Journal of Birjand University of Medical Sciences
Year:2011 | Volume:18 | Issue:1 (46)|Papers Count:11

Background and Aim: Green tea has numerous antioxidant and anti-inflammation activities. This study was preformed to investigate the effect of alcoholic extract of green tea on healing process of surgical and burn wounds.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 34 male Wistar rats were divided into surgical wound (4 cm) and burn wound (2.8 cm) groups. In each group, 6 rats were treated with the Vaseline ointment containing 0.6% green tea extract (A 1 and A 2 groups), 6 rats were treated with Vaseline without green tea extract (B 1 and B 2 groups) and 5 rats were treated with normal saline (C 1 and C 2 groups) within 21 days. The length and the area of wounds were measured by a Collis every other day, from day 2 to day 21. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS (version16) at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The mean time of wound healing using ointment with and without extract were 14.66±1.94 and 20.66±0.37 days (P=0.018) in surgical wounds and 18±0.62 and 20.66±0.38 days (P=0.023) in burn wounds, respectively.The reduction of surgical wound length during the first 2 weeks (P=0.043) and the reduction of burn wound area in the third week of study (P<0.013) were significantly higher in the groups treated with green tea.Conclusion: Green tea extract, that significantly reduced the healing time of surgical and burn wounds in this study, can be used as an effective material in the treatment of these types of wounds.

Background and Aim: Infertility and the attitude about it, lead to emotional disturbance in couple life.Researchers reported impulsive behavior, depression helplessness, anxiety and negative self belief in infertile persons.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of infertility in sex disorder and couple abuse in married women in Jahrom.Materials and Methods: Among the women who were referred to the gynecology clinic in May and June 2009, 200 cases were randomly selected (100 fertile and 100 infertile women according to gynecologist diagnosis).After obtaining informed consent, all subjects responded to the family violence and sexual satisfaction& disorders questionnaires. Data analysis were done by means of SPSS (version 11.5) and statistical methods of independent Student t-test, Pearson correlation and ANOVA at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The rate of received mental, physical and economical violence in infertile women was significantly higher than fertile ones (P<0.001, 0.002 and P<0.001, respectively). There was no statistical significant relationship between type of couple abuse and sexual disorder in infertile couples.Significant interaction effect between education of women and the rate of couple abuse was not observed in fertile and infertile groups.Conclusion: Infertility, as one of the stressors, may affect couple lives in different aspects; it can causes husbands violence upon their infertile housewife and leads to disturbances in interpersonal relationships.

Background and Aim: Mental image of body is the image and feeling of a person from size and form of his own body and its constituent elements in the mind. The purpose of this study was to investigate the disturbances in mental image of the body in patients with major depression disorder (MDD) and comparison with non-depressed persons, using draw-a-person test.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 30 patients with MDD, admitted in psychiatric ward of Hamadan Farshchian hospital, were selected randomly. Thirty non-depressed persons, whom the demographic characteristics such as sex, age, academic education and marital status were matched with the case group, were selected as control group. All the subjects were assessed by structured psychiatric interview and toy-man test (draw-a-person) with McHover method. The data were analyzed by means of SPSS version 16 at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The comparison of the drawings was indicative of higher incidence of deleting & misplacing of organs, nonstandard dimensions, deformity of the image, false proportion of organs, using geometrical figures for drawing and false positioning of the image in the case group comparing with the controls (P<0.01 for all). No significant difference was observed between the two groups, regarding the picture transparency.Conclusion: The disturbance of mental image of a MDD patient about the shape of his own body may indicative of the changes in the cortical and perceptual processes of brain.

Background and Aim: Coagulopathy is a common phenomenon in brain trauma that affects the prognosis of the patients. This study aimed at evaluating the coagulation markers and its association with prognosis in patients with brain injury.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 42 patients with head trauma with GCS 10 in Imam Reza Hospital of Birjand in 2006. Coagulation indices including PT, PTT, INR and platelet count were measured in all patients at the day 1 and 4 of admission. A score of zero was considered for the normal range of each marker and one for abnormal results. Total score was considered as the score of coagulopathy disorder. The changes in the consciousness level (GCS) and the outcome of the patients were recorded.Data were analyzed by means of SPSS version 11.5 and Fisher test at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The most common observed coagulopathy in the day 1 and 4 was abnormal PT. Statistic analysis revealed significant association between the coagulopathy score in the fourth day and GCS changes in patients (P=0.04). Moreover, a significant association was observed between the coagulopathy score changes and the mortality of the patients (P=0.03).Conclusion: This study showed that the brain injury significantly affects the coagulation state and prognosis.Early detection of these changes may affect the outcome of the patients.

Background and Aim: Due to the role of spreading infections in hospitals, drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriers have always been considered. Clindamycin is one of the effective drugs against the bacteria, but some isolates have acquired induced resistance. This study was preformed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of resistant isolates in nasal carriers of hospital origin, in Imam Reza Hospital, as the largest hospital in Kermanshah province.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on the patients which their nasal samples were positive for Staphylococcus aureus after hospitalization, in the year 2009. Sensitivity of the isolates to erythromycin and clindamycin was determined. Induced, constitutive resistance and MS phenotype were evaluated by D-test. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS version 16 and chi-square test at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: Among 1269 admitted patients, 210 (16.5%) were hospital acquired-nasal carriers for the bacteria.The frequency of resistant isolates to erythromycin and clindamycin was 41.5% and 23.3%, respectively.The induced, constitutive and MS phenotype were 10%, 23.3% and 8.6% of isolates, respectively. A significant difference between MRSA (19.5%) and MSSA (3.9%) isolates with induced resistance was seen (P=0.001).Conclusion: Carrier patients of the resistant variants of Staphylococcus aureus are always a serious threat to their own health and others. Regarding the frequency of induced resistance to clindamycin, screening Staphylococcus aureus isolates in this regard, seems to be essential.

