[ diagnostic value of CRP, ESR and white blood cell count in the diagnosis of chorioamnionitis in the mothers with premature rupture of membrane]

Several laboratory factors such as ESR, CRP and leukocyte count, have bee used for the diagnosis of placental membrane infection. However, results of studies on this subject had been different and sometimes controversial. This study was conducted to determine the role of CRP, ESR and leukocyte count in the diagnosis of infection of placental membranes in mothers with premature rupture of membrane. This was a descriptive and analytical observational study. The study population included all patients with premature rupture of membrane before 37 weeks of gestation. Sample size included 70 subjects. Sampling method was census. Data of the eligible patients were extracted from interview and laboratory results. Data were introduced into SPSS software and analyzed by means of T test and if necessary, by X[2] and non-parametric tests. This study included 70 patients. None of the patients had history of hypertension before 20 weeks of gestation, hypertension in previous pregnancy and history of drug use. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CRP test for detection of chorioamnionitis were 16.7%, 67.7%, 4.5% and 89.8%, for WBC count 16.7%, 63.1%, 4% and 89.1%; and for ESR 66.7%, 50.8%, 11.1% and 94.3% respectively. The results of this study was compatible with those the previous studies and showed controversy about the predictive value of CRP for clinical and pathological diagnosis of chorioamnionitis. On the other hand lack of correlation between ESR values and WBC counts with chorioamnionitis which is not compatible with the results of some of the previous studies will reflect the need for future studies with larger sample sizes

Behavioural and clinical factors associated with depression among individuals with diabetes

Depression has been linked to greater mortality and morbidity in diabetic patients, but this issue has not been adequately studied in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This cross-sectional study described the prevalence of depression in patients attending a diabetes clinic in Urmia and determined the associated sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical factors. Of 295 patients, 128 [43.4%] had depression scores [>/= 15] on the Beck Depression Inventory. The mean score for all patients was 15.4 [SD 9. 5]. Those with depression were significantly older and less educated than those without depression, had a longer duration of diabetes and were more likely to suffer complications. On logistic regression analysis, older age was the only variable significantly associated with depression

Immune response to measles vaccine after mass vaccination in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran

We investigated the effectiveness of the mass measles vaccination campaign in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran, by examining the measles IgG seroprevalence and antibody response from paired data before and after the campaign. The overall seropositive rate of 624 subjects aged 5-25 years increased 1 year after the mass vaccination [from 53.0% to 72.3%]. A rise in antibody titre occurred in all age groups except the 21-25 years group, which had the highest titre before mass vaccination. On logistic regression analysis, only immune status prior to vaccination was significantly associated with the seroresponse. It may be cost-effective to check antibody titres before mass vaccinations, especially in high vaccine coverage regions with circulating wild virus

[Plasmid profile of pseudomonas aeruginosa and its relation with antibiotic resistance in hospital isolates]

P. aeruginosa is one of the causes of nosocomial infections with an unusual resistance to antibiotics. The source of resistance in this bacterium may be chromosomal or plasmid. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial susceptibility patterns with the presence of plasmids in P. aeruginosa isolates. In this study, 140 P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from hospitals in Urmia/Iran. The susceptibility patterns were determined against antibiotics. Plasmids were extracted by alkaline lysis method, electrophoresed and investigated by a UV transilluminator. Single digestion of plasmids with EcoR1 and HincII were performed and the restriction patterns were compared using a ladder. The rates of resistances to antibiotics were as follows: gentamicin 49.3%, cephalothin 99.3%, ticarcillin 100%, ceftizoxime 79.3%, co-trimoxazole 97.7%, amikacin 35%, carbenicillin 67.1%, ceftriaxone 65.7%, ciprofloxacin 58.6%, piperacillin 52.8%, imipenem 1.4%, kanamycin 65.7%, ofloxacin 72.1% and ampicillin 100%. In Whole, 65.7% of isolates harbored plasmids. Restriction enzyme analysis of plasmids showed unique pattern for all of plasmid positive isolates. All the plasmid positive isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone and kanamycin. The plasmid source of resistance to ceftriaxone was proved by plasmid elimination and transformation in E. coli DHS alpha and the plastid source of resistance to kanamycin was proved by plasmid elimination. Also there was a significant correlation between the presence of plasmid in isolates and resistance to some of antibiotics. There was a high frequency of plasmids in P. aeruginosa isolates, indicating that plasmids have an important role in transferring of resistance genes in this bacterium

