Durability of effect of massage therapy on blood pressure

Pre-hypertension is considered as a cardiovascular disease predicator. Management of pre-hypertension is an appropriate objective for clinicians in a wide range of medical centers. Treatment of pre-hypertension is primarily non-pharmacological, one of which is massage therapy that is used to control the BP. This study aimed to evaluate the survival effect of Swedish massage [face, neck, shoulders, and chest] on BP of the women with pre-hypertension. This was a single-blind clinical trial study. Fifty pre-hypertensive women selected by simple random sampling which divided into control and test groups. The test group [25 patients] received Swedish massage 10-15 min, 3 times a week for 10 sessions and the control groups [25 patients] also were relaxed at the same environment with receiving no massage. Their BP was measured before and after each session and 72 h after finishing the massage therapy. Analyzing the data was done using descriptive and inferential statistical methods [Chi- square, Mann-Whitney, paired t-test and Student t-test] through SPSS software. The results indicated that mean systolic and diastolic BP in the massage group was significantly lower in comparison with the control group [P < 0.001]. Evaluation of durability of the massage effects on BP also indicated that 72 h after finishing the study, still there was a significant difference between the test and control groups in systolic and diastolic BP [P < 0.001]. Findings of the study indicated that massage therapy was a safe, effective, applicable and cost-effective intervention in controlling BP of the pre-hypertension women and it can be used in the health care centers and even at home

direct medical costs of colorectal cancer in Iran; analyzing the patient's level data from a cancer specific hospital in Isfahan

The Immense cost of cancer treatment is one of the main challenges of health care systems all over the world including Iran. The aim of this study was to analyze the direct treatment costs of colorectal cancer patients in Isfahan, Iran. In this cross sectional study, the medical records of colorectal cancer [CRC] patients admitted to the Seyyed-al-Shohada Hospital "SSH" from 2005-2010 were reviewed. The profiles of 452 patients were examined. However based on inclusion, exclusion criteria a total number of 432 profiles were analyzed. All records including age, sex, treatment processes and treatment costs were extracted from the patients' profiles and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. The results showed that 56.1% of CRC patients were male. The mean age of patients suffering from CRC was 56 +/- 13.4. More than Thirty-six percent of the patients were in stages 1-3 of CRC and more than half of them [64.4%] were in the 4[th] stage. The higher the stage of the cancer the higher the percentage of treatments used. 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin [5FU/LV] was the most common used chemical treatment protocol. The mean treatment cost for stage one was 10715 [ +/- 4927], for stage two 15920 [ +/- 3440], stage three 16452 [ +/- 2828] and for stage four was 16723 [ +/- 2555] US Dollars. The cost of drug treatment was the first cost driven between the medical services. CRC in Iranian population starts in younger age than people in western countries. This imposed considerable direct and indirect economic cost to the society. The direct medical cost of colorectal cancer in Iran is very higher than 38 million [dollar sign]. Screening programs could reduce the economic cost of CRC significantly