Journal of Inflammatory Diseases
Volume:17 Issue: 2, 2013

Insulin is administered for glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients with secondary failure to oral antidiabetic drugs. Achieving good glycemic control requires a long time with relatively high insulin dose.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of treatment with insulin alone versus insulin plus sulfonylurea in type 2 diabetic patients.

In this randomized clinical trial, 45 patients with secondary failure to oral antidiabetic drugs who referred to Bou-Ali hospital during 2009-2010, were randomly allocated into two groups of insulin alone and insulin plus sulfonylurea. Fasting and postprandial blood sugar, insulin dose, and weight gain were measured monthly up to 3 months. Data were analyzed by T-test and Chi-square test.

A t the end of the first and the third month of the treatment, mean fasting blood sugar was 146.3 ±21.1 mg/dl and 126.9±10.2 mg/dl in combination therapy group and was 166.1 ± 28.7 mg/dl and 144.5 ± 20.9 mg/dl in insulin alone group, respectively (P =0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). Mean postprandial blood sugar in combination group was lower than insulin alone group at the end of the third month (P=0.009). The difference in mean insulin dose between 2 groups was statistically significant at the end of the third month (P<0.001).

With regard to the results, combination therapy with insulin plus sulfonylurea versus insulin alone would result in faster improvement of glycemic control and lower daily insulin dose.

Infertility treatment is important due to the high prevalence and destructive effects of psychological and social concerns of infertility. Intra Uterine Sperm Insemination (IUI) is a cost-effective and noninvasive treatment method of infertility. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between sperm count, sperm motility, women's age and IUI success. This analytical study was performed on 55 couples, with 63 treatment cycles, in Kosar infertility center, Qazvin during 2009-2010. Basic information on women's age and their husband’s occupation was obtained through questionnaires. Sperm count and sperm motility were determined according to the WHO criteria. Sperm were prepared by swim up method and were transferred to the uterus with a catheter. After two weeks, the pregnancy was confirmed by urinary β-HCG test. Data were analyzed by Chi-square and Fisher exact tests and P≤0.05 was considered significant. The success rate was 9.5 % per cycle of IUI. No s ignificant difference was seen between the mean age of women in both successful and unsuccessful IUI groups. The relationship between the mean number of spermatozoa, the mean percentage of sperm progressive motility in the semen and pregnancy was not statistically significant. With regard to the results, women's age and percentage of sperm progressive motility could not be used to predict the success rate of IUI, accurately.

The purpose of orthotics prescription for children with cerebral palsy (CP) is to affect body structure and to help their function. Dynamic orthotics is a new generation of orthotics in gait rehabilitation of children with CP. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of neoprene dynamic orthoses on motor function of children with spastic diplegic CP. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 16 children with spastic diplegic CP at University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, during 2010-11. Standard tests have been used for evaluating the walking speed and the gait variation in children. Muscle spasticity and knee range of motion were assessed by modified Ashworth’s scale and electro-goniometry. Data were analyzed by Kolmogorov Smirnov test and paired T-test. Knee joint angle, walking speed and gait variation were -18.31±4.61 (degree), -0.50±1.82 (m/s) and 4.18±1.51, respectively. The triceps surae muscle spasticity was 1.56±0.34. After application of the orthoses, the differences of walking speed and muscle spasticity were not significant but the differences of knee joint angle and gait variation were statistically significant (P <0.05). With regard to the results, Neoprene dynamic orthoses can improve the gait variation and knee joint kinematic but it is not effective on muscle spasticity and walking speed.

Nowadays, work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common problems in the workplaces.

The goal of this study was to assess the potential of musculoskeletal disorders in upper extremity among workers of an electronic company.

In this analytical study, 50 workers were selected by simple random sampling method from assembly line workers of a TV manufacturing company. Data were collected using the strain index (SI) method. Then, Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) was completed for every worker to determine the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders. With regards to the scoring factors in the strain index method, their jobs were categorized into safe and hazardous jobs and musculoskeletal risk factors were assessed. Data were analyzed by chi-square test.

According to the SI scoring method, 64% of cases in right hand and 42% of cases in left hand were hazardous. Most prevalent disorders were related to waist & shoulder (48%), wrist (32%), neck (28%) and back (24%), respectively. Chi-square test was performed between age, employment period, gender, job type and SI with the musculoskeletal disorders and only a significant association between age and shoulder pain was found (P<0.05).

