Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation and Health Studies
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Apr 2022

The present study aimed to assess the relationship between hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and serum magnesium concentration in patients with liver cirrhosis.

The study population consisted of 90 cirrhotic patients admitted to the internal ward of Shariati Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. The patients were divided into two groups: with or without HE. Demographic data, cirrhosis aetiology, plasma concentration of magnesium, model end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and Child-Pugh-Turcotte (CTP) class were recorded.

Thirty-one patients (34.4%) had hypomagnesaemia. Age and sex had no significant effects on plasma magnesium concentration (p-value = 0.134 and 0.212, respectively). The distribution of cirrhosis aetiologies was significantly different between patients with and without hypomagnesaemia (p-value = 0.005). Most patients with hypomagnesaemia were in groups B and C of Child Pugh (P = 0.027) and had a mean MELD score of 16.5 ± 5.8 versus 14.3 ± 5.4 in patients without hypomagnesaemia (p-value = 0.08). Hepatic encephalopathy was diagnosed in 45 (50.0%) of the patients. Mean serum levels of magnesium in patients with or without encephalopathy were 1.6 ± 0.2 and 1.9 ± 0.2 mEq/L, respectively (p-value < 0.001). There was no significant association between encephalopathy grade and serum magnesium concentration (p-value = 0.377).

We demonstrated a relatively high prevalence of hypomagnesaemia among cirrhotic patients with HE. Hypomagnesaemia was associated with the severity of liver cirrhosis based on the Child Pugh score. Prescription of magnesium supplements in cirrhotic patients may be helpful in preventing disease progression; however, further studies are needed.

The novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19), which spread rapidly and became a global pandemic, can cause respiratory failure, possibly requiring hospital stay or intensive care unit treatment. While COVID-19 primarily affects the respiratory system, evidence has shown that it may also affect other body organs such as the heart. Survivors of COVID-19 may develop physical, respiratory, cardiac, and psychological impairments as well as reduced quality of life. Also, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 remain unclear. Hence, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation should be started as soon as possible to alleviate dyspnea, preserve function, minimize disability, reduce complications, relieve anxiety, and improve quality of life. In this study, we summarized the current cardiopulmonary rehabilitation guidelines and protocols for patients with COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have destructive effects on patients’ mental health and quality of life (QoL).

This study aimed to assess the relationship between QoL and coping strategies in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

This cross sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed at Imam Reza Hospital in Tabriz City for 2 months. Seventy hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were recruited by convenience sampling. The patients completed the adapted version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). We indicated a critical value of 60 as the optimal cut-off point to assess perceived QoL. Also, low, moderate, and high coping strategies are dedicated to 0 - 66, 66 - 110, and > 110, respectively. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS version 21.

Seventy patients were enrolled, including 35 males and 35 females with a mean age of 39.69 ± 11.31 years. QoL’s social and physical dimensions had the highest and lowest mean scores (65.18 ± 18.99 and 41.40 ± 17.22, respectively). The results showed that 3 out of 5 dimensions had a mean score of < 60. Regarding CSQ, the mean scores of problem- and emotional-oriented coping strategies were 87.27 ± 15.45 and 85.05 ± 12.47, respectively. Most participants had moderate problem- and emotional-oriented coping strategies (85.5% and 92.8%, respectively).

The current study showed that the QoL score was less than 60 in most of the QoL dimensions in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, most of the participants used coping strategies moderately. Therefore, it is recommended to perform further studies to compare the impact of coping strategies on QoL in patients and the control group.

Globally, social networking sites are substantially used for indulgence, content, and interaction. Despite this, the worst impact of prolonged use of social networking sites has been associated with physical, mental, and long-term well-being. Its impact on medical students is a significant concern for many medical schools and administrators as users differ in purpose, preferences, and perceived usefulness.

This study aimed to examine the association of social networking sites’ preferences and motives with medical students’ mental well-being and academic performance.

The cross-sectional study was conducted on 167 medical students of King Faisal University for three months, from October 2020 to December 2020. Participant’s information related to demographics, usage of social networking sites, mental well-being, and academic grades were collected through online questionnaires with valid measures.

Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 21. Almost all medical students were browsing social networking sites daily (98.2%). The most frequently visited sites were WhatsApp (97.6%), followed by YouTube (86.8%), and Instagram (77.8%). It was revealed that 3rd-year students were significantly using Facebook, mainly for fun. Besides, significantly better mental well-being was reported among females’ incentives to use social networking sites to keep in touch with family, friends, and relatives. It was also found that females were significantly more of being Instagram users and Snapchat users than males and observed significantly more having excellent academic grades than males.

Our study suggests that students were motivated to connect with social networking sites for their various preferences or needs influenced by their beliefs, attitude, and plans.

Exercise training through various mechanisms leads to correct telomere homeostasis. The potential role of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to keep up the telomere length has not been recognized in skeletal muscle.

This study investigated the influence of eight weeks of HIIT with short-term interval (HIITSh) and long-term interval (HIITL), and four weeks of detraining on the regulation of some pathways maintaining telomere length in skeletal muscle.

Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into HIITSh, HIITL, and control groups. Rats were sacrificed after the end of the intervention (eight weeks of training and four weeks of detraining). Gastrocnemius muscle was collected, and telomerase activity, p53 protein, total oxidative status (TOS), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels were measured.

