Shiraz Emedical Journal
Volume:22 Issue: 12, Dec 2021

 Abortion is an important pregnancy complication with short-term and long-term adverse physical and psychological effects on women.

 The present study aimed to investigate the short-term physical and psychological effects of various types of medical abortion in pregnant women referring to educational and medical centers in Shiraz, Iran.

 In this cross-sectional study, among 5176 deliveries by the women referring to Shiraz Educational and Forensic Medicine Centers during a 4-month period, 437 pregnancies ended in abortion and thus were included in this study. A questionnaire was completed for each of the abortions, recording demographic characteristics and midwifery information. As well, the Mississippi Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (M‑PTSD) was filled. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using appropriate statistical tests.

 The most common physical complications of induced and spontaneous abortion were fever (10.3%) and the need for transfusion of blood products (4.6%). Among the patients who received abortion therapy, 73.1% had moderate stress due to psychological complications.

 Since the most common complications after abortion are fever, the need for blood transfusion, and bleeding, it is recommended to prepare a protocol to standardize post-abortion care. Most women in both induced and spontaneous abortion groups had moderate levels of stress. Due to the lack of attention to the mental health of the women experiencing abortion, it is necessary for these women to receive adequate supportive counseling, in addition to other medical services, after abortion.

 High adherence to antibiotic therapy is essential for complete cure, reduction of treatment costs, and prevention of drug resistance.

 The aim of this study was to evaluate adherence to antibiotic treatment and its associated factors in patients after hospital discharge.

 This was a cross-sectional study. This study was conducted on 313 patients discharged from the hospital on antibiotics from October 6 to December 21, 2020. Demographic information of the participants was obtained at the time of discharge from the hospital, and the Morisky medication adherence scale was completed one week after discharge. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test at a significance level of < 0.05.

 The mean age of patients was 44.17 ± 19.51 years, and 95% of them were discharged with only one oral antibiotic. The mean score of drug adherence in this research was 6.45 ± 1.41. Those under 40 years of age had poorer adherence to antibiotic treatment than patients aged over 40 years (P = 0.04). The patients who should have consumed antibiotics thrice a day forgot taking their medications more than others (P = 0.02). The patients who received antibiotics twice a day were less likely to discontinue their medication without informing their physicians (P = 0.03).

 Adherence to antibiotic treatment after hospital discharge is poor among patients. All patients, especially those under 40 years of age and those who should receive medications more often, must be given serious considerations for treatment adherence.

 Considering the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and its rapid person-to-person transmission and the challenges it has brought about in dentistry, especially in intraoral radiography, following the established guidelines in prescribing radiographs is of great prominence.

 We aimed to evaluate the necessity of prescribed intraoral radiographs and to estimate the number of unnecessary prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted among 143 patients with a mean age of 29.36 ± 14.11 years who visited the Radiology Department of Shiraz Dental School during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. Information, including gender, age, systemic diseases, referring department, and type and urgency of radiography, was collected using a checklist. Chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test were run to assess the relationships between variables.

 Among all the patients referred to the Radiology Department, the endodontics and oral medicine departments accounted for the highest percentage of referrals. The relationship between the necessity of radiography prescriptions and dental departments was significant (P < 0.05). The lowest rate of unnecessary referrals was reported in the Department of Endodontics (13.3%), whereas the highest rate of unnecessary referrals was attributed to the aesthetic and restorative dentistry departments (73.3%). There was a significant association between dental department and the type of prescribed radiographs (extraoral/intraoral). The Orthodontics Department was the only department with more extraoral radiograph prescriptions than intraoral radiographs. One-third of the prescribed intraoral radiographs and half of the extraoral radiographs were unnecessary, with a significant difference during the pandemic (P = 0.019).

 Although there has been some success in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, this pandemic will not be easily eradicated. Therefore, it is crucial to follow the established guidelines and postpone unnecessary dental procedures to improve the safety of our community and the world in general.

 The control or reduction of anxiety before surgery is one of the most important components of preoperative care. The question is whether anxiety differs in male and female candidates for surgery.

 The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with Citrus aurantium on anxiety in men and women candidates for surgery.

 This single-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 60 patients and controlled by placebo. The patients were divided into 30 subjects in the control group and 30 subjects in the aromatherapy group (inhaling C. aurantium essential oil). The patients completed the Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory before and after the intervention. After collecting information, the questionnaire information was analyzed using SPSS software (version 16).

 After aromatherapy, 20% of men had mild state and trait anxiety. Moreover, 80% of men had relatively mild state and trait anxiety. In the group of women, 20% of the cases had mild state and trait anxiety. Furthermore, 73.3% of women had relatively mild state and trait anxiety. Additionally, 6.7% of women had relatively severe anxiety. Anxiety reduced after the intervention among men and women (P < 0.001). In addition, the severity of anxiety among women in the control group increased after placebo intervention (P < 0.05). Moreover, the effect of C. aurantium aroma was further observed in women than men; however, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).

 The results of this study indicated that inhaling the C. aurantium aroma reduces anxiety in patients. Aromatherapy also has the potential to be replaced by chemical drugs due to fewer side effects and risks, and cost-effectiveness.

 Height is an important factor for medical, nutrition, and forensic sciences; nevertheless, measuring proves to be a challenging task in some cases. In this respect, an alternative immediate, accurate, and possible anthropometric evaluation is needed.

