Mothers' lived experience of caring for children with inborn errors of amino acid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Inborn errors of amino acid metabolism are chronic conditions that have many sequels. Mothers of these children are facing different challenges which are underdetermined. This study was done to explore lived experience of mothers caring for these children. METHODS: This is an interpretive phenomenology with van Manen's approach which has 6 steps. Data were gathered by convenience and purposeful sampling. Nine mothers with different experiences were interviewed and the interviews were audiotaped. RESULTS: Six final themes were revealed from the exploring mothers' experiences including the future tied to the past, psychosis in the shadow of a lost ideal child, rebellion and blaming, the ways of escaping difficulties, self-forgetting in the shadow of full-time care, passing difficulties in the duality of hope-hopelessness, caring in a continuum of isolation-socialization. CONCLUSION: Mothers have multiple challenges in taking care of their children, especially psychologically and financially. So, nurses must plan programs for helping mothers of children with inborn errors of amino acid metabolism to reduce the effects of disease on mothers and consequently the children and the whole family.

Pulmonary and cutaneous mucormycosis in two children with diabetes mellitus type 1.

OBJECTIVES: Mucormycosis is a life-threatening condition that can be present in diabetes mellitus. Although the rhino-orbito-cerebral form is the most common, other types may be developed as well. CASE PRESENTATION: The present study reports two children with diabetes who had the cutaneous and pulmonary forms of mucormycosis. The first case was a four-year-old boy without a history of diabetes admitted due to loss of consciousness and a necrotic lesion on his hand. The second was an 11-year-old boy with dyspnea, polyuria, and polydipsia who had developed diabetes two years before, and whose chest X-ray had shown a pulmonary lesion. Both cases were treated with surgical implementation and appropriate antifungal therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Mucormycosis is a fatal condition that can even be present at the onset of diabetes mellitus. Therefore, any diabetic patient with any presentation of respiratory symptoms such as coughs, or any cutaneous lesion should be examined carefully for mucormycosis after which prompt treatment must begin.

Unmet needs in Iranian cancer patients.

Background: The identification and management of unmet needs is an essential component of health care for the growing cancer patient population. Information about the prevalence of unmet need can help medical service planning/redesigning. Therefore, this study aimed to identify unmet needs in Iranian patients suffering from cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 650 cancer patients admitted to the major medical centers in Mashhad and Neyshabur by census sampling. The data was gathered by the Survivor Unmet Needs Survey (SUNS). Data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test and Pearson correlation. Results: Most of participants were female (56%, n=263) and Mashhad resident (67.1%, n=436). The most common cancers were colorectal (17.8 %, n=116), stomach (13.6%, n=88) and lung (9.4%, n=62), respectively. The highest unmet needs score belonged to work and financial needs (2.46 ± 0.91), and the least was the emotional domain (1.92±0.90). Among demographic factors, a significant relationship was found between resident places (p<0.001), and cancer type (p<0.0001). Conclusion: This is the first study addressing the unmet needs of cancer patients in Iran. It reveals that cancer patients had a relative high number of unmet needs; this shows the necessity of including these factors in the routine assessment of all cancer patients and planning treatment interventions based on their individual's need.