مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی گیلان
پیاپی 127 (پاییز 1402)

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a mushroom that has been used in Asian countries for many years as a culinary-medicinal mushroom to treat a variety of diseases. 

This study aims to review the studies conducted on the anti-aging effects of Reishi.

This is a review study. A search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, and MagIran databases for articles published from 1989 to 2023 using the following keywords: Reishi mushroom, G. lucidium, anti-aging, antioxidant activities, free radicals, 

The studies showed that the extracts of Reishi have measurable anti-aging properties, especially in the heart, liver and brain tissues. The anti-aging activity of Reishi is mainly due to its ability to modulate the immune system, scavenge free radicals, inhibit oxidative stress, increase mitochondrial dehydrogenases, strengthen the electron transport chain, and prevent neurodegenerative diseases caused by oxidative stress. Bioactive compounds, such as polysaccharides and triterpenes, have been suggested to be involved in the anti-aging activity of Reishi.

Reishi is a suitable candidate for preparing extracts or compounds with anti-aging properties. However, more in-vivo studies are needed to gain deeper insight into the mechanisms underlying the anti-aging effects of Reishi. In addition, there is a lack of clinical trials in the field of anti-aging effects of Reishi extracts, especially in Iran.

In the treatment process of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, one of the threatening complications is pulmonary complications such as barotrauma.

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of barotrauma in COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) of two hospitals in Rasht, Iran.

This retrospective study was conducted on COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICUs of Razi and Poursina hospitals in Rasht in 2020. Their files were studied, and their demographic/clinical data and pulmonary complications were extracted using a checklist by an anesthesia resident. 

Out of 140 patients, 81(57.9%) received non-invasive mechanical ventilation and 59(42.1%) had invasive ventilation. Barotrauma was observed in 9 cases (6.4%), 8(88.9%) in the form of pneumothorax and one (11.1%) in the form of both pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema. The results showed that the incidence of barotrauma was significantly higher among patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation (P=0.003). No significant difference was observed among patients received non-invasive ventilation (P>0.05). 

The prevalence of barotrauma among COVID-19 patients in the study hospitals is low, which indicates the proper performance of the attending physicians and compliance with the standard guidelines.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused changes in daily life and disrupted hospital performance and the provision of medical services, especially in the organ transplant departments.

This study aims to compare the frequency of organ donation and transplantation before and after the COVID-19 outbreak in the transplant centers of northern Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 donors with brain death from 2018 to 2021 in Rasht. Demographic data, underlying diseases, history of smoking and drug use, causes of brain death, type of donated organ, number of donated organs per patient, type of transplanted organ, and the location of transplantation (in or out of the province) were recorded. Then, these factors were compared between two time periods: Before the pandemic (from July 2018 to February 2020) and during the pandemic (from February 2020 to August 2021). The recorded data was analyzed in SPSS software, version 21. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The mean age of donors during the pandemic was significantly higher than that of patients before the pandemic (P<0.001). The most common cause of brain death in donors before the pandemic was trauma; after the pandemic, cerebrovascular causes were more common (P=0.01). The frequency of organ donation and the mean number of donated organs per donor during the pandemic were significantly lower than before the pandemic (P<0.001).

The COVID-19 pandemic has significant impact on the process of organ donation and transplantation in northern Iran.

One of the applications of honey is in wound healing. A stapler normally connects the skin graft to the underlying bed. Due to its high cost and lack of production in Iran, and causing physical damage to the tissue, an alternative method is needed.

This study aims to compare the effects of using medical honey and staplers for skin graft fixation in patients with burn wounds in the north of Iran.

In this clinical trial, 80 patients with deep second-degree and third-degree burns less than 40% of total body surface area were included and were randomly divided into two groups of honey (n=40) and stapler (n=40). Demographic information and the percentage of burns were extracted from patients’ medical files. The graft rejection, number of hospitalization days, grafted skin displacement, graft contracture, pain severity, existence of edema or hematoma, itching severity, and infection after grafting were investigated and recorded.

Of 80 patients, 34 were male (42.5%) and 46 were female (57.5%). The mean age of the patients was 39.29±15.42 years. A significant difference was observed in the mean number of hospitalization days after grafting (P<0.001), incidence of infection, hematoma, edema, and severity of pain and itching (P<0.001), which were lower in the honey group. The graft contracture rate was lower in the stapler group (P<0.001). Graft rejection was not observed in any groups.

The use of medical honey for skin graft fixation reduces the duration of hospitalization and adverse effects such as pain, itching, edema, hematoma, and infection compared to staplers. This method is as efficient as the routine treatment.

Today, the consumption of nutritional supplements is increasing dramatically in the world.

This study aims to survey the knowledge and attitudes of people in Rasht, Iran, towards nutritional supplements and determine their consumption rate.

This descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design was conducted over 6 months on 1220 people referred to pharmacies in Rasht city. They completed a self-report questionnaire surveying demographic data, knowledge, and attitude towards nutritional supplements.

The majority of people had poor knowledge (mean score: 5.14±2.36 out of 9). The knowledge scores were significantly different in terms of educational level, occupation, use/non-use of supplements, number of used supplements, and the reason for taking drug supplements, such that people with a master’s degree or higher, healthcare providers, and supplement users had higher scores. The attitude score was 16.14±4.64 (out of 40), and 76.33% had a negative attitude towards nutritional supplements. The knowledge score had a significant negative relationship with the attitude score.

Given the poor knowledge of people in Rasht city and their negative attitude towards nutritional supplements, it is recommended to develop public education programs to improve their knowledge of nutritional supplements.

Infertility is a major crisis for couples, causing anxiety in them. Infertile couples experience more psychological, marital, family, and social problems.

This study aims to compare psychological well-being, moral foundations, and sense of humor between fertile and infertile couples in Rasht, Iran.

In this causal-comparative study, 212 couples (106 infertile and 106 fertile) referred to Al-Zahra Hospital in Rasht in 2022 participated. Ryff’s psychological well-being scale, moral foundations questionnaire, and multidimensional sense of humor scale were used to collect data. For data analysis, the analysis of covariance was used in SPSS software, version 28.

There was a significant difference between infertile and fertile couples regarding self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, and personal growth dimensions of psychological well-being and its total score, and also in the sanctity/purity dimension of moral foundations and the humor creativity and uses of humor for social purposes dimension of sense of humor.

Fertile couples in Rasht have significantly higher scores in some dimensions of psychological well-being, moral foundations, and sense of humor than infertile couples.

Staff training in organizations is a measure for developing human capital. The pathology of this process needs to be assessed to understand the current situation and solve the challenges and limitations.

This study aims to assess the pathology of the training process for the incident command system (ICS) staff of hospitals in Guilan Province using the three-pronged approach.

This is a qualitative-quantitative study. The study population in the qualitative phase included experts in the hospital ICS. In the quantitative phase, the study population included all ICS managers and staff in the Guilan Province hospitals (n= 548). The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview in the qualitative phase and a researcher-made questionnaire in the quantitative phase. For data analysis, MAXQDA software, version 2020 was used in the qualitative phase and SPSS software, version 26 was used in the quantitative phase.

The results in the qualitative phase showed the extraction of 55 open codes, 25 axial codes, and 6 selective codes in the form of three domains of processes, context, and structure. The results in the quantitative phase showed that among all the domains, the process domain-related factors with a percentage of variance (impact) of 0.262 were more harmful than context- and structure-related factors in the training process.

The pathology assessment based on the three-pronged model is an effective method for determining the training priorities for the hospital ICS staff. The use of this model during a crisis can be an effective step for identifying shortcomings to solve them and take appropriate measures for the ICS staff training.