Spiritual Well-Being and Death Anxiety: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Iranian Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients experience a tremendous psychological burden, typically in the form of death worry due to acute medical conditions and the possibility of mortality. The unfavourable conditions of ACS patients cause them to reconsider the meaning of life and their spiritual well-being. This study evaluated the association between death anxiety and spiritual well-being in a total of 241 ACS patients in Shahroud, northeast of Iran. The data were collected using the Templer Death Anxiety Scale, and the Spiritual Well-being Scale by convenience sampling method. All patients indicated a high degree of death anxiety, and roughly half reported a moderate level of spiritual well-being. There was a significant and direct correlation between death anxiety and spiritual well-being levels. Older age, single status, and non-smoking were other predictors of good spiritual well-being. A multidisciplinary health team should identify and implement approaches to promote spiritual well-being and reduce mental suffering.

Clinical manifestation, laboratory and radiology finding, treatment and outcomes of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since December 2019, coronavirus (COVID-19) spread throughout the world. The high rate of infection and its unknown nature led specialists to report the condition of patients. The aim of this study is to systematically review of symptoms, laboratory and radiologic findings, treatment, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Databases such as PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane were searched. Finally, 46 articles were appropriate for the aim of the study. After quality evaluation, the necessary data were extracted and meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS: 4858 articles were retrieved until March 30, 2020. After screening, the full-text of 46 articles was assessed. Of the reported cases, 31.7% had no comorbidities, 21.4% had high blood pressure, 70.6% had fever, and lymphopenia was reported in 55.2% of patients. For 16% bilateral patchy shadowing in radiography and for 51% ground-glass opacity was reported. Outcomes were remarkable for recover to death. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 leads to healthcare problems for countries. Nonspecific symptoms have made it difficult for differential diagnoses without computed tomography-scan or corona Test, but they are not available in many countries. Therefore, this systematic review can help health care staff to make decisions based on symptoms, treatments, and outcomes..

Effect of acupressure in the third eye point (EX-HN 3) on psychological distress, comfort and physiologic parameters among patients undergoing coronary angiography.

AIM: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of acupressure on comfort, anxiety, stress, depression, and vital signs in patients undergoing coronary angiography. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on patients who underwent coronary angiography in Tehran, Iran. Seventy patients were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention protocol consisted of 20 min of acupressure applied to the Yintang point, and standard medical care was applied to the control group. Depression, Anxiety, and Stress questionnaire (DASS-21), General Comfort Questionnaire (GCQ) questionnaires, and standard monitoring were used as data collection tools before and after intervention, as well as after angiography. Data were analyzed using an independent sample t-test, chi-squared, and analysis of variance of repeated measures in SPSS software, and the level of significance was set at 0.05. FINDINGS: The results showed that before acupressure, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Anxiety and stress scores and comfort levels decreased significantly after the intervention (p < 0.001), while no significant difference was observed in the depression score (p = 0.873). There was a significant decrease in the blood pressure, breathing rate, and heart rate in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: Acupressure can reduce the anxiety and stress of angiography candidates and make them more comfortable. It also reduces the blood pressure, breathing rate, and heart rate. Further studies at different pressure points and on a larger and more detailed scale are necessary.

Spiritual care competence, moral distress and job satisfaction among Iranian oncology nurses.

BACKGROUND: Nurses have a crucial role in identifying spiritual needs and providing spiritual care to patients living with cancer. AIM: This study evaluated Iranian oncology nurses' spiritual care competence and its relationship with job satisfaction and moral distress. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 Iranian oncology nurses in 2020 using four questionnaires: demographic questionnaires, the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ), the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the nurses' Moral Distress Questionnaire (MDS-R). FINDINGS: The mean scores indicated a medium to high Spiritual Care Competence (SCC), mild to moderate moral distress and high job satisfaction. There was a positive correlation between SCC and external job satisfaction (r=184, p<0.05) and a negative correlation between SCC and moral distress (r=-0.356, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SCC diminishes with decreasing external job satisfaction and increasing moral distress. To improve the SCC of nurses working with patients living with cancer, it is recommended that nursing managers and policymakers revise the organisational policies to tackle the obstacles and consider the related factors to provide an ethical climate, implement quality spiritual care and increase job satisfaction.

