A substantial number of patients with radiation proctitis seem to benefit from therapy with Aloe vera 3% ointment.

No abstract

Background: Acute radiation-induced proctitis (ARP) is the most common side effect following radiotherapy for malignant pelvic disease. This study evaluated the efficacy of Aloe vera ointment in prevention of ARP. Methods: Forty-two patients receiving external-beam radiotherapy (RT) for pelvic malignancies were randomized to receive either Aloe vera 3% or placebo topical ointment during radiotherapy for 6 weeks. These patients were evaluated based on the severity (grade 0-4) of the following symptoms weekly: rectal bleeding, abdominal/rectal pain, diarrhea, or fecal urgency. RTOG acute toxicity criteria and psychosocial status of the patients were also recorded weekly. Lifestyle impact of the symptoms, and quantitative measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of systemic inflammation, were also measured. Results: The results of present study demonstrated a significant preventive effect for Aloe vera in occurrence of symptom index for diarrhea (p < 0.001), rectal bleeding (p < 0.001), and fecal urgency (p = 0.001). The median lifestyle score improved significantly with Aloe vera during RT (p < 0.001). Intervention patients had a significant lower burden of systemic inflammation as the values for quantitative CRP decreased significantly over 6 weeks of follow-up (p = 0.009). Conclusion: This study showed that Aloe vera topical ointment was effective in prevention of symptoms of ARP in patients undergoing RT for pelvic cancers.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background & Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is the most common bacteria in nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections which caused by this bacterium in recent years, considerably, have been increased. This study was conducted in aim of prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and antibiotic resistance patterns in health care workers, in Imam Reza hospital in Bojnurd. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 200 health care workers for 4 months. Nasal swabs were collected. After detection of Staphylococcus aureus isolates, the susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method. Methicillin disk diffusion method was applied for detection of methicillin-resistant strains. Results: From 200 patients, 22 (11%) were nasal carrier of Staphylococcus aureus, and 3 of these (13.6%) were resistant to methicillin. In this study, the results indicated that from three nasal methicillin-resistant strains, two were resistant to vancomycin. Conclusions: Presence of nasal carriers, indicated presence of methicillin resistant S. aureus in hospital personnel of Imam Reza in Bojnurd. Although the prevalence of S. aureus nasal carriage was not very high, otherwise, with no attention, presence of MRSA, indicated wide distribution. We advice control measures for prevent MRSA transmission in high risk persons.

Background: Failure to thrive (FTT) is a global problem and one of the most common health problems in childhood that involves many other social, economic, and cultural factors. Considering the adverse effects of FTT in the future of children, we studied FTT and its related factor in children under the age of 2 years in Bojnurd (the capital city of North Khorasan province, Iran). Methods: This study was a Retrospective cohort study on 1000 health records, born in 2008-2013. Stratified sampling method was applied and the data were collected using a checklist in the health centers. Finally, data were analyzed using Chi-square, Multiple logistic regression, and independent t-test in SPSS19 software. Significant level was set at 5%. Results: Incidence of FTT was calculated as 443 children (44.3%) in the children's first two years of life. A significant relationship was observed between FTT in children and head circumference disorders at birth (p=0.001), maternal age at delivery (p=0.01), mother's education level (OR=0.4   CI95% [0.2-0.8]  p=0.012), type of delivery (OR=0.5 CI95% [0.4-0.7]   p<0.001), unspecified gestational age (OR=3.6   CI95% [1.3-10.08   p=0.015]), and pregnancy under the age of 18 (OR=2.4   CI95% [1.1-5.3]  p=0.02).  Conclusion: Considering the high incidence of FTT in children, increasing awareness about timely feeding, promoting households' health, preventing and controlling infectious diseases should be improved