This study showed that the frequency of the disorders especially in waist, shoulder, neck, back and unsafe cases in SI method is considerable. Developing an appropriate intervention would be effective in reducing these disorders.

The scientific development of communities is one of the factors affecting the Human Development Index (HDI). The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the human development index and the number of scientific articles of countries indexed in the ISI database. In this descriptive-analytical study, the human development index and the number of articles indexed in the ISI database during the past five years (2005-2010) were extracted from the internet resources for every country. The study population was consisted of all countries in four groups: more developed, less developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. A group of selected countries and two groups of countries based on oil revenue and non-oil revenue were also determined. Data were analyzed by pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS software. Trend analysis charts and Scatter diagrams were depicted using EXCEL software. scatter diagrams showed that with increasing number of scientific articles, the human development index is increasing in more developed countries. The trends in the less developed, developing and selected countries were decreasing, increasing and rapid decreasing, respectively. With regard to the results, increase in the human development index is dependent on factors other than scientific production. In the field of applied science, complete scientific cycle is not limited to the first chain (scientific production) and scientific progress must be effective in all components include technological development, economic growth and decreasing unemployment.

The requirement of regional planning is identification of developmental position of districts. One of the main and basic indicators of development is health and extent of people's utilization of health care services and facilities. The aim of this study was to rank West Azerbaijan districts regarding utilization of structural indices of health care. This analytical study was performed at West Azerbaijan districts in 2011. Data related to the indices (institutional, human resources and rural health) were collected from the province's statistical yearbook in 2008 and the population data of the districts were collected from documents of Iran's Statistics Center. Data were analyzed by Scalogram model and Excel software and maps were drawn by ArcGIS software. Mahabad district with 97 scores and Piranshahr district with 39 scores had highest and lowest extent of utilization of structural indices of health care, respectively. Totally, 42% of the districts were located in less developed and underdeveloped levels and only 21% of the districts were located in developed level. Among the structural indices of health care, the most development was related to the rural health indices and the lowest development was related to the institutional and human resources indices. There was a great difference among the districts of West Azerbaijan province in terms of utilization of structural indices of health care. It is suggested that the development-based planning should be implemented according to the development levels of these districts.

Mast cells are initiating immune response and acting as first line of host defense against bacterial and parasitic infection. They are known to play an important role in allergic reaction, local homeostasis, inflammation and angiogenesis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between mast cell count and chronic periodontitis.

This case-control study was conducted on subjects referred to dentistry centers in Qazvin from 2004 to 2005. Periodontal parameters including probing depth, clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing, gingival and plaque indices were measured. Gingival specimens from 20 moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis sites (case group) and 18 healthy/ gingivitis sites (control group) in routine periodontal surgeries (flap and crown lengthening) were prepared. The specimens were examined after toluidine-blue staining for mast cells and Hematoxylin and Eosin staining for histological assessment of the inflammation. Mast cell counting and inflammation grading was performed 3 times by 2 observers in 5 micron length sections, using light microscope at 100 and 400 magnifications. Data were analyzed by T - test and ANOVA.

Mast cell count were 34.5±23.1 in case group and 13±9.8 in control group and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). In small grades of pathologic inflammation, mast cell count were 42.2±33.2 in case group and 8.4+5.4 in control group and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.04) as well. There was no relationship in high grades of inflammation.

The present study indicates that mast cell numbers in chronic periodontitis sites are more than healthy or gingivitis sites. The results of this study suggest more studies to clarify the role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis and also to evaluate the dynamic aspects of host defense simultaneously with other aspects of immune system.

Breast cancer is one of the important epidemiological problems worldwide and is the most common cancer among women. Statistics indicate that the breast cancer was significantly increased from1940. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of breast cancer in Tabriz. In this epidemiological study, hospital and pathological documents of all patients admitted in Tabriz Hospitals were evaluated from March 2006 to September 2009. Patients with diagnosis of breast cancer were enrolled in the study. Data were analyzed by Chi-square and T-test using the statistical software SPSS-14. The results showed 1126 cases of breast cancer with a mean age of 47.13 ± 2.93 years (14- 92 years old). 1094 cases (97.15%) were female and 32 cases (2.75%) were male. Of the 1126 cases, 38.83% were in the left breast, 31.91% were in the right breast and 2.67% were bilateral. 33.26% of patients were in stage 1, 34.25% were in stage 2 and 7.9% were in stage 3. With regard to the results, t he highest prevalence of the breast cancer was among 46-50 years old women which was different from American, British, Golestan - Iran women and Kurdish women in northern Iraq.