Prevalence of depression and anxiety among myasthenia gravis (MG) patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Myasthenia gravis (MG) people experience adverse psychiatric outcomes, which may impact on their life and disturb their daily activity. Depression and anxiety are identified as significant psychiatric problems that MG people face. However, there is no sufficient epidemiological information about depression and anxiety-based publication. Due to this limitation, the aim of this study was to review the prevalence of depression and anxiety in MG patients. METHODS: Original and international databases were searched to find papers about the estimation of anxiety and depression. Random-effects analysis was used for calculating the proportions of anxiety and depression. For estimating anxiety and depression based the severity, instruments, type of studies, and study regions, subgroup analysis was performed. RESULTS: 38 studies met inclusion criteria and entered study. The pooling of the prevalence of depression was found at 36%, (95% CI 28% to 45%). Also, prevalence of anxiety was found at 33%, (95% CI 25% to 42%). Prevalence of depression based on mild, moderate, and severe level was 27%, 14%, and 9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety and depression are a major concern among MG individuals. The estimation of both anxiety and depression are high even when compared to other autoimmune diseases. It seems depression and anxiety are important issues and more attention needs to be paid to these psychiatric disorders.

Effect of Non-nutritive Sucking during Heel-stick Procedure in Pain Management of Term Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of non-nutritive sucking for analgesia in term infants undergoing heel-stick procedures. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials and non-randomized studies based on the PICO framework were included in the study. Review articles, commentary, pilot, and non-English articles were excluded. Databases, such as PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane, were searched until January 31st, 2021, using the keywords "Pain management", 'Non-nutritive sucking", and "Heel stick". All studies were reviewed and retrieved by two authors independently using a standardized form according to the inclusion criteria, and any disagreements were examined by a third scholar. Quality assessment was evaluated by using the ROB-2 tool. Data were analyzed using Stata version 12.0 software, and a random-effects model was used for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 5,629 articles were retrieved from all databases, and after the screening, finally, 6 relevant articles were included in the analysis. The tools used to control pain in infants in the articles included PIPP, NFCS, NIPS, and NPASS. The results showed that the pain scores were significantly lower in the NNS group compared to the control group (MD, -1.05; 95% CI, -1.53 to -0.57) and NNS had a significant effect on oxygen saturation (O2 Sat) increasing in newborns compared to the control group, but no significant reduction in the heart rate (HR) between two groups was observed. CONCLUSION: NNS effectively provides analgesia in full-term neonates undergoing heel-stick procedures; however, its effects on the long-term outcomes of infants are unclear. The results showed that NNS was effective in improving heel-stick pain in infants.

Ways To Enhance Blood Transfusion Safety: A Systematic Review.

AIM: Blood product administration is a vital and possibly life-threatening issue that may increase the risk of clinical damage in patients. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review of the ways to improve blood transfusion safety. METHOD: In order to conduct this systematic review, electronic databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched for data of the last 30 years using keywords including patient safety, blood transfusion, risk management, safety management, and transfusion reaction. The inclusion criteria set for the selection of quantitative articles were articles written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals during the mentioned period. In this study the publications are reviewed in line with the PRISMA guide checklist. RESULTS: Among 6105 articles found during the initial search, 16 articles were finalized for further investigation. Fifty percent of the included articles discussed the use of modern technology including patient identification system, barcode technology, portable computer systems, and databases. Moreover, 31% of the studies evaluated the use of alternative methods for transfusion of blood products including mediastinal blood transfusion, the use of autologous blood in adult patients, the use of cord blood in children, the use of hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier-201, and the injection of fresh whole blood. About 18% of articles drew attention to indications and thresholds as an essential factor increasing patient safety. CONCLUSION: It was concluded from this study that the use of technology leads to fewer human errors and complications caused by these errors. In addition, some alternative methods can be used in a cost-effective way to reduce serious adverse events caused by common strategies.

Prevalence of depression among amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) people have a high risk of severe mental disorders, like depression, which impacts their function, quality of life, and mobility. However, there are no estimates of depression based paper published. This study aimed conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of depression in ALS patients around the world. METHODS: PubMed/Medline, Web of science, Scopus, Embase, and Ovid are searched to identify papers that reporting the prevalence of depression. Studies are included in random-effects meta-analyses of the prevalence of depression. Subgroup analyses are performed on the severity of depression, instruments of depression, type of studies, and study regions. RESULTS: 46 eligible studies reported prevalence of depression. The pooled prevalence of depression among ALS people was 34% (27%-41%). According to the severity of depression, mild, moderate, and severe depression were 29%, 16%, and 8%, respectively. For studies using BDI, PHQ, and HADS, the pooled prevalence of depression was 50%, 20%, and 15%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ALS people have a high prevalence of depression. The high prevalence of depression causes a reduction of quality of life and mobility. The study identifies a population group at high risk needing special attention in clinical practice.