Background and Aim: Pityriasis versicolor is a common chronic recurrent fungal infection of skin, that several environmental factors are implicated in its creation. The present study was aimed to determine the relative frequency of pityriasis versicolor and its risk factors in girl's high schools of Birjand city in 2009.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1970 female students were selected with multi-stage cluster sampling method. A self-made questionnaire based on the objectives of the study was completed for all subjects. Diagnosis was made by physical examination and confirmed by laboratory methods. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS (version 11.5) at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The relative frequency of pityriasis versicolor in girl's high schools of Birjand city was 2.7%. The highest infection rate was in the 16-18 year group (86%). The most affected area of the body was neck (43.4%) and the lowest involvement (1.9%) was in arms. Among the studied risk factors, family history (P=0.002) and a history of previous infection (P<0.001) had a significant association with pityriasis versicolor; but not with the age and the number of baths per week.Conclusion: Regarding the frequency of pityriasis versicolor among female students of Birjand's high schools and the effect of some predisposing factors, referring to the dermatologist and training the families about this disease is recommended.

Background and Aim: The occupational pesticide poisonings in farmers is one of the main health problems in developing countries. Increasing farmers' knowledge is particularly important in prevention. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge of South Khorasan farmers' regarding occupational poisoning in 2009.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 818 farmers of cites of the province were selected by cluster sampling method. For all subjects, a questionnaire including demographic information, the knowledge rate of precaution tasks (prevention), personal protective equipments and symptoms and complications of occupational poisoning, was completed through interview. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 11.5 and appropriate statistical tests at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: Among the selected farmers for this study, 802 persons (98.04%) were males and 16 persons (1.96%) were females. Mean age and work experience of them were 50.7±14.7 and 29±15.8 years, respectively.The mean score of knowledge of precautionary tasks was 14.62±2.07 protective equipments was 4.94±1.78 out of 7 and knowledge of the symptoms of poisoning was 7.9±4.02 out of 16. A significant relationship was found between the score of knowledge of precautionary tasks with education level (P=0.003), age (P=0.002) and location (P<0.001). Comparison of this score with sex and the work experience showed no significant relationship (P>0.05).Conclusion: Improving health knowledge of farmers about the hazards of banned pesticides, personal protective equipments and environmental compliance issues through appropriate training programs is necessary.Also implementation of appropriate pesticide spraying devices by relevant governmental agencies is recommended.

Background and Aim: Nowadays, the relationship between spirituality and general health has been of interest to psychologists. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between meaning of life and general health based on Frankles Logotherapy theory.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 240 out of 404 employees of Birjand University were selected through cluster random sampling. The research instrument consists of purpose in life (PIL) and general health (GHQ) questionnaires. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS (version 11.0) using Spearman correlation test and ANOVA at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The mean score of purpose in life and general health was 78/13±10/94 and 45/88±9/59, respectively.A significant correlation was observed between score of purpose in life and general health and its components including physical symptoms, anxiety and sleep disorders, social function and depressive symptoms (P<0.001). The highest correlation coefficient, was observed between purpose in life and depression (r=0/53). There was no significant association between score of purpose in life and gender, education level, age, marital status or type of staff employed.Conclusion: Having a purpose in life ensure the general health of individuals and a healthy functioning in the society. The highest correlation between the purpose of life and less depression emphasizes the importance of objective of life irrespective of factors such as gender, educational level, age, marital status and type of employment.

Background and Aim: In areas with low amounts of rainfall such as Iran, it is very important to avoid contamination of groundwater resources. One of the major causes of water pollution is excessive amounts of heavy metals that may induce various diseases and even cancer. This study was aimed to determine the concentrations of chromium and copper in the in the ground water and drinking water network of Birnajd in 2009-2010.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, a census sampling of drinking water wells (28 samples) and distribution network (39 samples) of Birjand was preformed. The samples were analyzed by an atomic absorption apparatus and standard method. Data analysis was done by means of SPSS (version 15) at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The mean amount of copper in the samples of well and distribution network was 0.0046±0.87 and zero, and chromium was 0.0916±0.12 and 0.0514±0.02 mg/L, respectively. Based on Standard NO 1053 of ISIRI regarding the specification of drinking water, the amount of copper in all samples were in desirable range (<0.05 mg/L). Chromium level was desirable only in 2 samples (7.1%) of the wells (0 mg/L), 19 samples (67.9%) of wells and 20 samples (51.3%) of the distribution network of the city were unallowable regarding the chromium level (>0.05 mg/L).Conclusion: Despite the normal level of copper, chromium contamination of drinking water in Birjand is dangerous.Regarding the environmental conditions, this contamination is likely to have geological origin that needs further studies and strategies to eliminate it.