Pattern of complementary and alternative medicine use in urban population

To determine the prevalence and patterns of Complementary and Alternative Medicine [CAM] use in urban population in Isfahan. In a cross-sectional study through two-stage sampling methods, 870 individuals were selected from Isfahan Province, center of Iran. We selected 20 clusters randomly and chose one household from each cluster by chance then 24 households were included consequently. Subsequently a resident of each household aged 18 years or older was selected randomly. We assessed the rate of use, types of alternative medicine, and conditional disease during recent two years. The overall use of at least one method of complementary and alternative medicine was 62.5%. The most common problems were as follows: digestive problem, obesity and hyperlipidemia, as well as anxiety and depression. Herbal medicine and bless therapy were the most common methods that people chose. Regarding to high prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use, more attention to complementary and alternative medicine is mandate for physicians and health system managers. Health authorities' supervision and training of traditional practitioner is important not only for its economic impact and postponement of seeking treatment, but also for its untoward side-effects either alone or in combination with orthodox medicines

Measles IgG sero-prevalence and its attributable factors in 5-25-year-old cases prior mass vaccination campaign in Urmia, northeastern Iran

Measles is a vaccine preventable infectious disease. Despite the widespread availability of an effective measles vaccine, the number of measles cases is noticeable in Iran. Because measles -specific antibody titer after vaccination is lower than after natural infection there is a concern that vaccinated persons may gradually lose protection from measles. This study was performed to examine the persistence of vaccine-induced antibody, participants with documented history of vaccination were assessed to determine the sero-prevalence and titer of measles antibody. This study was carried out in Urmia. Iran. Documented history of at least a single dose of live attenuated measles vaccine [at 9 or 15 month of age] was the inclusion criteria. Blood was collected from 835 subjects between 5 and 25 years old. The sera were tested for anti-measles IgG antibodies, by ELISA [IBL Germany]. Associations between predictive factors such as demographic data, vaccination status [once or twice] with IgG sero prevalence in routine vaccinated subjects were investigated by logistic regression analysis. The antibody titers in 54.76% of cases were in the range of protective level [IgG>12IU]. The mean of antibody titer significantly increased after the 16th year of life. The antibody titers were higher in participants who received one dose of measles vaccine in comparison with the persons who received a booster of measles vaccine. Antibody titers were slightly higher in men than in women. On multiple logistic regression analysis, of all variables examined, only vaccination status retained a significant association with antimeasles sero-positivity rate [estimated odds ratio = 0.395 95% CI = 0.214-0.859, P<0.05]. Elevation of antibody titer many years after vaccination is most likely due to boosting effect from repeated exposure to circulating wild virus resulting in unapparent or sub-clinical re-infection. This group of persons would be the most likely to support viral transmission in the absence of disease

Concept mapping as an educational strategy to promote meaningful learning

Background: a major metacognitive learning strategy that appears to improve students learning experience is concept mapping

Purpose: to determine the effects of teaching by concept mapping method on meaningful learning of a group of bachelor degree program nursing students

Methods: students studied in fourth year of Nursing, Bachelor's Program, in two nursing faculties located in Tehran were selected by simple sampling method and randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. The selected materials were taught by concept mapping strategy for the intervention group while in the control group traditional lecturing method was used. A teacher-made, criterion referenced test was used as instrument to evaluate meaningful learning of participants in two groups

Results: based on intended criteria 230 fourth year students wereincluded.25 students were excluded due to lack of one or more including criteria. The remaining students were divided randomly into two intervention [106 students] and control [99 students] groups. The study was conducted during a 5-week period. The results showed that there was a significant statistical difference between the mean scores of retention test of learning in the case [72.40 %] and control [53.30 %] groups [P<0.005]. T-test also revealed that there was a significant statistical difference between the mean scores of cumulative post-test for the case group [73.29 %] and the mean scores of cumulative posttest for the control group [68.69 %]

Conclusion: based on our findings it can be concluded that teaching by concept mapping strategy has significant effects on meaningful learning and retention of the students. By addressing these issues it is suggested that more nurse educators would attempt to use the concept mapping strategy in the promotion of meaningful learning