Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care
Volume:7 Issue: 2, Apr 2018

Context: Pruritus in hemodialysis patients is one of the most common disturbing symptoms in patients with chronic renal failure. Non-pharmacological treatments can be useful in reducing patients’ pruritus, however, few reviews have been published in this regard. The aim of this study was to provide non-pharmacological treatments for hemodialysis patients.
Evidence Acquisition: The review study was conducted by searching electronic databases and search engines since 1990 to October 2017. The articles were included in the study that examined the effects of non-pharmacological treatments on pruritus in hemodialysis patients.
A total of 13 studies on non-pharmacological treatments affecting pruritus were reviewed. These treatments included phototherapy, aromatherapy, high flux dialyzer, acupressure, and cold dialysis. A review of studies has shown that phototherapy is not effective in treating the hemodialysis patients’ pruritus. High flux dialyzer had the most effect in reducing pruritus. Other non-pharmacological treatments such as aromatherapy, acupressure, and cold dialysis also had an effect on pruritus relief.
Finally, it can be concluded that high flux dialyzer is an effective non-pharmacological way to control pruritus during hemodialysis. However, little studies have been done on therapies such as acupressure and cold dialysis. A repeat of these studies with a larger sample size are recommended.

There is few evidence about the effect of almond oil on uremic pruritus.
The study aimed at examining the effect of topical application of sweet almond oil on itchy quality of life (QoL) in patients with uremic pruritus.
The current randomized, controlled, clinical trial was conducted on 42 patients referring to hemodialysis unit of Shahid Beheshti Hospital affiliated to Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran. The samples were selected based on the inclusion criteria and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, 7 - 10 mL of sweet almond oil was locally applied on the areas of pruritus once a day for two weeks. Pruritus-specific QoL instrument was used to data collection at three times as pre-intervention, and end of the first and second weeks of intervention. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics with 95% confidence interval (CI).
Repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the mean score of itchyQoL between two groups before and after the intervention (P = 0.001). Intragroup comparison showed significant changes (P = 0.001) from baseline measure (50.3 ± 16.7) by the mean score of itchyQoL at the end of the first (41.7 ± 18.7) and second weeks (31.7 ± 8.9) of applying sweet almond oil in the intervention group.
In the current study, topical application of sweet almond oil significantly improved itchyQoL in patients with uremic pruritus.

Hemophilia is a chronic bleeding disorder that creates numerous difficulties in various aspects of patients’ lives. This study aimed at examining the predictive effect of life expectancy on quality of life and mental suffering among patients with hemophilia.
In this descriptive-correlational study, using the convenience sampling method, 70 patients were selected among all patients with hemophilia referred to Afzalipour hospital of Kerman and the Zahedan hemophilia society, in 2016. The variables were assessed using the life expectancy questionnaire (Hallajian, 2010), quality of life inventory (Ware and Sherbourne, 1992), and perception of suffering scale (Schulz et al., 2010). The data were analyzed using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and simple regression analysis.
The results indicated that the triple dimensions of mental suffering were significantly and negatively correlated with life expectancy. Additionally, among all the dimensions of quality of life, vitality and fatigue, emotional health, and social functioning were significantly and positively related to life expectancy. The results of the regression analysis revealed that life expectancy was able to predict emotional health, social functioning, and vitality and fatigue. In addition, life expectancy was able to significantly and negatively predict the triple dimensions of mental suffering.
According to the obtained results, it could be inferred that life expectancy significantly influences mental suffering and quality of life among patients with hemophilia and it can be applied as a method for decreasing these patients’ mental suffering and promoting their quality of life.

Patients on hemodialysis are at a high-risk for acquiring blood-borne infections, such as hepatitis G, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B viruses. The aim of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of HGV infection among patients on hemodialysis and its co-infection with hepatitis C and B viruses in Ahvaz.
Blood samples were collected from patients on hemodialysis during January to July, 2016. RNAs were extracted from sera and cDNA was prepared using the kit. The nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of positive samples were carried out to determine hepatitis G virus genotypes. In addition, to evaluate the co-infection of HGV with hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infections, the sera of all the individuals were tested for hepatitis C virus antibody and HBs-Ag by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay.
The HGV RNA was found in 10% of the patients with dominant genotype 2a. About 2% of the patients on hemodialysis were co-infected with hepatitis C virus while 1% of them was co-infected with hepatitis B virus. The statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant correlation (P The present study showed that patients, who used the hemodialysis devices in this city, were infected with Hepatitis G, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses. The data indicates that duration of dialysis is significantly related to infection of Hepatitis G virus. Therefore, it is critical to control the sterility of these equipment for intercepting cross-infectivity.

