Search

Abstract Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common dietary disorder caused by fatty changes in the liver parenchyma and hepatocytes without alcohol consumption. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors of NAFLD in the Mashhad Persian Cohort Study population. Method The present population-based cross-sectional study included all PERSIAN Organizational Cohort study in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (POCM), Mashhad, Iran by census sampling method. Eligible participants were divided into two groups due to their NAFLD condition (NAFLD positive or NAFLD negative). All enrolled participants were evaluated based on their clinical aspects, anthropometric measures, laboratory tests, and ultrasound features. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA –version 16). A P-value less than 0.05 was considered as the significance level. Results A total of 1198 individuals were included in the study, of which 638 (53.3%) were male and the rest were female. The mean age of the participants was 46.89 ± 8.98 years. A total of 246 patients (20.53%) were NAFLD positive, of which 122 (49.59%) were in grade 1, 112 (45.52%) were in grade 2, and 12 (4.87%) were in grade 3. The prevalence of fatty liver was significantly higher in males than in females (p

Background: The current study intends to assess the impact of oral selenium intake on anti-Tg antibody in individuals with autoimmune hypothyroidism. Methods: In this double-blinded randomized controlled trial, two groups of 72 autoimmune hypothyroid patients were randomly assigned; One group received levothyroxine (LT4) and oral selenium and the other group was given placebo with LT4. Anti-Tg antibody, free T4, anti-TPO antibody, and TSH were identified in both groups before the treatment and also 3 months after treatment and analysis of data was done by SPSS software. Results: After the intervention, the average amount of anti-Tg antibody decreased in both of the groups, and this decrease was noticeably greater in the intervention group (P = 0.03). In the intervention group, the TSH level decreased after the intervention (p < 0.05), and the free T4 level increased after the intervention (p < 0.05); the changes in these two variables were statistically significant. Conclusion: Consumption of selenium, compared to placebo, in patients with autoimmune hypothyroidism drastically reduces the level of anti-Tg antibody, and it significantly increases the free T4 level. Also, there is a greater decrease in the level of TSH compared to the control group.

Background and aim: Cardiac arrhythmia is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, especially those undergoing hemodialysis. One of the most significant risk factors for cardiac arrhythmias is thought to be electrolytic abnormalities. This study aimed to assess the effect of hemodialysis on cardiac arrhythmias according to electrolytic disorders in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on ESRD patients who had undergone hemodialysis for at least six months. An electrocardiogram (ECG) and serum levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were checked before and after hemodialysis for all the patients. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS software.Results: In this study, 96 patients were included. The most common arrhythmia was atrial fibrillation (AF) (22.9%). Our findings revealed that changes in serum potassium levels (p = 0.036) had a significant relationship with the occurrence of AF. There was a significant negative relationship between changes in serum calcium level and the QTc interval (r = -0.223 and p = 0.023). Furthermore, there was a significant positive relationship between changes in serum calcium levels and the QRS complex amplitude (r = 0.350 and p = 0.0001).Conclusion: ECG abnormalities, especially AF arrhythmias, are common in patients undergoing hemodialysis, which highlights the need for ECG monitoring both during and after hemodialysis.

Abstract Background Training professional medical experts is so much dependent on the efficacy of the medical curriculum. Bearing this in mind, we aimed to evaluate the attitude of the undergraduate medical students toward the Early clinical exposure (ECE) program as a facilitator transition to the clinical phase. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted on undergraduate medical students at the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran who were transferring from the pre-clinical course to the externship course from 2021 to 2022 by census method (i.e. all eligible students were included and no sampling was performed). An eight-session ECE intervention was performed on the participants by two professors of the Internal medicine department of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. The participants’ attitude toward the program and the program quality was assessed with the valid and reliable scale developed by Mirzazadeh et al. (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.72). Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS software (version.16) with a statistically significant level of less than 0.05. Results A total of 118 undergraduate medical students were enrolled in the study. Our results revealed that this program could familiarize (n = 95,81.2%)the students with the role of basic sciences knowledge in clinical settings, and 104(88.9%) participants believed that this intervention could motivate them toward learning more. The data revealed that this program was highly interesting for international students. There was a significant differentiation between Iranian and international students in familiarity with doctoring skills in medicine(P

Background: As a common digestive disorder, choledocholithiasis can have serious consequences, including death. Given that opioids have been shown to contribute to the spasm of Oddi’s sphincter, which results in biliary stasis in the common bile duct (CBD), it is likely that opioids can also raise the prevalence of choledocholithiasis. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate how common opium addiction was among choledocholithiasis patients in Mashhad, Iran.Methods: The current retrospective observational study was conducted on 599 patients with choledocholithiasis who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), utilizing information gathered at the Ghaem hospital in Mashhad, Iran, between 2011 and 2015. Patient data were collected from files and records using certain criteria such as gender, opium addiction, hepatic enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP), plasma levels of total bilirubin, and direct bilirubin. The size of the CBD stones as well as the correlation between the gallbladder and CBD stones were calculated.Findings: From among 599 patients included, 345 (57.6%) were female and 254 (42.4%) were male. Moreover, 195 patients (32.2%) had opiate addictions. The size of the CBD stone was correlated with the patient’s age (r=0.17, P=0.001). The average stone measured 12.22±3.32 mm. There were notable differences in the mean size of the CBD stone (P

