Shiraz Emedical Journal
Volume:16 Issue: 6, Jun 2015

Hypocalcemia is a common neonatal abnormality particularly in high-risk neonates. Hypocalcaemic neonates with early diagnosis recover after a period of treatment with calcium.. In this study we aimed to determine the frequency of early and late hypocalcemia, as well as the influence of some relating factors..Patients and One hundred neonates with early or late hypocalcemia (hospitalized in Aliasghar Hospital of Tehran, Iran, during 2011) were enrolled. The required information was extracted from medical records. The frequency of each hypocalcemia type and relating factors were assessed.. Amongst all subjects, 63% had early and 37% had late hypocalcemia. We found significant associations between early or late hypocalcemia with Apgar score of < 5 and prematurity (P < 0.05).. Calcium supplemented food could prevent hypocalcemia complications in high-risk neonates..

In recent years, acupuncture has attracted much attention as a complementary therapy in the management of chronic neck pain, but the definite effect of this method has not yet been proven in reducing pain and improving function.. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of acupuncture plus dry needling in relieving chronic neck pain and its lasting effects for up to 3 months after treatment..Patients and Thirty-eight patients with chronic neck pain were included in this study. Each patient received 10 minutes of acupuncture in two forms (acupoints and trigger point needling), twice a week for 6 weeks. The acupoints were GB20, GB21, BL10, BL12, BL 18, DU14, SI11, and SI13. Simultaneously, trigger points in trapezius muscles also took needle. The neck disability index (NDI) and neck pain and disability scale (NPDS) questionnaires were completed by the patients before performing intervention and again at 6 weeks and 3 months after the intervention, and the obtained data were statistically analyzed.. Mean NPDS score upon admission was 56.3 ± 16.1, which dropped to 20.9 ± 19.4 at the end of 6 weeks of treatment (P < 0.001). At the end of 3 months, the score reached 20.3 ± 26.6; although recovery was significant compared to the start of treatment, it was not significant compared to the end of 6 weeks (P = 0.84). Mean NDI score at pre-intervention was 20.3 ± 7.5, which reduced to 7.3 ± 6.7 after 6 weeks of treatment (P < 0.001). After 3 months, it decreased to 5.9 ± 8.4; and although recovery was significant (P < 0.001) compared to the time of admission, it was not statistically significant compared to the end of 6 weeks of treatment (P = 0.27).. Acupuncture plus dry needling is an effective short- as well as mid-term treatment method for chronic neck pain. The result of this study seems to be the cornerstone of further researches, which evaluate the new effective treatments for chronic neck pain..

Tinnitus is defined as sensation of sound without any external sources, caused by defects in peripheral auditory system. Associated with hearing loss, tinnitus is produced due to changes in central nervous system in response to peripheral pathology.. Therefore, tinnitus can be totally or partially eliminated if the peripheral lesion and the consequent hearing loss are recovered by tympanoplasty..Patients and This clinical trial was conducted on 28 patients with chronic otitis media and tinnitus who opted for tympanoplasty. Pure tone audiometry, pitch match test, and loudness balance test were performed for the patients before and three months after the operation.. Postoperation tests demonstrated tinnitus elimination in 22 cases (78.5%) along with partial improvement in tinnitus intensity in five cases (17.8%). The difference between preoperative and postoperative tests was statistically significant (P = 0.023). Graft success rate was 96.4% and hearing improvement was seen in 85.7%.. This study offered tympanoplasty as an effective procedure to control tinnitus in patients with chronic otitis media and revealed its positive effects on hearing improvement..

Pathophysiology of preeclampsia has remained unknown. Excessive maternal systemic inflammatory response to pregnancy along with systemic oxidative stress is one of the underlying theories. Extracellular HSP70 produced from stressed and damaged cells may be involved in the elaboration of maternal systemic inflammatory response.. In this regard, we investigated the circulating levels of 70-kiloDalton heat shock protein (Hsp70) in patients with preeclampsia, as well as healthy pregnant women..Patients and The study performed during a 6-month-period in Zeinabieh Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. We recruited 31 patients with preeclampsia and 31 healthy normotensive pregnant controls (age and ethnicity matched). The serum levels of Hsp70 were measured in all patients and controls and the values were compared between groups. We also compared Hsp70 levels between severe and mild preeclampsia cases.. The mean age of the patients was 27.5 ± 6.3 (range 21 - 42) years, which was comparable to control group 27.7 ± 7.2 (range 19 - 45) years (P = 0.925). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in those with preeclampsia compared to healthy controls (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the two study groups regarding the circulating levels of Hsp70 (P = 0.310). We found that the systolic blood pressure was positively associated with gestational age in those with preeclampsia (r = 0.397, P = 0.027). However, there was no correlation between circulating levels of Hsp70 and baseline characteristics as well as blood pressure parameters.. Circulating levels of Hsp70 are not associated with preeclampsia and increased blood pressure in pregnancy. Further studies on the role of heat shock proteins in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension is recommended..

Issues related to distribution of health resources are a persistent policy concern worldwide. The current study aimed to examine inequality in distribution of physicians and hospital beds in Iran between 2001 and 2011.. The aim of this study was examination of the status of access and need to physicians and hospital beds across provinces of Iran between 2001 and 2011..Patients and This was a descriptive and analytical study, which investigated inequality in distribution of physicians and hospital beds among provinces of Iran between 2001 and 2011. Inequality measures (including Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, Concentration index and Robin Hood index) were used to evaluate the level of inequality in distribution of physicians and hospital beds. The number of hospitalized patients was also considered as health need index. Data about the number of physicians, hospital beds and number of hospitalized patients were obtained from the Iranian Statistical Center and Ministry of Health. The data analysis was performed by STATA V.12 and Excel Software.. The Gini coefficient for physicians based on population level and health need index in 2001 (2011) were 0.19 (0.16) and 0.48 (0.47), respectively. Moreover, the Gini coefficient for hospital beds based on population level and health need index in 2001 (2011) were 0.16 (0.13) and 0.38 (0.37), respectively. The concentration and Robin Hood indexes for physicians were -0.11 and 14% in 2001, while they were -0.13 and 11% in 2011, respectively. In addition, the concentration and Robin Hood indexes for hospital beds in 2001 were -0.11 and 7 %, while were -0.10 and 5% in 2011, respectively.. Although the total number of physicians and hospital beds increased from 2001 to 2011, but did not necessarily lead to more equal geographical distribution of physicians and hospital beds. Moreover, our study implied that the health resources in Iran have been distributed according to the population level..