Journal of Disease and Diagnosis
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Jun 2020

Insufficient information about sex during pregnancy as well as negative attitude towards it may lead to serious problems in the couple’s communication and sexual relationship. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of educational counselling on sexual knowledge and attitude of pregnant women during 2014-2015.

This study was performed on 200 pregnant women referred to 5 health care centers in Kerman. The random allocation method was used to assign mothers to intervention (n = 100) and control (n = 100) groups. Data were collected by demographic information, sexual knowledge, and attitude questionnaires. Data were analyzed by paired and independent t test, Fisher exact test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation tests in SPSS software version 22.0.

The mean scores of sexual knowledge and attitude before educational counselling in intervention group were 33.7 ± 15.44 and 50.09 ± 10.88, respectively. Before the intervention, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in knowledge and attitude. One month after the counselling, the mean scores of knowledge and attitude in the intervention and control groups were respectively 79.03 ± 8.71 and 67.88 ± 8.62, indicating a significant difference (P < 0.0001).

The results of this study confirmed the positive role of counseling and education in increasing knowledge and creating positive attitude towards sexual relationships in pregnant women.

Otitis media is mainly caused by pneumococci and is one of the most common diseases in children. It can lead to hearing problems, thereby resulting in learning and behavioral problems. This study aimed to compare the synergistic effects of zinc, probiotics, and amoxicillin in treating the otitis media.

In this double-blinded randomized clinical trial, 94 children aged between 6 months and 6 years with acute otitis media were studied. Children were divided into three groups who were administered with: amoxicillin, amoxicillin plus probiotics, and amoxicillin plus zinc per day. The first group received 80-90 mg/kg amoxicillin; the second group had one sachet of protexin in addition to amoxicillin; while the third group received 10 mg zinc in addition to amoxicillin. The treatment lasted for ten days.

Overall, 72.3% of patients responded to primary therapy and 5.31% had complications among which 5 had perforation. All these 5 cases belonged to the amoxicillin-receiving group. None of the patients showed relapse. In addition, 30 (60%) in the amoxicillin group, 19 (82.6%) in the amoxicillin and zinc group, and 19 (90.47%) in the amoxicillin and protexin group responded to the treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between the three groups in terms of responses to the treatment. Considering the gender of children, 37 girls (82.22%) and 32 boys (65.3%) responded to the treatment.

The results showed that 10-day application of probiotics and zinc along with amoxicillin arose no significantly different response in acute childhood otitis media compared to the treatment with amoxicillin alone; however, it could reduce the complications of the disease. Considering the difference in the results of studies on probiotic effects on the treatment of infections in children, further studies are recommended

 Congenital infection is a primary cause of malformations during infancy including hydrocephaly and microcephaly. In addition, cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma are the two prevalent causes of congenital infections. The present research aimed to investigate the prevalence of cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma infections among neonates afflicted with microcephaly and hydrocephaly in a pediatric hospital in 2018.

The present descriptive, cross-sectional research was conducted on all neonates diagnosed with microcephaly and hydrocephaly hospitalized in the pediatric hospital of Bandar Abbas in 2018. Blood samples were taken from the neonates to be analyzed for cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma serology, followed by statistically analyzing the information describing 11 subjects including 5 hydrocephaly and 6 microcephaly cases.

The mean gestational age was estimated at 35.8 ± 4.08 and 37.16 ± 1.32 weeks in hydrocephaly and microcephaly groups, respectively (P = 0.507). In both groups, the female population was larger than the males. In addition, blood relations among parents were stronger in the microcephaly group (40%) compared to the microcephaly group (83.3%). Moreover, the anomaly was found to be more in the microcephaly group. This rate was 60% and 16.7% in the hydrocephaly and microcephaly groups, respectively. The serology of cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma in neither groups showed to be positive. One hundred percent of patients with an anomaly were term although 50% of those without any anomaly belonged to the term group. It appears that the presence of an anomaly was positively correlated with term birth. One hundred percent of patients with an anomaly were found to have parents who were close relatives. However, 50% of patients with no anomaly showed to have parents closely related in the family. Finally, heart problems were found to prevail in the group diagnosed with an anomaly.

In the present research, the prevalence of cytomegalovirus and toxoplasma infections was reported to be zero in neonates who were afflicted with microcephaly and hydrocephaly.