Abstract Background Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are high but not as high as in diabetic patients. However, it can lead to diabetes, making it a serious global health issue. Previous studies have shown that the gut microbiome can affect insulin sensitivity and improve glucose management, which can reduce or delay the progression of pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study was designed to investigate the effects of probiotics on glycemic and lipid profile control in pre-diabetic patients. Methods This randomized, double-blinded clinical trial was conducted on 70 pre-diabetic patients at the Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Participants were divided into two groups, both of which received lifestyle modification training. One of the groups also received 500 mg/day probiotic capsules for three months, while the other group received a placebo. Before and after the three-month period, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum insulin level, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting blood sugar (FBS), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides (TG) were measured and compared using statistical tests to examine the effect of probiotics. Results A total of 70 individuals participated in the trial, including 50 women (71.4%) and 20 men (28.6%), with an average age of 43.53 ± 8.54 years. At the end of the trial, the mean weight (P

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pulmonary involvement which was reported for the first time in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China. The aim of the study was to describe the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of 204 definitive laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Patients and Methods: This study was performed on 204 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. A set of laboratory tests combined with various patient information and results from lung high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were gathered in a checklist and analyzed to give us a better view of patients who are hospitalized due to the complications caused by this disease. Results: The average age of our patients was 58.83 ± 15.93 years. There were 122 (59.8%) male and 82 (40.2%) female patients, and almost all of our patients had at least one underlying disease. Nine (4.4%) of our patients reported having gone for a trip to COVID-19-epidemic areas in the last 2 weeks. The most common signs shared among all our patients were cough, fever, and decreased O2 saturation; the average respiratory rate was 25.50 ± 6.74/min, average axillary body temperature was 37.69°C ± 0.69°C, and average O2 saturation was 88.34% ± 7.34%. Conclusion: Based on our results, the most common signs of this disease are fever, cough, and shortness of breath, similar to seasonal influenza. Our data on disease severity showed that 33 (16.2%) patients had moderate disease, 139 (68.1%) had severe disease, and 28 (13.7%) were critical; 22 (10.8%) of our hospitalized patients died due to the complications of this disease.

Background and Aim. Diabetes is the most common chronic metabolic disease worldwide, requiring life-term follow-up. Telenursing is a suitable method to provide care to people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The present review assessed the effect of telenursing compared to routine care on the outcomes of people with T2DM. Method. A comprehensive search of online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, was performed using the following MeSH keywords: telenursing, telephone follow-up, diabetes mellitus, disease management, glycemic, self-care, treatment adherence, and quality of life, up to September 2023. Two reviewers independently screened pertinent studies based on the prespecified outcomes (treatment adherence, self-care, glycemic control, and quality of life) and extracted data from all eligible studies. Results. Of all retrieved records, 23 studies including 5 quasiexperimental (21%) and 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (79%) from five continents met the inclusion criteria. Both male and female patients were considered in the included studies, with mean age of 56.2 years old and a follow-up range of 12 weeks to 18 months. Findings showed that telenursing or nurse telephone follow-up significantly increased mean self-care efficacy score, improved adherence to the treatment regimen, decreased glycosylated hemoglobin and plasma glucose levels (but not lipid profile and body mass index), and improved quality of life compared to the routine care in people with T2DM. Conclusion. Telenursing can effectively supplement healthcare professionals to manage PWT2D. Increasing patients’ knowledge about their drugs, insulin administration, and diabetes complications improves self-care behaviors and medical adherence. Consistently, improved self-care and regular use of treatment result in improved metabolic indicators and decreased rate of complications, which is associated with a better quality of life.

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can present with a variety of symptoms. Severity of the disease may be associated with several factors. Here, we review clinical features of COVID-19 inpatients with different severities. This cross-sectional study was performed in Imam Reza hospital, Mashhad, Iran, during February–April 2020. COVID-19 patients with typical computed tomography (CT) patterns and/or positive reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were included. The patients were classified into three groups of moderate, severe, and critical based on disease severity. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiologic findings were collected and compared. P

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) became a hotspot in different fields of sciences, especially in medical education. This term was developed by John McCarthy in which he defined a machine that can intelligently think and perform instead of man more than 66 years ago. However, like many other new advances in educational systems, AI is not fully adjusted in the Iranian medical education system as a developing country. Therefore, we investigated the limitations and obstacles of applying AI in the Iranian medical education system over its advantages. Considering the features and benefits of AI in medical education, it seems that this technology can help to achieve the lofty goals of teaching and learning in medical sciences; But the main question is what are the limitations and obstacles to the apply artificial intelligence in the Iranian medical education system? It can be concluded that whether AI advantages push us to apply it in our medical educational system, but its limitations and obstacles in the Iranian medical educational system make it difficult to use this valuable technology.

