Most women do not have a positive self-concept and impression about themselves during pregnancy because they become less active and gain more weight. Self-concept significantly contributes to individuals' mental health. This controlled trial was performed to assess the effect of an intervention based on the Roy's adaptation model on self-concept among primigravida women. This study was conducted on a random sample of 83 Iranian primigravida women. Women in the experimental group received educational and counseling services in five sessions held in five consecutive weeks. Thereafter, they received a four-week follow-up care. Before the intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups regarding adaptation knowledge and self-concept adaptation. However, after the intervention, these differences were statistically significant. The Roy's adaptation model has positive effects on primigravida women's physical and interpersonal self-concept adaptation. Given its simplicity and easy applicability, this model can be used for improving pregnancy-related outcomes.

Aims Preoperative anxiety could increase postoperative pain, the need for analgesics, and the patientchr('39')s hospital stay. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with rose on preoperative anxiety before abdominal operation. Methods & Materials This clinical trial was performed on 90 patients undergoing abdominal operation at 15Khordad Hospital, in 2017. The study patients were assigned to the intervention and control groups by permuted block randomization method (n=45/group). The study instrument was the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI was completed before and after conducting the intervention in both study groups. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, Paired Samples t-test, and Chi-squared test at a significance level of P<0.05. Findings The mean±SD age of the investigated patients in the intervention and control groups were 37.13±31.35 and 44.15±51.65 years, respectively. Most frequent operation type was inguinal hernia in both study groups. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of anxiety (P>0.05); however, after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the study groups in terms of apparent and total anxiety (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the study groups, in terms of latent anxiety (P>0.05). Conclusion Aromatherapy with rose is effective in decreasing the apparent anxiety of patients before surgery. Thus, it is recommended to be used as a complementary, inexpensive, and non-invasive treatment at healthcare centers.

Objective: Striae happen to 50–90% of pregnant women and never disappears completely. It is, therefore, a major aesthetic concern for most women, which can cause psychological distress and disturbed body image. This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the topical use of apple vinegar on striae gravidarum.Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 23 women referred to health centers in Gonabad city, selected according to inclusion criteria and systematic random method. The right half of the abdomen in each participant was considered as a trial group and the left half as the control. On the trial side, apple vinegar was massaged onto striae twice daily for 1 month. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, checklist of striae aesthetic change, a pair of calipers and a camera and analyzed in SPSS-20 using descriptive statistics, paired t, and Wilcoxon tests at significance level p<0.05.Results: No significant change was observed in mean length and width of striae in either trial or control sides after the intervention (p>0.05). However, on the trial side, the difference between striae length and width before and after the intervention was statistically significant (p<0.001). A significant difference was observed during intervention in the reduction in striae length and width on trial side (p<0.001).Conclusion: Topical application of apple vinegar effectively reduces the size of striae. Further and longer studies with larger sample size are recommended.

Kartagener syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which includes a triad of bronchiectasis, chronic sinusitis, and situs inversus. Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) can be one of the causes of the above symptoms in this syndrome. This study aims to contribute toward a greater understanding of Kartagener syndrome by reporting a rare case. This 16-year-old boy was hospitalized in the internal ward of 22 Bahman Hospital in Gonabad on February 23, 2016 and presented with suspected Kartagener syndrome and PCD, whose diagnosis of Kartagener syndrome and PCD was confirmed according to biopsy of the nose and antitrypsin test. The patient also underwent electrocardiography, chest X-ray, pelvic and abdominal ultrasound, and computed tomography scan with high resolution and no contrast of the chest, abdomen, and sinuses. As a rare disorder, Kartagener syndrome should be borne in mind in differential diagnoses of chronic respiratory infections and must be diagnosed as early as possible to improve patient's quality of life.

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Background & Aim: Fatigue is one of the most prevalent symptoms among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Heat therapy is considered as one of the proposed methods to relieve the symptoms in these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of local heat therapy on fatigue among patients with COPD. Methods & Materials: This randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 46 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease referred to Allameh Bohlool Hospital in Gonabad, Iran in 2019. The participants were selected according to the inclusion criteria and were then randomly assigned to the two groups of intervention and placebo. Local packs were placed on the anterior of the chest twice a day for 23 minutes and for five days among the participants of both groups. The hot pack was 50ºC for the patients in the intervention group, but it was equal to body temperature in the placebo group. The severity of fatigue was once measured before the intervention and then one day after the final intervention in both groups. The demographic information form and Krupp fatigue severity scale were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics and chi-square, MannWhitney, and Wilcoxon tests were used to analyze the data. Besides, the level of significance was considered at least 0.05. Results: The results indicated that the two groups were homogenous in terms of demographic information and the type of disease (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean score of fatigue before the intervention in the experimental and placebo groups (P=0.9). However, the mean score of fatigue decreased significantly among the intervention group patients compared to those in the placebo group (P<0.001) after the intervention. There was also a significant difference between the two groups in the mean score of fatigue before and after the intervention (P<0.01). Conclusion: According to the results, topical heat therapy is effective in reducing fatigue among patients with COPD, but it is recommended to conduct further studies before the implementation of this approach.

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