We found no change in telomerase activity, p53, TOS, and TAC levels in both HIIT groups compared to the control group (P > 0.05). In addition, the p53 level was higher in the detrained HIITSh group than the control group (P = 0.004), and the TOS level was higher in the detrained HIITSh group than both HIIT groups.

Short-term HIIT does not improve telomere length and some pathways contributing to maintaining telomere length in skeletal muscle. The training protocol’s duration is an essential factor in activating telomerase as a mechanism to keep up telomere length in skeletal muscle.

Today, self-care is referred to as a fundamental and irreplaceable principle for achieving optimal health outcomes. Undoubtedly, developing and implementing targeted and effective education programs is necessary to achieve adequate self-care in society concerning various diseases. Judging the effectiveness of health education and promotion programs is impossible without effective evaluation mechanisms that can measure the achievements at the levels of knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behavior with the desired accuracy and objectivity. Recently, a national program entitled "Each Home as a Health Post" (HAHP) was launched in Iran to improve the self-care capability among community members in high priority health issues. Hence, it is essential to establish a comprehensive and ongoing evaluation mechanism for the program, as well as to implement corrective and promotional interventions based on the evaluation results. Accordingly, this Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice (KAP) survey aimed to assess the impact of HAHP program on self-care among the community in the form of a study protocol.

To decrease diabetes prevalence, society will have to make efficient policies.

This study was done to raise public awareness by estimating the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Semnan province from 2015 to 2020 and predicting its incidence until 2025.

A Box-Jenkins time series analysis was used in this longitudinal study. The number of referrals with diabetes was estimated month by month from 2015 to 2020. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model parameters were determined using the Time Autocorrelation Function and Partial Autocorrelation Function graphs after using appropriate data transformation methods to create a stationary time series. Dickey-Fuller test was used to perform an accurate examination of the static assumption. ARIMA (3,1,4) was selected as the best fit for the data after analyzing the Akaike statistics of the proposed models. Finally, until 2025, the ARIMA (3,1,4) model projected the number of diabetic patients in Semnan province.

The total incidence of T2DM ranged by year was 75203 in 2015 and 165143 in 2020. The time series has an increasing trend, but there is no seasonal variation or periodic pattern. The data about the T2DM incidence indicated an upward trend. Furthermore, the number of T2DM patients is expected to reach 14546.35 (95% CI: 13667.88 - 15374.72) in 2021 and will reach 16956.45 (95% CI: 13499.26 - 19819.49) by the end of 2025.

This study reported an increasing trend in T2DM incidence, which necessitates a national commitment to proactive remedies, including public policies and economic incentives for localities to begin diabetes preventive initiatives.

Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a clinical disorder, in which the soft tissue of the shoulder joint becomes painful. Patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy experience pain when raising their arms or lying on the injured side.

This study examines the effectiveness of acupuncture in reducing pain and improving shoulder function in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy.

This study was a randomized clinical trial on 40 patients with unilateral rotator cuff tendinopathy, who were randomly divided into two groups: group A (n = 20) with treatment based on acupuncture, exercise, and meloxicam tablets, and group B (control group, n = 20) with treatment based on exercise and meloxicam tablets. For each patient, a questionnaire was used to record previous experiences of shoulder pain, neck pain, duration of shoulder pain, previous treatment, degree of general pain before the study and over the night using a visual analogue scale (VAS), shoulder function using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire, shoulder painful range of motion using a goniometer, and type of analgesic pill used in the last two weeks. Moreover, the intensity of pain, shoulder function, and the painful shoulder’s range of motion were also recorded after completing the treatment sessions and three months after the treatment.

Both methods reduced the pain index.; however, a more significant decrease was observed in the acupuncture method than in the meloxicam-taking method (P < 0.001). The two methods reduced the DASH index; however, there was a more significant decrease in the acupuncture method than in the control group (P < 0.001). According to the results, painful-arch-min improved in both groups; however, it had a more significant effect in the acupuncture group than the control group. Painful-arch-max also improved in both groups, and there was no significant difference between the two groups.

Considering the research findings, acupuncture can reduce pain and improve shoulder function in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Future studies are recommended to include a larger sample size.

Legionella is a fastidious Gram-negative bacterium that is responsible for Legionnaires’ disease. Legionella is a ubiquitous aquatic bacterium, especially in cooling systems. Several studies have investigated Legionella contamination in natural and man-made water resources. Legionella is resistant to chlorine and other disinfectants; thus, it is important to consider it in places where people with immunodeficiency are kept.

The aim of this study was to detect the Legionella pneumophila mip gene in clinical samples, kidney transplants, and dialysis wards by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

In this study, 156 samples were taken from the kidney transplant and dialysis wards. DNA extraction was done. After confirmation of primers, PCR was performed to amplify 16srRNA and mip genes. The PCR product was electrophoresed on agarose gel 1%.

Among the samples, 23 samples were infected with Legionella (14.7%), of which 7 samples were identified for the mip gene (4.5%) and 16 samples for 16srRNA (10.2%). The confirmation of the presence of these genes was done by sequencing. In serum, tissue, urine, hot water, and cold water samples were positive for the 16srRNA gene (7.5%, 26.66%, 7.14%, 20%, and 6.66%, respectively). Among these samples, 50% of tissue samples, 25% of urine, and 33.33% of hot water were positive for the mip gene.

The presence of L. pneumophila in aqueous samples of transplant and dialysis wards is important. Therefore, rapid detection of this bacterium or the mip gene by a molecular method can play an important role in reducing infection and transplant rejection.