Burnout among physicians is a potential warning to the health system and one of the prime occupational hazards of recent years. Burnout is characterized by emotional, mental, and physical fatigue. Numerous studies have shown that burnout has a high prevalence among physicians, such that about one-third of them are affected at some point in their career. A recent study from the United States reported that 45.8% of physicians present at least one symptom of burnout. Statistics indicating one suicide per day among physicians show the urgency of the matter and the need for improvement. It has been reported that this syndrome may even start from the beginning of medical studies such that medical students and r=is review article, we describe the main cause and consequences of physician burnout. To investigate the issue, the two keywords of “burnout” and “physician” were searched in PubMed, Medline, Sciences Direct, and Google Scholar. We did a comprehensive literature review to extract any recent related content about the cause and consequences of physician burnout. Drawing from the studied literature, it is concluded that to address the issue, first, the elements of physicians’ wellness and satisfaction should precisely be determined, then necessary interventions should be adopted to improve the situation.

Adiponectin is an adipocytokine that has a higher serum level in healthy people. In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, hypertension, MI, and dyslipidemia, the serum level of adiponectin is lower than 4 µg/mL. Adiponectin is proved to have a protective role against atherosclerotic changes where its low serum levels in type 2 diabetes can lead to the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. In this study, we aimed to survey the possible effects of adiponectin in the development of coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetics. Thirty diabetic cases with coronary artery disease, 30 diabetic cases without known coronary artery disease, and a group of 30 healthy volunteers, all of them were between 18-65-year-old, were entered our study. We gathered demographic data by performing a physical examination followed by filling a checklist and a set of laboratory tests. All the groups were sex and age-matched (P=0.284 and P=0.163 respectively). CAD group had the lowest HBA1C (P

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic factor, and its blood level has shown a direct correlation with atherosclerosis. We aimed to evaluate the serum IL-18 level in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its relationship with the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery in these patients, as an indicator of atherosclerosis.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients as the patient group and 30 healthy volunteers as the control group [matched sex, age, and body mass index (BMI)] were selected, and their disease status and general data were gathered using the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) form. A blood sample was also obtained from all participants to determine the serum level of IL-18 and other metrics, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), complement 3 (C3), and C4. The IMT of the carotid artery was calculated in both groups. We also evaluated the clinical cardiovascular manifestations.RESULTS: The serum IL-18 levels in patients were significantly higher than in the control group (P ˂ 0.005). It had no significant correlation with disease activity (P = 0.10). The patients with SLE with high IL-18 serum levels (> 280 pg/ml) had higher SLEDAI-2K (P = 0.02) than the patients with a low level (< 280), where 280 was the median of the IL-18 levels. The serum IL-18 level had no significant correlation with the carotid artery IMT.CONCLUSION: A high level of IL-18 reflects the disease activity, but it was not significantly correlated with subclinical atherosclerosis, denoted by the carotid artery IMT.

Overlap syndrome, which is known as the coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), was first defined by Flenley. Although it can refer to concomitant occurrence of any of the pulmonary diseases and OSA, overlap syndrome is commonly considered as the coexistence of OSA and COPD. This disease has unique adverse health consequences distinct from either condition alone. Given the high prevalence of each solitary disease, overlap syndrome is also likely to be common and clinically relevant. Despite the fact that overlap syndrome has been described in the literature for nearly 30 years, paucity of evaluations and studies limited the discussion on diagnosis, prevalence, pathophysiology, treatment, and outcomes of this disease. This review article addresses these issues by reviewing several recent studies conducted in Iran or other countries. This review suggests that overlap syndrome has worse outcomes than either disease alone. Our findings accentuated the urgent need for further studies on overlap syndrome and all overlaps between OSA and chronic pulmonary disease to provide a deeper insight into diagnosis and non-invasive treatments of this disease.

Introduction: Renal failure affects the mechanical and the ventilatory function of the lungs. A few studies have evaluated the ventilatory and pulmonary function in dialysis patients. The present study aimed to compare Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) results in patients undergoing Hemodialysis (HD) and Peritoneal Dialysis (PD). Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 50 patients with hemodialysis (HD) and 50 cases with PD who underwent PFT in Ghaem and Imam Reza hospitals Mashhad, Iran from November 2010 to July 2012. Spirometric parameters including forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow 25-75% (FEF) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were compared between the two groups of patients. Results: Approximately 68% of the HD patients, 66% of the PD patients, and 67% of all the studied cases showed a normal spirometric pattern. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the two groups considering the mean of the aforementioned spirometric parameters(restrictive ,obstructive pattern) (P=0.969). However, an insignificant inverse correlation was observed between the duration of dialysis with FEV1 (r=0.381, P=0.008), FVC (r=-0.298, P=0.04), FEF 25-75% (r=0.43, P=0.003), PEF (r= 0.349, P=0.02) and FEV1/FVC (r=-0.363, P=0.01,) in the HD patients and between the patients’ age with FEV1/FVC (r=0.03, P=0.02) in the PD patients. Conclusion: This study showed no significant difference in pulmonary function in hemo and peritoneal dialysis,so according this result ,both of the dialysis had the same affect on the lung function.