Introduction Recent studies have addressed the role of micronutrients in fertilization, such as vitamin D. The present study aims to explore the effects of using calcitriol, an active form of vitamin D, on IVF results in women with vitamin D deficiency. Method This double-blinded randomized clinical trial was done on 180 infertile women, undergone IVF treatment. Out of them, 95 were found to have vitamin D deficiency (blood serum 25-dihydroxy vitamin D <30 ng/ml). Fifty one women in experimental group were treated with two 0.25 µg calcitriol pills daily during 4 weeks (discontinued 8 hours prior to the embryo transfer) and 44 subjects to the placebo group (mean vitamin D deficiency 27.5 ±1.8 in case group vs. 27.6±1.8 in control group, P>0.05). Final analysis includes outcomes of chemical and clinical pregnancy was done on 74 women (including 36 in case and 38 in control group). Results Our study showed that in the experimental group, chemical pregnancy success was significantly higher than that in the control group, 31.4 vs. 18.2% (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in reaching the clinical pregnancy stage (25.5% in case group vs. 13.6% in control group) and continuation of pregnancy into week 20 (9.8% in case group vs. 11.6% in control group) (P>0.05). Conclusion Calcitriol administration by improving the implantation process can significantly increase the chances of successful IVF cycle results in infertile women with vitamin D deficiency.

Introduction: Exposure to noxious stimuli can cause pain in infants. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the lavender oil inhalation on the pain resulting from the pentavalent vaccination. Methods: This clinical trial consisted of two groups: the lavender oil group with 42 infants and the placebo group with 57 infants. The healthy infants without congenital abnormalities in need of pentavalent vaccine also participated in our study. The infants started the lavender oil or placebo aromatherapy one minute before injection. The pain was assessed three times, using the Neonatal Infant pain Scale (NIPS): before vaccination, 15 s, and 5 min after vaccination. Also, the duration of crying was measured in both groups. Results: At baseline, the two groups were similar in relation to the NIPS scores. While, after 5 minutes, the NIPS score was significantly lower in the lavender group. Based on the repeated measures analysis, the NIPS score changed over time totally. However, the two groups were significantly different in relation to the NIPS score over time. The duration of crying was 75.47 (60.675) second in the lavender group and 105.22 (75.739) s in the control group. The statistical test showed a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: A low concentration of the lavender oil inhalation can reduce the pain and improve soothing in the infants with the pentavalent vaccine injection.

Background:Dysmenorrhea is one of the common problems during reproductive ages, with prevalence rate of 60–90%. This study aimed to compare the effects of acupressure at Guan yuan (RN-4) and Qu gu (RN-2) acupoints, self-care behaviors training, and ibuprofen on the intensity of primary dysmenorrhea based on McGill pain questionnaire.Materials and Methods:In the randomized clinical trial, 120 females, aged between 18 and 25 years, with primary dysmenorrhea, randomly selected from five dormitories of Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran were screened and randomized into acupressure group, in that pressure was applied for 20 min over the 1st 2 days of menstruation for two cycles. In the second group, the training group took part in four educational sessions each lasting for 60–90 min and control group received ibuprofen 400 mg. The intensity of pain before and after the intervention was measured using short-form McGill pain questionnaire. The data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (version 16) and analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis test, paired t-test, and Chi-square test.Results:A significant difference was found in the mean intensity of pain before and after the intervention in all the three study groups. The mean score of pain intensity was 10.65 ± 5.71 in the training group, 19 ± 5.41 in the control group, and 14.40 ± 6.87 in the acupressure group after the intervention. The results of Kruskal–Wallis test revealed that both interventions were more effective compared to consumption of ibuprofen.Conclusion:Training and acupressure were more effective than ibuprofen in the reduction of dysmenorrhea. Thus, they can be considered as trainable methods without side effects in adolescent girls.