Measuring nursing student's competencies in spiritual care and their development is important and the application of a reliable and valid instrument is recommended in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS) among nursing students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 nursing students in Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2011. Spiritual Care Competence Scale by Van Leeuwen et al, 2009 was translated into Persian and back-translated, then pilot study was performed to determine the cultural sensitivity. Construct validity was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency was estimated by Cronbach’s alpha and the average inter-item correlation. In addition, the test-retest reliability of the scale was determined in 20 subjects within two weeks. The order of the factors was entirely consistent with those extracted previously during the psychometric assessment of the English version of the scale. The cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.77 for the total scale and ranged from 0.65 to 0.85 for subscales. The inter-item correlations was statistically significant in all questions (P<0.05). The test-retest indicated that the translated scale and its subscales are reliable. Exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation yielded six factors with eigen values more than 1 that explained 63.18% of the variance. The subscales showed good homogeneity with average inter-item correlations more than 0.35 and a good test–retest reliability. The CFA of the six-factor model based on the EFA represented an acceptable fit. With regard to the results, the SCCS can be used for research, educational and practical purposes to assess paramedic's competency specially nurse's competencies qualified for spiritual care. The psychometric quality of the scale was satisfactory. Methodological limitations should be taken into account in any further development of the spiritual care competence scale.

In recent years the number of persons with mental disabilities has increased. Some of them are cared for in care centers and use the supportive services of welfare organization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of care centers for mentally disabled persons and their needs satisfaction by their caregivers. This descriptive study was conducted on 35 caregivers who were selected by nonrandom sampling method from 2 public and 1 charity care centers in Tehran, in 2003. Data were collected using a questionnaire and an observational standard checklist. In providing need for progress and success, identity, life philosophy and independency, 77%, 74.2%, 68.5% and 54.2% of caregivers were weak, respectively. They had good function in providing other needs like food and sleep. The care centers were not consistent with the standards in terms of facilities, staff and equipment. With regard to the results, more attention should be considered for mentally disabled persons’ needs of progress, identity and life philosophy.

Nowadays, the Internet is gradually occupying much of the daily life of people, especially young adults, and every year a large number of youth Internet addiction is reported. Internet addiction -a physiologic-psychological disorder including tolerance (higher consumption), withdrawal signs, academic failure, emotional disturbances and disruptions in social relationships- is increasing. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the internet addiction and academic achievement in high school students. In this analytical study, 400 second and third level high school students were selected by cluster random sampling method among 12,480 students in Kashan from September 2009 to June 2010. The internet addiction was measured by Young Internet Addiction Test (20-item questionnaire) and the academic achievement was measured by mean final scores. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test. There was a statistically significant relationship between the Internet addiction and the academic achievement. (P=0.01). The internet addiction was not significantly different between boys and girls. With regards to the results, the internet addiction can lead to academic failure. Education practitioners and principals should plan for training the proper use of the internet and prevention programs about its addiction.

The aim of this study was to assess the pain status of surgical patients before and after prescribing analgesia. In this quasi exprimental study, 206 patients with acute postoperative pain were selected from surgical wards of two teaching hospitals in Ahvaz by convenience sampling method. They were asked to rate their pain intensity by the numeric rating scale (NRS) and the verbal rating scale (VRS) immediately before and 1 hour after receiving the analgesia. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and paired T-test. On a NRS, 93% of the patients had severe and extreme pain during the first 24 hours of the surgery and before receiving analgesia, whereas 86% had mild pain during the third day after surgery and receiving analgesia. The mean pain intensity decreased from 4.69 on the first day to 0.87 on the third day after surgery that shows the effect of analgesia and timely prescription by nurses (P<0/ 001). In this study, a positive association was seen between the use of both verbal and numerical scales for assessing the pain and adequate pain relief after analgesia prescription.

This cross-sectional study was performed to assess the self-esteem in employees of faculties of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in 2010. All employees in faculties of medicine, nursing and midwifery, dentistry, Health and Paramedical sciences were entered the study by census method. The measurement tools included demographic information and Eysenck Self Esteem Scale. Results of this study indicated that approximately half of the employees in faculties of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences had low self-esteem.