[Relationship between chronic periodontitis and plasmatic level of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol in patients referring to Ahvaz dental school in 1386-87]

Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In recent years some evidence have been presented on the association of periodontal and cardiovascular disease. Acute systemic or local chronic infections seem to induce changes in the plasmatic concentration of cytokines and hormones, which determine changes in the lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was the evaluation of association between chronic periodontitis and plasma lipid level. The plasma lipids levels of were measured in 90 subjects. The patients were divided into two age- and sex- matched groups: a test group, composed of 45 individuals with chronic periodontal diseases ranging from moderate to severe, with at least two periodontal pocket >/= 5[mm]; and a control group, composed of 45 periodontally healthy individuals or with gingivitis. Individuals with diabetes, hypertension, with history of myocardial infarction or cancer, or those who used diuretics, corticosteroids, anabolic steroids, and those who had received periodontal treatment in the last six months and/or took cholesterol reduction medicine in the last two months before the beginning of this study were not included in the study. Variables related to high cholesterol levels, including age, sex and, body mass index, were evaluated. Total cholesterol [CHOL] and triglycerides [TG] were significantly higher in case group compared with control group [P<0.001]. HDL and LDL cholesterols were higher in cases but didn't have any significant differences with controls. The frequency of persons with pathologic value of TG and CHOL were significantly higher in cases compared with control group. This study showed that hyperlipidemia may be associated with periodontitis in medically healthy people but we can not conclude that whether periodontitis causes an increase in levels of serum lipids or whether hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for periodontitis

[Factors affecting the process of obtaining clinical competency]

Nurses form the most significant sector of the health care provision and play a fundamental role in providing on-going quality care for patients. To attain clinical competency, it is essential to understand the factors influencing it. Due to the fact that clinical competency is directly affected by specific features of the educational and health care system and the medical training within each country, it is necessary to assess the factors influencing clinical competency. This study was based on the Grounded Theory method. The sample of 36 comprised of clinical nurses, as well as trainers and managers within the Ministry of Health and Medical Training, Nursing and Midwifery faculties, hospitals and members of the Nursing Council in Tehran. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and subsequently transcribed. The analysis was carried out by the Straus and Corbin method. In this study, personal factors were identified as one of the contextual factors affecting clinical competency. The respondents branded this category as "the internal and personal factors". This included a significant number of sub-categories such as education and skill, moral values, consciousness responsibility and accountability. Another category was identified as "the external and organizational factors" which included categories such as educational and clinical environments, work license, control and supervision and effective educational system. The clinical competency process resulted from the interaction between three factors; ethics, effective experience and environmental factors