مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال پانزدهم شماره 9 (پیاپی 116، آذر 1400)

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the common diseases between humans and animals that is considered as a health problem in Iran and many countries around the world. At present, glucantime is used to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Due to its high side effects and resistance, the use of alternative therapies, especially the use of plants and natural compounds, has been considered by researchers. The aim of this study was to investigate the antileishmania activity of methanolic extract of dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale) on Leishmania major in vitro.

In this experimental study, the extract was prepared by Soxhlet method and to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of dandelion root on L. major parasite at concentrations of 300-1200 mg / ml. Glucantime was considered as positive control and distilled water was considered as negative control. Then, 106 live parasites were added to all tubes and all groups were kept at 25 ±1 °C. At 24, 48 and 72 hours, the number of live parasites was counted by Trypan Blue using a neobar slide and light microscope (Hemocytometer method). Then the IC50 value for the above extract was calculated using SigmaPlot™ 13 software. It should be noted that all steps of the experiment were done triplicate and the results were considered as average.

The IC50 content of methanolic extract of dandelion root after 24, 48 and 72 hours on L. major was calculated to be 1.04, 0.9 and 0.68 mg / ml. The highest mortality (100%) was observed at a concentration of 1200 μg / ml after 72 hours of exposure.

Methanolic extract of dandelion root in different concentrations has an inhibitory effect on the growth of L. major and it is suggested that more and more complete studies be performed on the components of this plant and the lethal effect of the parasite in vivo.

The most of physical and mental changes occur in childhood, so paying attention to prevention from illnesses among children is from the  primary priorities. so that attention to the health status of these people is of particular importance, so we decided to determine the present study Implement the physical health of students in Qom city.

The present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was performed in 2016 on 400 students aged 5-7 years who were selected by simple random sampling from 13 schools in Qom city. Data collection tools were "Student Preliminary and Medical Assessment Form" which included weight, height, BMI, hearing and vision impairment and oral problems. Statistical data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. 

In the study of physical growth (height and weight), the average height and weight of girls and boys was lower than the average growth standard. On visual and auditory examination of all students, 1.6% had visual impairment in one or both eyes, 0.8% had impaired vision in one or both ears and 86.3% had tooth decay, in terms of pediculosis only 6.3% had pedicures and only 12% had poor nutritional status. 

According to the results of the present study, in general the state of physical health of students was unfavorable, so in addition to self-care programs, oral hygiene heeding, assessment of visual and auditory health, proper nutrition and exercise is also recommended.

Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone. Long-term use of antibiotics, including fluoroquinolone antibiotics, causes dystrophic changes in the ovaries. In this study, the effects of levofloxacin on the development of ovarian follicles and their apoptosis in the in vitro  and in vivo conditions of NMRI mice were investigated.

In the in vitro study, isolated ovaries of  animals were treated with levofloxacin at concentrations of 1, 2, 5, 10 µg/ml for 6 days and  in the in vivo study were treated with levofloxacin at concentrations of 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg. After 24 days, animals were sacrificed in the in vivo groups and ovary samples were obtained.H&E staining for histological studies also Real Time PCR techniques for study of expression rate of Bax and Bcl-2 genes were performed in both groups.

The results of the in vitro study showed that the dose of 2 μg/ml induced apoptosis in the monolayer primary follicles. Doses of 5 and 10 μg/ml increased the induction of apoptosis in the multilayer primary follicle. The number of secondary follicles at the 5 μg/ml dose had the most decrease. While at the dose of 10 μg/ml, the number of mature follicles had the most increase. As the antibiotic concentration increases, the expression of the Bax gene decreases and Bcl-2  gene increases significantly. The results of the in vitro study showed that the number of primary and secondary follicles decreased dose-dependently. The number of atretic follicles increased significantly with increasing dose. The expression of the Bax and Bcl-2  genes increased with increasing levofloxacin antibiotic concentration.

This study demonstrates that levofloxacin induces apoptosis in ovarian follicles.

Health literacy can affect the quality of life of the elderly due to its role in promoting appropriate decisions in the field of mental health. this study was conducted to investigate the correlation between health literacy and mental health and quality of life indicators of inactive elderly to Lahijan City in 2021.