 This study was set to find a proper formula to estimate height from the lengths of the ulna and tibia in Iranian adults.

 A total of 500 healthy males and females aged 20-40 years were randomly selected from the volunteers’ pool for this cross-sectional study. Ulna and tibia lengths and standing heights were measured according to standard protocols. Ulna and tibia lengths were applied to find a reliable equation to predict stature accurately. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS version 17 using regression, curve estimation, and linear model.

 The mean (SD) heights of male and female participants were 176.45 (11.98) cm and 161.29 (10.11) cm, respectively, while the right and left ulna and the right and left tibia were 29.05 (1.63) cm, 29.03 (1.44) cm, 38.86 (1.33) cm, and 38.88 (1.25) cm, respectively. The correlation coefficients of r2 = 0.80 and r2 = 0.69 for males and females participants’ right ulna, respectively, showed a significant correlation with height. Hence, the new formula provided reliable results for stature estimation for northern Iran subgroups.

 Equations based based on right ulna length are more reliable and accurate for height prediction in both genders. It should be considered that these equations could be different among ethnically diverse populations, even in the northern Iranian population.

 The awareness of people’s health knowledge and behavior on COVID-19 has helped education and health promotion policies, and examination of people’s opinions on governance measures against this disease will guide policymakers in making more decisions and responsiveness.

 This study aimed to investigate people’s knowledge and behaviors toward COVID-19 and their views on adopted public policies against this disease in Maragheh, a city in the Northwest of Iran.

 This study was a cross-sectional, analytical study that was done in urban areas of Maragheh from 13 November to 20 December 2020. The sample size was estimated at 672 participants, and the sampling method was stratified random. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire that consisted of four sections: demographic information, health behaviors, respondent’s knowledge of COVID-19, and their viewpoints on adopted public policies against this disease and was shared online. The one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used to analyze data with SPSS version 23.

 The mean scores of people’s knowledge (6.42 ± 1.2) out of 9 and health behaviors (34.8 ± 3.9) of 36 were moderate. The majority of respondents had high levels of knowledge and also behavior about keeping the physical distance (98.5%) and proper handwashing (97.9%). Knowledge (β = 0.23) and male (β = -0.27) were the predictors of health behaviors (p < 0.001, F = 12.47). The investigation of myths on COVID-19 indicated that 17% and 41.1% of the respondents believed that alcohol consumption and using garlic and herbal drinks are effective in the prevention and 57.7% of them believed that holding the breath for 10 seconds is a sign of being healthy. People’s views on the COVID-19 control policies were assessed to be at the medium level (48.2 ± 7.5) of 65. The most effective policies against COVID-19 from the people’s opinions consisted of lockdown policies (96.4%), schools’ closure (95.9%), and constraints on intercity trips (91.3%).

 It seems necessary to strengthen measures on health knowledge promotion and implementation of health education interventions on protective behaviors of COVID-19 in such a way that right beliefs are replaced with wrong ones. Based on positive public opinions on Lockdown interventions, re-applying these policies is recommended to get the cities out of the high-risk situation.

 Along with increasing population of the elderly in various countries, the incidence of falls and respective damages has also increased.

 Given the numerous disagreements regarding the effectiveness of different interventions mentioned in various sources, the present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Stepping-On fall preventive program on the quality of life, fear of fall, and fall-preventive behaviors among community-dwelling older adults in Shiraz, Iran.

 This study is a single-blinded randomized interventional or clinical trial study conducted on 90 elderly people under the coverage of two large health centers during 2019 - 2020 in Shiraz, Iran. Multi-stage randomized sampling was used to select the participants who were randomly allocated to either of the intervention (n = 45) or control groups (n = 45). Data collection tools were the fall efficiency scale, fall prevention behaviors, and Lipad quality of life questionnaires. The intervention group participated in a 7-session Stepping-On program, while the control group received the same routine care. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS software version 22.

 The findings indicated that the Stepping-On program was effective on the fear of falling scores (P = 0.008) and the quality of life of the elderly under study (P = 0.019) at follow-up time. However, there was no significant difference immediately after the intervention (P > 0.05). However, the mean score of fall-preventing behaviors increased during the course of the study and reached a significant level immediately after the study was conducted (P = 0.046) and the other two months later (P = 0.028).

 The Stepping-On program may apparently affect the study variables. Therefore, further research is suggested to confirm the effectiveness of this program so that it can be used across all healthcare centers for the elderly.

 Measuring healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) regarding isolation precaution is essential for infection control which needs a valid and reliable instrument.

 This study aimed to assess differential item functioning (DIF) across gender and major for the knowledge and practice items of the questionnaire, previously designed in Shiraz, Iran.

 This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1070 participants (males/females: 306/764; medical students/nurses: 466/624). The study instrument had three subscales with nine questions for each KAP subscale. The Mantel-Haenszel (MH) statistic was used. The DIF and differential test functioning (DTF) analyses were also performed in this study.

 There were very similar DIF outcomes for the knowledge and practice subscales, with one or two items indicating moderate DIF but comparable total scores across genders. Across majors, several items showed large DIF for both subscales. It was found that large DTF affects major for both subscales.

 Our findings indicated large DIF and DTF levels of the questionnaire among medical students and nursing groups. More attention should be paid when developing the items. This study shows the importance of paying attention to valid evidence for instruments developed within the field of healthcare.