatment potential of 3 medicinal plants of barberry, saffron, and jujube.
In the present study, 65 diabetic male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 13 groups. Groups 1 to 6 included diabetic rats that received hydroalcoholic extracts and groups 7 to 12 received aqueous extracts of the plants. The rates in Group 13 were diabetic controls, and 5 male Wistar rats were used as non-diabetic controls. Total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation, radical scavenging activity, and fasting blood glucose were measured at the end of the 21st day of the treatment.
Hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts of the plants decreased malondialdehyde, and in contrast, increased total antioxidant levels (P ≤ 0.05). Increased levels of insulin and decreased levels of FBG in all treated groups were observed, which were notable for hydroalcoholic extract of saffron.
The antioxidant properties of the plants, especially saffron and jujube, lead to the regeneration of pancreatic islet and probably increase insulin release in these treatment groups; and, the plants exert their beneficial antidiabetic effects because of their antioxidant potential.

Middle age is among the most important periods in women’s lives that is associated with different changes. Health-promoting lifestyle significantly affects health and quality of life.
The aim of this study was to investigate middle-aged women’s quality of life and health-promoting lifestyle.
This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2016 on 290 middle-aged women who aged 35 - 59 years and lived in Birjand, Iran. Study sample was recruited through multi-stage cluster random sampling. The 52-item health-promoting lifestyle profile and the 36-item quality of life questionnaire were used for data gathering. The measures of descriptive statistics (such as mean and standard deviation) were employed for data description and presentation while Pearson correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey’s post hoc, and independent-sample t tests were used to analyze the data at a significance level of less than 0.05.
The mean values of women’s age, quality of life score, and health-promoting lifestyle score were 41.06 ± 7.60, 56.47 ± 14.28, and 124.42 ± 19.18, respectively. Women’s quality of life was significantly correlated with their age so that women who aged 30 - 39 and 50 - 59 acquired the highest and the lowest quality of life scores, respectively (59.08 vs. 52.94; P = 0.006). Moreover, women whose husbands were employees had higher quality of life and healthier health-promoting lifestyle compared to women whose husbands were unemployed (57.61 vs. 46.99 and 128.21 vs. 113.63; P = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively). However, quality of life and health-promoting lifestyle were not significantly correlated with other demographic characteristics. Besides, quality of life was positively correlated with health-promoting lifestyle.
Middle-aged women’s quality of life is significantly correlated with their health-promoting lifestyle. Health authorities and policy makers can use these findings to develop and implement programs to promote middle-aged women’s engagement in health-promoting behaviors and thereby, improve their quality of life.

Hospitalization of a preterm neonate is a major crisis for the involved family that significantly affects parents’ quality of life. The main goal of empowerment programs is behavioral modification. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an empowerment program on the knowledge, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and attitudes of the mothers of preterm neonates.
This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2014 on a convenience sample of 30 mothers whose preterm neonates were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of Valiasr (PBUH) hospital, Birjand, Iran. An empowerment training program was implemented based on the personal empowerment model in seven 30-min personal face-to-face training sessions. The data were collected using a maternal and neonatal demographic questionnaire, a researcher-made knowledge and attitude questionnaire, the Vahdaninya and colleagues’ self-efficacy questionnaire, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Finally, the data were entered into the SPSS software (v. 18.0) and described using the measures of descriptive statistics (such as mean and standard deviation). Besides, the normality of the variables was assessed through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, while the paired-sample t test was used to compare the pretest and posttest scores of knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at a significance level of 0.05.
The mean age was 27.93 ± 6.6 years for mothers and 10.9 ± 7.54 days for neonates. The mean scores of mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy were significantly greater in the posttest than the pretest. Moreover, the posttest mean score of empowerment (69.5 ± 9.25) was significantly greater than the pretest mean score (60.30 ± 7.61).
Implementation of the empowerment program is effective in improving mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy. Appropriate education should be provided for the parents of preterm neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units in order to involve them in the process of care delivery and improve their relationships with their preterm neonates.

Nurses who work in special care units are at great risk of developing mental health problems. The present study was performed to examine the correlation of religious orientation with depression among critical care and emergency room nurses.
This descriptive, analytical study was performed in 2015 on 109 nurses working in critical care units and emergency rooms of Valiasr and Imam Reza hospitals, Birjand, Iran. The nurses were recruited through census sampling. Data were collected using Beck Depression Inventory and Allport’s Religious Orientation Scale. For statistical analysis, independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey’s post hoc test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test were performed, using SPSS v. 16 at a significance level of less than 0.05.
The nurses’ mean scores of extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations were 31.56 ± 7.39 and 29.73 ± 4.26, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the general religious orientation and depression (r, 0.02; P = 0.83). However, depression was correlated negatively with intrinsic religious orientation (r, -0.37; P = 0.001) and positively with extrinsic religious orientation (r, 0.24; P = 0.01). Overall, 27.5% and 0.9% of nurses had mild and moderate depression, respectively. Depression was significantly correlated with the nurses’ gender and income (P = 0.01).
Given the significant correlation of depression with intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations, it seems that health authorities need to develop plans for purifying and strengthening nurses’ religious beliefs.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major threat for public health around the world.
This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of HIV/ADIS high risk behaviors and necessity of prevention in the population of Birjand, East of Iran.
This population-based study was conducted on 5235 subjects from Birjand, East of Iran, during years 2013 to 2014. Subjects were asked to complete a checklist including gender, marital status, and history of drug injection, tattooing, unsafe sexual contact, imprisonment, dental surgeries, bloodletting, and blood transfusion. All subjects were tested by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to detect Anti-HIV antibodies (HIVAb; Genscreen® plus HIV Ag-Ab, Bio-Rad, Matnes la coquette, France). The chi-square test was performed and P Prevalence of HIV was zero. Also, result of the study showed that 9 (0.2%) subjects had a history of drug injection, 81 (1.5%) history of tattooing, 44 (0.8%) unsafe sexual contact, 39 (0.7%) history of imprisonment, 1709 (32.6%) history of dental surgeries, and 802 (15.3%) history of bloodletting. History of drug injection, history of tattooing, unsafe sexual contact, history of imprisonment, and history of dental surgeries showed a significant relationship with gender.
It is recommended to increase knowledge about HIV/AIDS behaviors especially in low risk populations to prevent the occurrence of new cases.