Controlling bleeding after angiography is very important and vital. Hemorrhage occurs due to ineffective local hemostasis and hemostatic factors play an important role in controlling it. This study was performed to compare the ChitoHem powder and sand bag in controlling bleeding after femoral angiography.
This clinical trial study was performed randomly on 136 patients undergoing angiography in 2 groups of sand bag and ChitoHem. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire collected by interview, patient records, and checklist, which is documented in clinical information. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods using SPSS software.
The mean time of homeostasis, bed rest time, and amount of bleeding in the sand bag group compared to ChitoHem group was significantly different in terms of statistics (p = 0.00), in the way that the post - angiography complications in ChitoHem are less than sand bags.
The results showed that ChitoHem powder had a significant positive effect on controlling bleeding and reduces the time of anesthesia homeostasis; therefore, its use is suggested after coronary angiography.

There is an intrinsic need for human beings to have children. Depression is a predictable complication in infertile females. However, its dimensions need more consideration and investigation.
This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and severity of depression and factors affecting it among infertile females.
The study was a descriptive-analytical and cross sectional research. The sample included 385 infertile females. The instrument included Beck’s depression inventory and participants’ demographic information. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS through running Pearson and Spearman correlation tests, and presenting descriptive statistics. The data analysis was conducted at the 0.05 level of significance.
The average age was 31, 77.1% of the participants had primary infertility; the average time of infertility was 6.8 years. Overall, 24.2% of cases had no evidence of depression, 39% showed symptoms of mild depression, 25.2% had moderate depression, and 11.7% were shown to be severely depressed. That is, 75.8% of them had mild to severe depression. Depression was significantly correlated with age, educational level, job status, and infertility.
Due to the high prevalence of depression in females and considering the effects of depression on various dimensions of quality of life among couples, it is necessary to manage this phenomenon in a specialized way. Monitoring and paying attention to this problem in relation to the cause of infertility and different groups in terms of age, education, and occupation among females is suggested.

Investigating how fasting affects the hunger-fullness cycle, changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and percentage of fat from a weight regulatory perspective is of utmost importance.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of fasting on appetite-regulating hormones in thin and obese females.
In this quasi-experimental research, 25 thin and obese females, whose age ranged from 30 to 45 years were selected through the purposive convenient method. They were divided in terms of their BMI to 2 groups of thin (n = 13) and obese (n = 12) individuals. Their serum concentration of ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) was then measured in both groups in 4 stages: 3 days prior to the fasting month, in 14 and 28 days of fasting, and 2 weeks after the fasting intervention. The collected data were then statistically analyzed via repeated-measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P The mean serum concentration of ghrelin in obese and thin females in the pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention time series were, respectively, 109 to 119 and 142 to 192 ng/mL. Within-group differences were not statistically significant (P The present findings revealed that fasting had no effect on the hunger-fullness cycle and that significant reduction in weight, BMI, and percentage of fat during fasting were independent of hormone changes.

Smoking is known to be the main risk factor in systemic inflammation and insulin resistance.
In the present study, the researchers aimed at comparing serum interleukin 6 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine between smokers and non-smokers and determining acute and recovery response of IL-6 to a single bout aerobic exercise in 2 groups.
For this purpose, 15 adult male non-trained smokers (n = 15) and non-smokers (n = 15) matched for age (35.5 ± 5.8 years) and body mass index (BMI) (31.30 ± 4.5 kg/m2) were selected to participate in this study. Subjects of the 2 groups completed aerobic exercise consisting of 40 minutes of running on a flat surface with no slope at 70%maximal heart rate. Venous blood samples were collected before, immediately, 60 minutes and 24 hours after the exercise test of the 2 groups. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures in each group.
Based on statistical data, serum Interleukin (IL)-6 level in smoker subjects was significantly higher than non-smokers at baseline. A significant increase was observed in serum IL-6, immediately after exercise test in smokers yet remained unchanged in nonsmokers. Interleukin-6 concentration decreased 1 and 24 hours after exercise compared with baseline in the 2 groups.
Acute increase and recovery decrease in serum IL-6 response to exercise suggests an anti-inflammatory effect of moderate aerobic exercise on smokers.