Comparison of Purgative Manna Drop and Phototherapy with Phototherapy Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVES: Herbal remedies such as purgative manna are used to treat neonatal jaundice. In this study Bilineaster drop (purgative manna) and phototherapy, and phototherapy treatment alone were compared by assessing phototherapy duration and number of days in hospital. METHODS: There were 150 consecutive term neonates with jaundice, weighting from 2,500 g to 4,000 g enrolled in this randomized double blind clinical trial. The neonates were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The control patients received only phototherapy and the intervention group underwent phototherapy treatment and purgative manna drop (5 drops per kg of body weight, 3 times a day). Direct and total measurements of bilirubin concentration in the serum were measured and the reduction in concentration of bilirubin was calculated. RESULTS: There were 28% of patients whose hospital duration following phototherapy was 2 days, for Bilineaster and phototherapy treatment this was 49.3% of patients. At 48 hours and 72 hours the reduction in the concentration of total bilirubin in the serum was statistically significantly different across groups (p 0.05). The reduction in direct bilirubin concentration in the serum was significantly different between groups at 72 hours and 96 hours (p > 0.001). CONCLUSION: Purgative manna and phototherapy, can statistically significantly reduce total bilirubin concentration at 48 hours and 72 hours compared with phototherapy alone, and reduce the length of hospital stay for jaundiced neonates at 2 days compared with phototherapy treatment.

[Spiritual health among nursing and midwifery students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences]

The present study aimed to investigate the spiritual health among nursing and midwifery students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2012. This was a cross-sectional study in which all 222 nursing and midwifery students studying at Kerman University of Medical Sciences were recruited to study. Data were gathered using the Palutzian and Ellison questionnaire of spiritual well-being. The obtained data were then analyzed in the SPSS-20 using parametric statistical tests such as independent t-test and Anova. Results showed that spiritual well-being of nursing and midwifery students was in the good range. Except gender, no statistically significant relationships were observed between the mean of spiritual well-being and parameters such as age, marital status, academic year, and field of study. According to the findings, spiritual health among nursing and midwifery students was moderate. It is necessary to promote spirituality among nursing and midwifery students