Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Oct 2021

Osteoporosis and subsequent fractures increased mortality and disability. Along with this fact, the demand for diagnostic tests has also increased in recent years, which has created a heavy financial burden on the health system.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the compatibility of the indications of performing the bone density measurement in Arak city with the criteria of the international sociality of clinical densitometry (ISCD).

This cross-sectional study was performed from 2016 to 2017. Patients’ information was extracted from checklists recorded by a bone density measurement expert. Patients who lived in Arak and did not have an underlying condition that reduced the value of the bone mineral densitometry (BMD) test were studied. We collected the information of the patients who had undergone a bone density test at the discretion of their physician.

Here, 816 out of 1,354 bone density tests, requested by non-rheumatologists, were abnormal, and 538 were normal. In the abnormal group, 800 (98%) cases had ISCD indications for BMD application, and only 16 (2%) cases had no indication. However, 636 bone density tests were requested by rheumatologists that 474 were abnormal and 162 were normal, and in the abnormal group, 471 (99.4%) had ISCD indications for BMD, and only 3 (0.6%) cases had no indications.

In many cases, bone mineral density has been requested based on ISCD indications (85.13%), and bone disorders have been well identified (64.83%). The study also demonstrates that BMD requests are common among different specialized groups, and when rheumatologists request a bone density, the test is highly sensitive (99.37%).

Access to arteries is one of the most appropriate approaches for helping chronic kidney diseases.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the survey method of vascular surgery on the onset of ischemic limb syndrome following vascular access in dialysis patients.

In this cross-sectional study, the population study was patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) referring to Ahvaz Golestan Hospital in 2018. Control of limbs temperature and comparison with the other side, before and after surgery, feeling cold by the patient, control of organs pulse and comparison with the other side, pain of organs comparing to the other side, pain during the dialysis, paresthesia, and movement failure and during dialysis, and organs atrophy-ulcer were measured.

In the present study, 294 patients, including 139 women (46.94%) and 156 men (53.06%), were studied. Ischemic steal syndrome (ISS) was observed in 20 patients, that 13 cases of them had benefited from fistula approach and 7 patients used graft approach. The most common observed ISS was related to brachiocephalic fistula approach (AVF-Brachiocephalic) and then graft in arm. In non-steal syndrome group, brachiocephalic fistula (AVF-Brachiocephalic) had the most common application. In the present study, there was no significant correlation between access method and underlying diseases of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiac ischemic diseases.

One of themost important results of the present study was the highest existence of steal syndrome in brachiocephalic approach, which is confirmed by other studies.

The number of prediabetic individuals is rising rapidly in Iran and other parts of the world. This complication seriously affects life quality and public health.

This study aimed to evaluate the anthropometric indices and biochemicalmeasures among the prediabetic population.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on prediabetic subjects in the Hoveyzeh population, Iran, during 2018 - 2019. A sample of 240 prediabetic individuals within the age range of 30-75 years enrolled in this study. The demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and participants’ clinical parameters were checked out in this study. Moreover, this study investigated important demographic variables associated with anthropometric and clinical parameters.

The results showed that the mean values of fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol were 113.13 ± 6.8, 193.64 ± 115.44, and 193.64 ± 40.67 mg/dl, respectively. The mean values of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were 114.75 ± 15.25 and 73.25 ± 8.81 mmHg, respectively. The results showed no statistically significant difference between clinical and demographic variables except between DBP and marital status (P < 0.05). The prevalence of prediabetes in Hoveyzeh was closely associated with some demographic, anthropometric, and clinical variables. This study documented significant associations between height, hip circumference, and body mass index with both genders (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was no statistical relationship between other demographic and anthropometric variables (P > 0.05).

Based on the findings, abdominal obesity indicators may be related to prediabetes. Therefore, preventive strategies and suitable educational programs should be based on influential factors.

Effective caring depends on the agreement between patients and nurses’ care behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients and nursing students’ viewpoints about the importance of caring behaviors in a hospital affiliated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

In this descriptive and analytic study, 50 patients and 50 nurses were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected by the Larson questionnaire. This self-report questionnaire was completed by the patients and students, and then the data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS.

