Comparison of peer led and teacher led oral health educational program among students

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Peer-Led Education (PLE)comparing with the Teacher-led education(TLE) approach about oral health behavior of female school- student aged at 6-12 in district 6 of Tehran, Iran. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study. Two primary public schools in Tehran district 6, were selected by simple random sampling and from each school one class considered for PLE and TLE. 120 fourth grade female students of the 6th district of Tehran were enrolled for study. All participants were assessed about knowledge, attitude, and practice in oral health by Pre-test one month before the intervention program. A valid questionnaire in Persin version used for data gathering. Two representatives including teacher and students from both groups trained under the supervision of a health educator. In PLE each of the six students trained 10 other students in the middle of the day per three consecutive sessions. In TLE one teacher trained one class with about 30students. Both education program set up at the same time and duration. The educational materials included educational short films, animation, and booklet powered driven by Oral Health Burea, Iran health ministry. Apart from, the intervention included role play and storytelling too. The evaluation had done by post-test with the same tool one month later after the intervention. Results: The average mean score of the knowledge, attitude, and practice in both group after educational intervention significantly increased (P<0.05).The mean score of knowledge, attitude, and practice in PLE have been effective than TLE. Conclusion: Health education with peer education approach is effective in improving oral health behavior in children at school age

No role of herpes simplex virus type 2 [HSV-2] infection on HIV progression in naive HIV patients

Background: Herpes simplex virus type 2 [HSV-2] is a common infection in human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] patients and may accelerate HIV progression by rising HIV viral load and decreasing CD4 count. However, the available data regarding the influence of HSV-2 seropositivity on HIV progression in HIV individuals are inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to determine HSV-2 seroprevalence in naive HIV patients and normal controls and also investigate the relation of HIV viral load and CD4 count with HSV-2 seropositivity. Subsequently, we investigated the association of HSV-2 serostatus with changing in CD4 count and HIV viral load in our subjects, after one year follow-up

Methods: In this study, 116 naive HIV patients and 85 healthy controls from Tehran, Iran were enrolled. HSV-2 IgG antibody was detected by ELISA. CD4 count was determined by flowcytometry, and serum HIV RNA copy numbers were determined using real-time PCR

Results: The prevalence of HSV-2 IgG was 18.1% in naive HIV patients and 0% in the control group [P = 0.000]. HSV-2 seroconversion was observed in 2.43% of HIV patients after one year. There was no significant difference regarding HSV-2 serostatus with CD4 count and HIV RNA viral load in our study cohort at baseline and after one year

Conclusion: Our results revealed that the prevalence and incidence of HSV-2 infection are low in our HIV cases, and it is negligible in the control group. However, it seems that HIV/HSV2 co-infection has no role on HIV infection acceleration

Effectiveness of nursing interventions based on family needs on family satisfaction in the neurosurgery intensive care unit

Since the family is a social system, the impairment in each of its component members may disrupt the entire family system. One of the stress sources for families is accidents leading to hospitalization particularly in the intensive care unit [ICU]. In many cases, the families' needs in patient care are not met that cause dissatisfaction. Since the nurses spend a lot of time with patients and their families, they are in a good position to assess their needs and perform appropriate interventions. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of nursing interventions based on family needs on family satisfaction level of hospitalized patients in the neurosurgery ICU. This clinical trial was conducted in the neurosurgery ICU of Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran in 2010. Sixty four families were selected by simple sampling method and were randomly placed in two groups [test and control] using envelopes. In the test group, some interventions were performed to meet their needs. In the control group, the routine actions were only carried out. The satisfaction questionnaire was completed by both groups two days after admission and again on the fourth day. Both of the intervention and control groups were compared in terms of the mean satisfaction scores before and after intervention. There was no significant difference in mean satisfaction scores between test and control groups before the intervention. The mean satisfaction score significantly increased after the intervention compared to the control group. Nursing interventions based on family needs of hospitalized patients in the ICU increase their satisfaction. Attention to family nursing should be planned especially in the ICUs.

[ patient with tuberculosis meningitis with clinical and paraclinical manifestations similar to viral meningitis]

Meningitis is one of the serious complications of extra pulmonary tuberculosis [TB]. TB meningitis is the most common chronic meningitis in the world. Early diagnosis and treatment of TB meningitis will decrease the probability of focal neurological defects in these patients. AFB smear and culture are the methods that routinely are used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Polymerase Chain Reaction [PCR] of CSF samples is a specific diagnostic technique to approve the TB meningitis infectious. A 26 years old woman with a 10 days history of continuous global headache, nausea and restlessness referred to a neurologist. A brain CT scan without contrast was normal. Then a lumbar puncture [LP] was carried out and CSF sample was analyzed. An aseptic meningitis pattern in the CSF test was observed. All of the other tests were showed to be normal. There was no change in the result of the secondary LP test and CSF analysis that was done less than 24 hours after the first LP. Regarding to the seasonal prevalence of entroviruses, causes of lymphocytic viral meningitis was ruled out. Tuberculin Skin Test [TST] was positive in this patient. The PCR of CSF sample for TB was positive. So the diagnosis of TB meningitis was approved and treatment was started. The patient had a good condition after one year of treatment. Since the TB infectious has a variety of presentations that could be unusual, we should think about TB in patients with similar manifestations of meningitis and pneumonia. Due to its specificity, PCR in these conditions is a very helpful method for TB diagnosis as it can detect few copies of bacilli in biological samples