Despite the advantages of the internet for human life, nowadays, as a double-edged sword, this new communication technology has caused problems such as internet addiction, especially for the young people and students. Identifying the factors related to such an addictive behavior is of especial importance, both because of its general consequences and because of the specific nature of the student stratum. The present study was conducted to identify the extent of and factors related to internet addiction in students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in the academic year 2013 on newly arrived students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (N = 253). The data collection instrument was a two-part questionnaire including students’ demographic characteristics, and questions related to internet addiction assessment (internet addiction test [IAT]), in which a score above 49 was related to pathological internet addiction and a score below or equal to 49 was considered normal. The analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software version 16.0. The significance level of 0.05 was considered for all the above tests.

The data analysis indicated that 196 (96%) respondents were with non-pathological internet addiction and 8 respondents (4%) had pathological internet addiction. There was also a significant relationship between age and internet addiction; however, sex and marital status variables had no significant relationship with this phenomenon.

Based on the results of this study, the participants mostly had mild levels of internet addiction, which can be related to the time of study regarding newly arrived students and concerns about it such as the entrance exam. Students who are about entering the university spend most of their time reviewing the required courses for the entrance exam due to the importance of the exam, and it seems that they often less likely use the internet. Nonetheless, it is important to consider the internet addiction as a problem regarding the overall results of studies in this area.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that leads to fatigue and weakness after voluntary activities. If early diagnosed, MG can be treated, and a person’s performance and quality of life can be greatly improved as well.

The study population of the present cross-sectional study included 80 patients with MG referring to Sina (Farshchian) hospital in Hamadan, Iran. The inclusion criterion included complete medical files. Finally, the variables were investigated using the chi-square test and two-sample t test by SPSS, version 16.

The mean (standard deviation) of the patients’ age was 45.6 ± 15.8 years and most patients (55.5%) were females and 72.5% of them were married. In addition, weakness, lethargy, and premature fatigue were the most common symptoms (47.5%) in patients while unsteady gait was the lowest prevalent symptom (11.3%). There was no significant relationship between gender and the incidence of symptoms in patients (P > 0.05). However, a significant relationship was found between patients’ age with the shortness of breath and unsteady gait (P < 0.05). Eventually, most women, especially married and elderly ones, contracted the disease.

In general, there is a proper treatment for MG considering its early diagnosis. Accordingly, it is recommended that the level of awareness should be increased about the disease and provide appropriate medical and therapeutic facilities in this regard.

High blood pressure (HBP) is one of the most prevalent diseases which has affected many people in different societies. It is also the cause of several other chronic and fatal diseases. Acute renal failure (ARF) represents an independent risk factor for morbidity, resulting in a prolonged period of hospitalization of the survived patients. Thus, survival analysis of the patients with HBP until ARF and determination of the associated factors are of utmost significance.

The current research examined the survival of patients with HBP until ARF using the Weibull model. We obtained the data from Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). The studied population included patients with systolic blood pressure (SBP of 130-180 mm Hg). The follow-up median was 3.26 years in our study.

Out of a total of 842 patients, 590 subjects (70.1%) were male and 252 subjects (29.9%) were female. Moreover, from these 842 patients, 85 (4.5%) died of cardiovascular diseases, 298 (15.7%) were diagnosed with ARF, and 459 (54.5%) were censored. According to the outcomes of the Weibull model of competing risks, the indexes of gender, albumin/creatinine ratio in urine, glomerular filtration rate, and being in the category of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) were effective factors associated with the survival of patients.

According to the outcomes of this study, controlling blood pressure can greatly reduce the incidence of kidney failure.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a large family of small non-coding RNAs which regulate gene expression at the surface following transcription. They are widely involved in many physiological and pathological processes including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is an endocrine disorder in women. Currently, there is no comprehensive information about the role of miRNAs in PCOS. Thus, this paper has attempted to collate studies on miRNAs in order to determine important changes in their miRNA expression profile in the total blood, serum, plasma, follicular fluid, and granulosa cells in PCOS patients alongside the genes which are targeted for regulation by these miRNAs. This study presents a new approach for using miRNAs and their target genes for diagnosing and treating PCOS.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now a global health concern and a wide range of people are at risk. Pregnant women are considered high-risk groups due to hormonal changes and weakness in the immune system. In the present study, the transmission of COVID-19 from mother to fetus and infection of children under the age of 10 with this virus were discussed. This study tries to investigate whether the coronavirus can be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her fetus and whether the virus can be transmitted to the baby through breast milk. According to researchers, children under the age of 10 do not get the disease; however, the first case of a baby with coronavirus was reported in Mashhad, Iran, based on the world’s up-to-date studies and the perceptions of medical experts.