The patients considered availability, education, and communication as the most important caring behaviors in caring, while the nursing students deemed comfort and convenience, appropriate communication, and monitoring and follow-up as the most significant behaviors in caring. Nursing students and patients’ viewpoints were not in agreement in the most important and relatively most important caring behaviors (P > 0.05). However, their viewpoints concorded regarding insignificant caring behaviors (P > 0.05).

Based on the results of this study, further attention should be focused on patient needs in clinical nursing students’ education is necessary.

Having disabled children can definitely hurt themental health status of parents, especiallymothers, and even directly affect children’s behaviors as well as their adaptability and progress during all care and rehabilitation programs.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate general health status of mothers having children with hearing disabilities and reflect on children’s quality of life (QoL).

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on all children with hearing disabilities covered by the State Welfare Organization (SWO) of Iran in northern Khuzestan province in 2019. Accordingly, a total of 44 children aged 1 - 6 years and theirmothers were included. The data were collected using a demographic characteristics information form, the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research Academic Medical Centre (TNO-AZL) Preschool Children Quality of Life (TAPQOL) questionnaire. The data were entered into the SPSS Statistics software (ver. 22) and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient, and chi-square test.

According to the results, 79% of themothers had severe general health problems. The severity of such problems had further elevated in the dimensions of “physical symptoms”, “anxiety and sleep disorders”, “depression”, and “social functioning”, respectively. The mean score of the children’s QoL was 79.13±14.48, which was at a moderate level. The study findings showed a significant relationship between some demographic characteristics and the mothers’ general health status and the children’s QoL. Moreover, there was a reciprocal correlation between mothers’ general health and children’s QoL scores (P = 0.049, r = -0.29).

Although QoL in the children having hearing disabilities was at a moderate level, the majority of mothers had severe general health problems. The study results could be useful for health system officials in terms of the promotion of children’s QoL by designing and implementing programs to improve the general health status of the mothers of these children.

Depression is a prevalent psychological disorder among hemodialysis patients and is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes. Dialysis adequacy also affects hemodialysis patients’ survival rates.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression in hemodialysis patients and its association with dialysis adequacy.

In this cross-sectional study, 205 individuals undergoing hemodialysis at Ahvaz teaching hospitals in 2019 were included. The depression level was determined using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) for the participants aged below 65 years and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for the patients aged above 65 years. Dialysis adequacy measures, including the Kt/V and urea reduction rate (URR), were calculated using standard formulas.

IN this study, 60.5% of the participants suffered from depression, and the overall prevalence of depression was 54.6% in individuals aged below 65 and 67% in those aged above 65 years. Among the patients with age below 65 years, 19 persons (17.6%) were suffering from mild depression, 22 individuals (20.4%) were suffering from moderate depression, and 18 individuals (16.7%) had severe depression. Among the patients aged above 65 years, moderate depression was found to affect 45 persons (46.4%), and 20 individuals (20.6%) had severe depression. The mean values of Kt/V and URR were not significantly correlated with depression scores (P > 0.05).

Depression is a common disorder among hemodialysis patients in Iran; however, it is not significantly associated with dialysis adequacy. However, the results of studies on the relationship between depression and dialysis adequacy cannot be analyzed simply.

Chronic diseases (CD) are defined as symptoms or disabilities, caused by diseases, genetic factors, and injury requiring long-term treatment. Intelligent alarm systems, which collect patient health data and transfer it to a medical server, help track and avoid future incidents.

The search terms were “computer network” OR “information systems” OR “wireless technology” OR “decision support systems” AND “chronic disease” OR “chronic disease” in major electronic databases, including Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, Embase, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane Central.

The search resulted in 1275 articles with 11 specific to intelligence-based systems in chronic medical conditions until 08 June 2021. The creation of different access levels for care providers in the system and application customization according to CD conditions were the goals that can be achieved in future research. The human-computer interface (HCI) systems, smart home, and software, such as Fitbit using IoMT to monitor health metrics in people with different CDs, are introduced so far.