In this descriptive-correlational study, 200 elderly people were selected from Lahijan city. Health Literacy Questionnaire (HELIA), Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire (GQH-28) and Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF-12) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by SPSS v.23 using Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (test K–S), T-Test, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical tests and pearson correlation coefficient were analyzed.

The results showed that the mean age of the elderly in the study was 64.9 years. The mean score of health literacy was 58.2 in terms of borderline health literacy, mental health 25.11 and quality of life 40.7 which were at the desired level and there was a statistically significant relationship between health literacy and mental health and quality of life indicators (P˂0.001).

Considering the relationship between health literacy and mental health and quality of life, it seems necessary to pay more attention to promoting health literacy in the elderly and planning to improve the effective factors in quality of life improvement programs.

The present study was conducted to investigate the status of performance indicators in hospitals affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences before and after the implementation of the transformation plan.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed longitudinally based on hospital data. The data collection tool was a checklist including general characteristics of hospitals and performance indicators. Data analysis was performed using Interrupted time series analysis (ITS) and Statistical software for data science (STATA) v.15. Chow test was used to determine the structural fractures in the studied time series.

Hospitals’ performance indicators were examined. In the first month after the intervention, bed rotation increased significantly by 1.148 (P<0.005). The trend of bed rotation after the intervention increased by 0.060 per month (P=0.032). In the first month after the intervention, the decrease or increase in the length of stay in different hospitals was not significant (P>0.005). The length of stay after the intervention increased by 0.170 per month. In the first month after the intervention, the decrease in bed occupancy percentage was 41% (P=0.005) which is significant. The trend of bed occupancy percentage after the intervention was more than 2% per month (P<0.005).

The transformation plan in the period before and after implementation in all studied hospitals has positive effects and has made changes in most performance indicators. This plan is especially beneficial for people who have fallen ill due to a lack of financial resources and have not been able to seek treatment.

The elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis are at higher risk for falling and its critical outcomes compared with their healthy counterparts. Falls can lead to the individual becoming fearful of experiencing subsequent falls. Yet little is known about the fear of falling in this high risk population. The present study aimed to assess the fear of falling and its contributing factors in the elderly patients with the history of falls undergoing hemodialysis, who referred to the hospitals in Tehran city in 2021.

 In this descriptive analytic cross sectional study, which was performed on 197 patients undergoing hemodialysis referring to Tehran city hospitals in 2021. Patients were selected with convenience sampling. The instruments for data collection was demographic characteristics scale, FES-I scales. Data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential tests and was shown via SPSS 21 software.

 Mean age of participants was 70.02 ± 8.12 years and (63.5%) were men. Mean time on hemodialysis was 29.03 ± 50.16 years. Mean Falls Efficacy Scale-International Score was 16.29 ± 8.24 points, which is consistent with a high fear of falling. There was consistency between adherence to fear of falling and demographic information (p < 0.05).

According to the results, the frequency of fear of falling in the elderly patients with the history of falls undergoing hemodialysis was significantly high.  In older hemodialysis patients, fear of falling is a likely contributor to the occurrence of falls. Future researches should explore reducing the fear of falling as a preventive factor for falls in elderly hemodialysis patients.

Surgery is always a great experience for the patient because surgery of any kind is a threat to the integrity of the body and life. This study was to evaluate the factors of anxiety and stress before surgery in patients who are candidates for spine surgery.

The present study is a descriptive study that was performed on 120 patients who were candidates for spine surgery in of Peymaniyeh Hospital in Jahrom City 2021. Data collection tools were theoretical questionnaire and colleagues. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.22 and descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and Pearson correlation coefficient.

The results showed that the highest level of anxiety was related to the area of preoperative anxiety (85.1)and in this area, the components of fear of surgery and not knowing the time of surgery (93.3%)and in the area of stressors in relation to Operating room staff for preoperative care also included the components of the patient being left alone until the start of surgery and the observation and encounter of strangers such as anesthesiologists and operating room nurses, causing the most anxiety (88.3%)in patients.

Based on the findings of this study, by identifying the factors affecting preoperative anxiety and eliminating them, the amount of preoperative anxiety can be minimized. Therefore, it is suggested to use various methods to educate patients to eliminate the factors affecting anxiety.