[Relationship between mother's general health status with quality of life of child with cancer]

Childhood cancer discloses family, and mother in particular, to a number of challenges. It consumes a lot of time, energy, and money of parents to fulfill their caring responsibilities. In some cases and along with increase of caring pressure, mental health of parents deteriorates. The vesting consequences of such events may alter the process of children caring and their quality of life [QoL]. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mother's general health status with the QoL of the child diagnosed with cancer. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 124 mothers of children diagnosed with cancer and aged 6-14 years old, referred to Imam Reza and Amir Hospitals in Shiraz during a four month period [from early November to late February] were selected to the study. Data were gathered using the following instruments: 1] the questionnaire of factors related to QoL in children; 2] mother's general health status form; 3] TNO_AZL Children Quality of Life [TACQOL]; and 4] Ped QL Cancer Module. Data were collected through interviewing with mothers and reviewing the medical records of the hospitals. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman correlation coefficient, Mann-whiteny test and logistic regression in the SPSS-19. A few number of mothers [7.3%] reported good general health status and a large number described their general health status as moderate [55.6%] and poor [37.1%]. The mean of health related QoL score and the specific QoL score for children were 78.45 +/- 10.05 and 65.51 +/- 17.54, respectively. According to the multi-factorial logistic regression, demographic and social factors such as child's age and treatment-related factors including the period of radiotherapy, along with the duration of disease were more correlated with health and specific QoL scores in children, compared to the mothers' general health status score. Results from this study suggested that emotional support is as important as financial empowerment. The QoL in these patients and their families may improve by identifying the families who are at risk of mental problems

Anatomical variations of the saphenofemoral junction in patients with varicose veins

Varicose veins are an extremely common medical condition [present in 5-30% of adults]. Surgery remains the gold standard of care in patients with varicose veins, however several newer interventions have been recently introduced which need to be evaluated. During the standard surgery it is imperative to demonstrate and ligate the tributaries of the saphenofemoral junction in combination with stripping of the great saphenous vein. We studied 228 patients with varicose veins who underwent surgery during two years. The number and name of tributaries at the saphenofemoral junction, presence of external pudendal artery and its relationship to the saphenofemoral junction were recorded. The number of tributaries varied from 2 to 7 at the first five centimeters of the great saphenous vein. The average number of branches was 3.87 and the most common branch was the superficial external pudendal vein. The external pudendal artery was identified during all surgical exploration. It crossed anterior to saphenofemoral junction in 39.5% and posterior in 60.5%. Anatomical variations in venous branches at the saphenofemoral junction are varied [from 2 to 7], so it is recommended to explore the location of varicose veins precisely to ensure appropriate surgical technique.

[Results of radiofrequency tonsillotomy in adults with recurrent tonsillitis]

Tonsil reduction by use of radiofrequency waves is one of the newest therapeutic modalities, especially for obstructive large tonsils. The aim of this study was comparing short term and long term results of radiofrequency tonsillotomy and traditional cold dissection tonsillectomy in adult patients with recurrent tonsillitis. a prospective randomized clinical trial on 72 adults with recurrent tonsillitis was performed in a tertiary referral university hospital. Traditional tonsillectomy in 34 cases and radiofrequency tonsillectomy [RF] by use of Radiofrequency Induced Thermotherapy [RFITT] probes in 38 cases were performed under general anesthesia. Time of surgery, amount of intraoperative bleeding, recovery time, post-surgical pain, dysphagia, weight loss, and time of return to normal diet and activity were measured. All the patients were followed for 24 months for recurrence of tonsillitis episodes. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16, chi square and Mann-Whitney U tests. Mean time of surgery [16.89 vs. 46.07 minutes] and recovery [14.32 min vs. 17.11 min], and amount of intraoperative bleeding [15-20 cc vs. 250-300cc] were significantly less in the RF group than the traditional tonsillectomy group [p<0.005]. There was no difference between the two groups in the recurrence of tonsillitis episodes after 24 months. Tonsillotomy with RF is a simple, rapid, and effective method in adult patients with recurrent tonsillitis