Background: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are common problems in diabetes. One of the most important factors affecting the quality of diabetes care is knowledge and practice. The current study aimed at determining the knowledge and practice of patients with diabetes regarding the prevention and care of DFUs. Methods: The current analytical, cross sectional study was conducted in Guilan Province (north of Iran) on 375 patients registered in the medical records as type 2 diabetes mellitus. Demographic characteristics, knowledge, and practice of participants were recorded in a questionnaire during face-to-face interviews conducted by the researcher. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS version18. Results: The mean score of knowledge was 8.63 ± 2.5 out of 15, indicating that the majority of participants had a poor knowledge (84.8%). The mean practice score was 7.6 ± 2.5 out of 15, indicating that a half of them had poor performance (49.6%). There was a significant and direct correlation between knowledge and practice. Knowledge level, place of residence, marital status, and history of admission due to diabetic foot were predictors of practice score. Conclusions: According to the low level of knowledge and practice in patients with diabetes regarding the prevention and care of DFUs, and considering the significant relationship of some demographics of patients with knowledge and practice scores, a targeted educational program is needed to promote knowledge of patients with diabetes.

Background:Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are the most important complications for cancer patients as its prevalence has been reported to be about 54-96 percent. ginger has been used for medicinal purposes including nausea and vomiting in traditional Persian, Chinese and Indian pharmacopoeia.Objectives:The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of complimentary ginger among cancer patients experiencing nausea and vomiting.Material and Methods:A randomized cross-over clinical trial was carried out on patients under chemotherapy treatment for at least 2 episodes of chemotherapy and at least 2 episodes of previous experience of nausea and vomiting. Subjects of this study received 2 different complementary regimes with 250mg ginger capsule in regime A and placebo capsule in regime B. subjects of the study were crossed over to receive the other regime during the two cycles of chemotherapy.Results:Findings of the study indicated that subjects receiving ginger showed significant reduction in frequency and intensity of nausea and vomiting compared to placebo receiving subjects.Conclusions:According to finding of this study, in accordance to most of other researches, ginger is an effective agent to reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, there are some researches supporting ginger as a moderate antiemetic agent among cancerous patients under chemotherapy.

No abstract

Diabetic patients face great challenges in many dimensions of QOL. Nursing instructors and nursing educators in educational centers for diabetics can use the findings of this research to assess their patients more effectively.

No abstract

Objective: Today, the high prevalence of depression is one of the major health problems of pregnant women. This study aimed to assess the relationship between antenatal depression, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Methods: This cohort study involved 394 pregnant women referred to the prenatal care clinic at the Al-Zahra Hospital, affiliated to Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. We used a convenient method for sampling. We collected data using questionnaires on demographic and obstetric characteristics, the CES-D scale for depression evaluation and a checklist for recording pregnancy outcomes. Results: According to the results, preeclampsia, premature membrane rupture, preterm delivery, cesarean section, intrauterine fetal death, and intrauterine fetal growth restriction were higher among mothers with depression during their pregnancies, compared to those who did not have depression. In addition, the mean birth weights of depressed mothers' infants were lower than the infants of mothers who did not have depression. Conclusion: Results from the present study showed that depression during pregnancy is associated with pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Healthcare planners and mental health counselors should regard screening mothers with risk of depression and following them up and, in the necessary cases, referring to psychiatrists.

The effects of epilepsy may disturb the ability of the child and family to function and has detrimental effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We determined HRQOL and related factors in children and adolescents with epilepsy in Iran. This cross-sectional study was performed in a private neurology pediatric clinic in Guilan Province (North of Iran). We evaluated 108 children and adolescents with epilepsy. Data were collected by interview with parents and review of medical records. Generic and specific HRQOL was evaluated by Child Health Questionnaire and QOL in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire, respectively. The mean of overall generic HRQOL score was 71.05 ± 11.31. The lowest score was related to parental impact: emotional (52.59 ± 15.49). The average total specific HRQOL score was 71.95 ± 11.16. The lowest score dedicated to general health (51.21 ± 18.25). In multivariate regression analysis, duration of epilepsy (p < .016) was independently associated with generic HRQOL scores. Variables were independently associated with specific HRQOL scores including gender (p < .003), duration of epilepsy (p < .011), and family history of epilepsy (p < .005). We found that epilepsy duration was the strongest predictor of both generic and specific HRQOL in children and adolescents with epilepsy. This will be useful for clinicians in epilepsy management, which will enhance HRQOL.

Introduction To determine predictors of length of stay (LOS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and to develop a risk scoring system were the objectives of this study. Methods In this retrospective study, 1202 patients' medical records after CABG were evaluated by a research-made checklist. Tarone-Ware test was used to determine the predictors of patients' LOS in the ICU. Cox regression model was used to determine the risk factors and risk ratios associated with ICU LOS. Results The mean ICU LOS after CABG was 55.27±17.33 hours. Cox regression model showed that having more than two chest tubes (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.005-1.287, Relative Risk [RR]=1.138), occurrence of atelectasis (95% CI 1.000-3.007, RR=1.734), and occurrence of atrial fibrillation after CABG (95% CI 1.428-2.424, RR=1.861) were risk factors associated with longer ICU LOS. The discrimination power of this set of predictors was demonstrated with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and it was 0.69. A simple risk scoring system was developed based on three identified predictors that can raise ICU LOS. Conclusion The simple risk scoring system developed based on three identified predictors can help to plan more accurately a patient's LOS in hospital for CABG and can be useful in managing human and financial resources.