[Social support among nurses at Iran University of Medical Sciences]

Social support is known as a factor in buffering negative effects of occupational stress. There are several stressful situations in nursing which could cause job dissatisfaction, low work performance, quit or turnover among nurses. These situations cause physical and mental problems which mostly lead to irreparable damages in nursing care. The purpose of this study is to determine the rate of social support among nurses. In this cross-sectional study, 373 nurses who worked in Iran university of medical sciences affiliated hospitals were selected randomly. The inclusion criteria were nurses who had no management experiences and at least had a six-month nursing experience. Data were gathered using a demographic form and the McCain and Marklin Social Integration Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 13. Eighty five percent of nurses mentioned that the support they receive from their coworkers, head nurses, and supervisors were moderate, high [10.7%], and low [4.3%], respectively. A significant association was found between social support and shifts. Perceived support from coworkers [mean=24.83] were more than perceived support from head nurses and the supervisors [mean=19.37]. Most of the nurses received moderate level of support; whilst, they desired to have more relationship with their coworkers and nurses managers. Head nurses and supervisors can arrange excursions and traveling tours to establish more relationship with their staff

Retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava: a case report

Leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava [IVC] is a rare sarcoma, but it is the most common primary malignancy of the IVC. It has an extremely gloomy prognosis. We describe a 40 year-old white female complaining of abdominal fullness for 7 weeks before she sought medical assistance. Initial work-up including sonography and computed tomography showed a huge tumoral mass in the abdominal cavity seemingly originating from the IVC with displacement of the right ureter and hydronephrosis. The patient underwent surgical resection of the tumor. Pathologic diagnosis was leiomyosarcoma. Postoperatively, she was placed on coumadin and adjuvant chemotherapy was started. Considering the aggressiveness of this tumor, early radical enblock resection with clear margins is still the only chance for long-term survival

[Comparative efficacy of deferrioxamin and combination of deferiprone and deferrioxamine on echocardiographic indices in beta thalassemic patients]

Regular blood transfusions in beta thalassemic patients can lead to accumulation of extra iron in the body which may result in cardiac complications and death. Deferrioxamin [DFO] is the standard treatment for this condition but 12-8 hours subcutaneous [SQ] injection of this drug per day can cause local pain which together with lack of patients' compliance, it is necessary to use another drug to improve the condition of the patients. Deferiprone [DFP], is an approved drug for this purpose and removes iron from cells including cardiac muscle cells. The aim of this study is to compare efficacy of deferrioxamin with that of combined deferiprone and deferrioxamin on echocardiographic indices in beta thalassemic patients. In this randomized clinical trial 40 thalassemic patients who met the inclusion criteria of this study were divided into two equal groups. Controls group received SQ deferrioxamin for six days/ week and intervention group received deferrioxamin for three days/week and deferiprone orally for four days/week. Cardiac indices were measured and compared before and after the study. Mean values of the age of the patients were 15.6 +/- 5.1 and 14.1 +/- 6 years in the intervention and control group respectively. Right ventricle diameter [RVD] indices in control group was 18.7 +/- 7.6 and 20.8 +/- 6.6 mm before and after treatment respectively [P<0.05]. In the intervention group RVD indices were 19.5 +/- 5.8 and 18.0 +/- 4.7 mm before and after treatment respectively [P>0.05]. Other indices such as LVEDD, LVESD, aortic root diameter, EF and Fs of left ventricle and also indices of the heart valves revealed no significant differences between the two groups. We didn't observe any side effect of the drugs in the patients. We concluded combined therapy with 4 days DFP and 3 days DFO per week did not lead to cardiac complications and deterioration of echocardiographic indices

[Knowledge of married women in kohgilouyeh and boyerahmad urban areas on AIDS and sexualy transmitted infections]

Sexualy transmitted infections [STIs] and AIDS are the most common diseases worldwide. Women are more affected by STIs and AIDS due to gender-related factors such as biological, cultural and so on. This study was conducted to investigate knowledge about AIDS and STIs among married women in Kohgilouyeh and BoyerAhmad Province/Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban areas of Kohgilouyeh and Boyerahmad province. Using stratifed cluster sampling, a valid questionnaire covering demographic variables and items related to knowledge about AIDS and STIs was administered to 1379 women covered by the urban PHC clinics. The mean age of the respondents was 33.3 [SD= +/- 9.3]. Most were household [%85] and the mean level of their formal education was 7.2 years [SD= +/- 4.8]. The results also showed that women had the most knowledge with the statements that "using condom protects against AIDS" [%63.9] and "asymptornatic persons would be as AIDS vectors" [%65.1]. There was a significant relation between education and recognizing AIDS as a sexualy transmitted infection [p=0.004]. Albeit, women were poorly familiar with the STIs, the most knowledge was found with gonorrhea [%40.5] and the least with chlamydia [%12.2]. The most knowledge was observed with the statements that "STIs would induce PID in women" and "using condom protects against all the venereal diseases" [both%61 .1]. A significant corelation was found between education and job and fimiliarity with STIs [p<0.001]. Findings showed limited knowledge on sexualy transmitted infections and fairely good knowledge on AIDS. There is need for the promotion of women's knowledge in sexual health field

Correlation between occupational stress and social support among nurses

There are several stressful situations in nursing profession which could cause job dissatisfaction, low performance, and quit or turnover among nurses. These situations may lead to physical or mental problems which irreversibly disturb nursing care quality. In this regard, social support is a factor that buffer stressful situations. The aim of the study was to determine the level of nurses' occupational stress and its relation to social support in Medical Educational Centers of Iran University of Medical Science in 2006. A cross-sectional design was used in the study. The sample size was 373 subjects who were selected randomly among nurses with minimum of 6 months nursing experience with no managerial experience. The instruments of data collection consisted of demographic form, the Toft-Gray and Anderson Questionnaire and the McCain Marklin Social Integration Scale. The data were analyzed, with descriptive and inferential statistics [mean, standard deviation, chi-square, Fisher's exact test and Spearman coefficient of correlation] through SPSS-13. The results showed that the majority of nurses [59%], perceived high level of occupationl stress, 37% and 4% of the subjects had moderate and mild stress levels respectively. There was not any significant association between the variables of job stress and social support, however there was a significant association between job stress and age [P < 0.04, X2=12.95, r=-0.1]. Interestingly eighty five Percent of the subjects considered perceived support from coworkers, head nurses and supervisors respectively. A significant association between social support and working shifts was found [X2=8.13, P=0.01] too. It is concluded that nursing is a stressful occupation and the majority of nurses in the stressful working environment are confronting, with no social support. Therefore, it that increasing and development of social support could lead to reduce occupational stress in nurses

[Estimation of cranial capacity of Turkman's 17-20 years old in Gorgan - North of Iran]

It is natural that there is close relationship between cranial capacity, and the size of brain, several studies have estimated the cranial capacity which indirectly reflects the brain volume in different countries. In the present study cranial capacity has been estimated in Turkman's 17-20 years old group in North of Iran. This study was carried out on 401 normal 17-20 years old [male 198, female 203] in South-East of Caspian Sea border [North of IRAN]. By using linear dimensions of the head [Using Lee- Pearsom's Formula]. The mean and SD of cranial capacity in males and females were 1420.6 +/- 85 ml and, 1227.2 +/- 120 ml, respectively, this difference was significant [P<0.05]. This investigation was shown that the cranial capacity is higher in male than female also racial and Geographical factors can affect on cranial capacity