These systems, if provided on the web and mobile platform, can be accessed at any time and place and are more efficient. Finally, the combination of clinical decision support systems with artificial intelligence has beneficial effects on physician’s systems, increases the accuracy in CD diagnosis, and improves the pain management. This intelligent system demonstrates factors influencing back to work and allows identifying high-risk patients and their potential to handle activities of daily living

The number of patients suffering coronavirus (COVID-19) is increasing worldwide, and given that there is now no vaccine against this virus, the best prevention technique is to observe health protocols and social distancing. This issue is of paramount importance in dentistry clinics.

The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of dentists in Ahvaz regarding COVID-19.

The study population encompassed all dentists who were theWhatsApp groupmembers of the Iranian Dental Association in Ahvaz, Iran. The online questionnaire link was shared on the social network on October 1, and the member dentists were asked to answer the questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics, knowledge about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 disease, virus transmission method, and infection control method. These items assessed the dentists’ attitude and practice in the treatment procedure of the COVID-19 patients.

Out of 227 group members, 171 dentists observed the questionnaire link, and 108 persons answered the questions. Most of the respondents were 40-49 years old and male. Moreover, 19% of the participants had dentistry specialization, 60% of the dentists had received no training on infection control in dentistry, 66% of these individuals had passed the COVID-19 training course, and 23% of the dentists believed that the COVID-19 incubation period was 7-14 days. Most of the dentists were aware of the symptoms of COVID-19 and the diagnosis techniques for patients with COVID-19. They correctly reported the disease transmission and the disease prevention methods in the dental clinic. The dentists acted differently in using personal equipment, and only 75% of these individuals used the N95 Mask during the treatment of patients. About 13% of the dentists did not study the protocol proposed by the Ministry of Health for reopening the dental clinic during the COVID-19 outbreak period.

The Ahvazian dentists are aware of the symptoms of COVID-19, its transmission, and the infection control protocol in dental clinics. However, they did not fully observe the protocols on wearing personal protective equipment for themselves and clinic staff; hence, barriers to using personal protective equipment should be eliminated, and the implementation of the protocols in dental clinics should be monitored more strictly

The existence of an autistic child causes much mental burden and concern for parents and disrupts their normal functioning in both home and society.

The present study seeks to comparemental health, stress, and coping styles inmothers of children with/without autism in Ahvaz.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 120 samples of all mothers of children with/without autism in Ahvaz. Actually, from the statistical population of the study, 120 (60 mothers with autistic children and 60 mothers with normal children) were selected using the convenience sampling method. After explaining the objectives of the research to the participants and obtaining a consent form, the questionnaire was answered by them. Stress Questionnaire, Mental Health Questionnaire, and Coping Strategies Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially (MANOVA and ANOVA) using the SPSS version 21.

The results indicate a significant difference between mental health (F = 342.14, P < 0.001), stress (F = 10.71, P < 0.001), and coping styles (F = 156, P < 0.001) regarding the mothers of autistic/non-autistic children. There is also a significant difference between the avoidance coping strategies (F = 143.12, P < 0.001) used by mothers of children with/without autism in Ahvaz.

As the results showed, mothers of normal children were significantly different from mothers of autistic children in using avoidance-oriented coping styles. We can use the findings of this study in clinical situations in order to help mothers with autistic children to reduce their stress, so they can control their lives better with less stress, and this way, the quality of their lives will be higher

Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common mental disorders almost experienced by human beings. Nowadays, due to the coronavirus outbreak, people are becoming more vulnerable to these disorders.

The present study aimed to investigate the comparison of the effect of 3 treatment methods, named neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and neurofeedback (NFB), on patients suffering from disorders mentioned above.

The research design selected for the present investigation was a quasi-experimental method consisting of pretest and posttest given to 3 experimental groups [i.e., NFB (n = 15), tDCS (n = 15), and NLP (n = 15)] and 1 control group (n = 15). The statistical population was included patients who had been referred to mental health experts at comprehensive health service centers in Zahedan, Iran (2020). The sampling procedure was based on a simple random method with a population of 68 subjects (60 main samples and 8 alternatives). Following the completion of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire, data were collected and then analyzed step by step using SPSS version 23.

The results of the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) test showed that there would be no significant decrease in the mean scores of depressions, anxiety, and stress between the pre-and posttest scores of the subjects in the treatment groups (P < 0.0001).

NLP, tDCS, and NFB were significantly effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress. Considering the importance of the findings, non-pharmacological methods could be effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress.