Fresh or Frozen Embryo Transfer in The Antagonist In Vitro Fertilization Cycles: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-ant), widely adopted protocol, is more in line with the physiological processes, and induces a shorter and more cost-effective ovarian stimulation. In order to assess the success rate of embryo transferring (ET) in the antagonist in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, we compared the fresh ET with the frozen ET outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, one hundred five cases of ET of the infertility clinic of the Besat hospital (Kurdistan, Iran) between March 2014 to March 2020 that were treated with antagonist cycle (both fresh and frozen) were analyzed. The difference between the two groups in baseline data and reproductive outcomes were evaluated using Independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test, and Fisher's exact test in SPSS software (version 22). RESULTS: Out of 105 cases, 48 and 57 were in the fresh and frozen ET groups, respectively. The participants age was 35.75 ± 4.9 Y. In the fresh ET group, and 33.98 ± 5.1 Y in the frozen ET group. The percentage of chemical pregnancy was 12 (25%) in the fresh ET group and 15 (26.3%) in the frozen ET group (P=0.8); Clinical pregnancy rate was 11 (22.9%) in the fresh ET group and 11 (19.3%) in the frozen ET group (P=0.6); the rate of abortion in the fresh ET group was 3 (6.3%, P=0.2), and in the frozen ET group was 8 (14%, P=0.2); and the live birth rate was 9 (18.8%) in the fresh ET group, in comparison with 7 (12.3%) in the frozen ET group (P=0.3). CONCLUSION: Not statistically significant, the percentage of chemical pregnancy and abortion were higher in the frozen ET group. The percentage of clinical pregnancy and live birth were higher in the fresh ET group.

A comparative study of characteristics and risky behaviors among the Iranian opium and opium dross addicts.

BACKGROUND: Iran ranks first per capita in the use of opiates, but we have little information about possible differences regarding the 2 most commonly used illicit drugs, namely opium and its dross (residue). DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. SETTING: A cross-sectional study about drug abuse and drug dependence in Iran was conducted from April 2006 to August 2008 in the prisons of 28 Iranian provinces, in the treatment centers, and in the streets. PARTICIPANTS: To pursue the objectives of this research, participants included 2979 opiate addicts including opium users (n = 2636) and dross users (n = 343), who were not significantly different by gender (P = 0.269) or age (P = 0.452). MEASUREMENTS: An anonymous questionnaire was completed through an interview that gathered sociodemographic characteristics and information about some high-risk behaviors. RESULT: : By the end of the study, we concluded that dross addicts, in comparison with opium addicts, were mostly immigrants from rural areas to urban areas (P = 0.031 χ test, 95% confidence interval [CI]), mostly uneducated, illiterate, or semiliterate (P = 0.04 χ test, 95% CI), had illegal occupations (P = 0.048 χ test, 95% CI), were cigarette smokers (P < 0.000 χ test, 95% CI), and had experienced drug injections (P = 0.032 χ test, 95% CI) and drug overdose (P = 0.007 χ test, 95% CI). They also had a history of hospital admission within the preceding year because of drug overdose (P < 0.000) and a record of being arrested and jailed in the past year (P = 0.028 χ test, 95% CI). CONCLUSION: These results indicated the need for more intensive and effective care for the opioid addicts in Iran.

Change in quality of life after medical and surgical treatment of graves' ophthalmopathy.

PURPOSE: To assess the changes in quality of life (QOL) of patients after treatment of their Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective, cross-sectional study, the GO-QOL questionnaire was completed by 67 subjects before and at least 6 months after steroid treatment (61 subjects, group 1) or optic neuropathy orbital decompression (6 subjects, group 2). Visual, psychosocial, education and counseling scores (higher score = better health), GO severity and clinical activity scores and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were recorded and analyzed for correlation and statistical significance. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of patient enrolled in the study was 38.3 years, with 43 females (64.2%). The mean duration of thyroid dysfunction and GO were 40.1 and 26.5 months, respectively. Two treatment groups were similar for all the variables (0.06 < P < 0.9), except for higher mean age in the orbital decompression group (45.2 versus 37.7 years) (P = 0.03). Mean severity, activity, visual function and psychosocial function scores significantly improved in group 1 (steroid group) (P < 0.05, all cases). A significant improvement in clinical activity score and psychosocial scores occurred in group 2 (decompression group) (P < 0.05). MCID was achieved in two-thirds of the patients, with no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant effect of duration of thyroid disease and GO and severity and activity of GO on QOL scores either before or after treatment (P > 0.05, all cases). CONCLUSION: Steroid treatment and orbital decompression significantly improve the QOL in GO. Duration, severity and activity of GO did not have a significant impact on the QOL.

Determinants of patient satisfaction with ultrasound-assisted liposuction.

BACKGROUND: Liposuction is one of the most common aesthetic procedures and a number of options are available to practitioners in terms of surgical technique. One of those options is ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL), which has garnered considerable attention in the literature and from patients themselves. Because the role of ultrasound in body sculpting is continuing to increase over time, the authors believe that a comprehensive assessment of patient satisfaction after the procedure is essential. Currently, there are very few reports in the literature examining patient satisfaction with UAL, and to the authors' knowledge, no reports in the literature have successfully outlined the determinants and predictors of long-term satisfaction with the procedure. OBJECTIVE: The authors examine the correlates and predictors of patient satisfaction after UAL. METHODS: The authors conducted a prospective cross-sectional study on 609 consecutive patients who underwent UAL from 2002 to 2008. One hundred and sixty (54%) out of 300 patients with whom the authors could make contact agreed to answer a standardized questionnaire regarding their overall satisfaction. RESULTS: Nearly 80% of the patients were completely or mostly satisfied with UAL. Seventy-five percent reported that they had or would recommend UAL to others. Women (P=.009), patients who did not gain weight after their UAL procedure (P<.001), patients who were content with their body appearance (P<.001), patients whose dress sizes decreased after UAL (P=.001), and patients with confidence in their body (P<.001) showed statistically significant higher rates of satisfaction with UAL. Among these correlates, confidence in body (odds ratio [OR]=24.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.8-83.3) and contentment with body appearance (OR=5.5; 95% CI: 1.5-19.4) were found to be reliable independent predictors of patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Most patients were satisfied with UAL, but certain patient responses were more highly correlated with overall satisfaction than others and therefore can be considered predictors of long-term patient satisfaction with this procedure. The results of this study may provide plastic surgeons with valuable clues that can enhance preoperative planning and therefore enable further improvement of patients' satisfaction with UAL.

Efficacy of oral metronidazole in treatment of cutaneous and mucosal lichen planus.

INTRODUCTION: Response to different antimicrobial agents supports the infection hypothesis for lichen planus (LP). There are individual case reports describing the improvement of LP with oral metronidazole treatment in patients with concomitant intestinal amebiasis or giardiasis. There are two small studies that reported metronidazole might be effective in some patients with idiopathic LP who did not have concomitant protozoal infections of the intestinal or genital tracts. The authors performed an open trial to evaluate the effectiveness of metronidazole, as a single treatment, on different forms of LP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 49 patients, 24 male and 25 female, were selected from the dermatology outpatient clinic with a diagnosis of LP in one of its forms. Metronidazole was administered at 250 mg every eight hours daily without any concomitant therapy. Patients were examined at baseline and at days 21, 42, 63, 84 of treatment, and the follow-up period was three months. The authors used SPSS software (Version 15) for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 20 (40.82%) skin lesions had complete response (CR) to treatment by metronidazole, 16 (32.65%) had relative healing (PR) and 13 (26.53%) did not improve (NR). The overall treatment response (CR + PR) of LP skin lesions was 73.47 percent in this study. In mucosal involvement, the overall treatment response was 66.6 percent, and finally the overall treatment response for itching was obtained in 75 percent of the cases. CONCLUSION: Based on the authors' findings, metronidazole can be an alternative therapy in treatment of LP, and is a safe agent to be considered.

The efficacy of time-based short-course acyclovir therapy in treatment of post-herpetic pain.

INTRODUCTION: Various treatments have been used to manage post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Safe and effective therapies to prevent PHN are needed. METHODOLOGY: A clinical trial involving 152 patients diagnosed with acute herpes Zoster (HZ) was conducted to determine whether short-course acyclovir therapy (800 mg five times a day for four days) can alleviate HZ-associated pain and prevent post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN).  The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 had a rash with a duration of less than 72 hours and Group 2 had a rash with a duration of more than 72 hours. To assess PHN, the patients categorized and assessed the severity of their symptoms using a four-point verbal rating scale (VRS). RESULTS: By the fourth week, 134 out of 152 patients (88.2%) had complete pain response (CPR). Of these, 68 patients (89.5%) were from Group 1 and 66 from Group 2 (86.8%). After four weeks, the mean VRS scores had changed significantly in both groups compared to the scores at the beginning of study (p = 0.001), but there was no difference between the two groups (0.88 ± 0.66 Vs. 0.94 ± 0.72; p = 0.66) After three months no differences were observed in the treatment results between the two groups (0.51 ± 0.13 Vs.0.54 ± 0.19; p = 0.77). CONCLUSION: Short-course acyclovir therapy is an effective treatment for zoster and its efficacy in patients with a rash duration of more than 72 hours is similar to that in patients with rash duration of less than 72 hours.

Malassezia yeast species isolated from Iranian patients with pityriasis versicolor in a prospective study.

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of Malassezia species in pityriasis versicolor lesions and to examine if the range of species varies with patients characteristics such as: age, sex and family history and also clinical findings such as site and number of the lesions. In a prospective study from July 2006 to July 2007, the patients with a clinical diagnosis of pityriasis versicolor (n = 166) were asked to participate in the study. A total of 116 patients had positive culture for Malassezia species: M. globosa was found in 52 (31.3%) cases, M. furfur in 34 (20.5%) cases, M. pachydermatis in 12 (7.2%) cases, M. restricta in 12 (7.2%) cases, M. slooffiae in 6 (3.6%) cases. According to our data, M. globosa is the main species causing pityriasis versicolor, M. furfur was found to be the second-most frequent species. M. sympodialis and M. obtusa were not found in any case, and in 30.2% of patient's Malassezia culture was negative.

Pattern of glomerulonephritis in Iran: a preliminary study and brief review.

BACKGROUND: Glomerulonephritis is a relatively rare disease with numerous subtypes and limited numbers of patients with each. Comprehensive epidemiological surveys are therefore difficult to undertake and there are few data on the spectrum of renal disease, especially in Iran. The aim was to determine the pattern of glomerulonephritis in Iran. MATERIAL/METHODS: Following a retrospective study on 400 candidates for renal biopsy whose renal specimens were evaluated at the pathology department of Tehran's referral hospital during 2006 and 2007, 393 cases were registered. The biopsy specimens were processed for light and electron microscopy and one renal pathologist confirmed these diagnoses using standard diagnostic criteria. RESULT: The mean +/-SD patient age was 31.9+/-15.9 (range: 3-78 years). Primary glomerulonephritis included 276 (70.2%) patients and 81(20.6%) had secondary glomerulonephritis. Of the 393 cases, 54.7% were male, 15.0% were children, and 3.8% were elderly. The most common glomerulonephritis was FSGS (37.1%) followed by MGN (16.5%) and lupus nephritis (13.4%). Furthermore, FSGS was the most common glomerulonephritis in the males (34.4%) and in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data make a small contribution to the epidemiology of glomerulonephritis in Iran, showing an epidemiological difference from a previous study in Iran and other Middle East countries, particularly an increasing prevalence of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. A multi-center study with a larger sample size should be performed to create an Iranian registry of renal biopsies.

Quality of life in patients with thyroid eye disease.

PURPOSE: To evaluate quality of life (QOL) before and after corticosteroid therapy for thyroid eye disease (TED) and to determine the impact of the disease on QOL. METHODS: A modified TED-QOL questionnaire was completed by consecutive patients before and at least 6 months after steroid therapy. All patients were clinically and biochemically euthyroid during the course of the study. QOL was assessed in subscales of visual function, psychosocial, and educational/counseling; TED was classified by severity score (NOSPECS) and Mourits' clinical activity score. RESULTS: Overall, 61 patients including 18 (29.5%) male and 43 (70.5%) female subjects with mean age of 37.3±13.7 (range, 18-33) years were enrolled. Mean duration of thyroid dysfunction and TED were 40.1±44.8 and 26.5±38.2 months, respectively. Mean disease severity and activity significantly decreased, and visual and psychosocial function scores significantly improved following corticosteroid therapy for TED. Psychosocial score was significantly worse than visual function score before but not after steroid treatment. Linear regression analysis and Spearman correlation test showed no significant correlation between duration of thyroid dysfunction, duration of TED, disease severity and activity on one hand, and QOL scores on the other hand, before or after treatment. CONCLUSION: TED seems to adversely affect psychosocial activity more than visual function. Corticosteroid therapy significantly improves QOL. No significant correlation seems to exist between QOL scores and the severity or activity of TED.