[Incidence of post general anesthesia complications in recovery room]

General anesthesia and surgery cause several physiological disorders in different organs of the respective patients that may appear as several complications during recovery, which need to be identified and evaluated. Survey of the incidence of such complications at Post Anesthesia Care Unit [PACU] 1 and some of the effective risk factors in Rasht Razi Hospital. In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, 155 patients 10-75 years old, in ASA 1 and 2 classes were selected in the hospital. Cases included those who underwent general anesthesia with the same techniques for elective urology surgery and transferred to PACU, in 2010. Questionnaires consisted of two parts, part one included basic information and part two included: respiratory, cardiovascular, neural and digestive complications. Collected data were analyzed using chi-s quare, paired tests by SPSS 16 and P

Learning critical thinking in virtual medical education: a qualitative study of faculty members' and students' experiences

Background and Purpose: Critical thinking is a high priority outcome of higher education. With the ever-increasing spread of virtual courses, enhancement in the critical thinking in distance learning has become the center of attention for the stakeholders

The present study was conducted to qualitatively examine the experiences of teachers and students in teaching and learning critical thinking in medical education

Methods and Materials: In this qualitative study, 7 E-teachers and 11 postgraduate E-students of medical education were interviewed using a semi-structured method. All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and then analyzed through constant comparison based on Strauss and Corbin's method

Results: Three themes were identified in this study; nature of critical thinking, critical thinking within the framework of medical education discipline; and the teaching-learning process of critical thinking in the virtual environment

Conclusion: The participants' experiences indicated that the learning-teaching of critical thinking in virtual education is affected by teaching strategies, the features of course management software, creation of a learner-centered environment and the role of critical thinking as one of the objectives of curriculum and evaluation

Educational programs' quality assessment based on graduates' comments

The specific goal of this study was quality assessment the educational programs of basic and clinical sciences of Tehran University of Medical Sciences [TUMS] according to the graduates' viewpoints. We obtained the list of all 1200 graduates of TUMS in 2007. Using a random generation table, 350 subjects were selected from the seven faculties of TUMS in proportion to the number of graduates from each faculty. The data collection device was a 15 item researcher-made questionnaire according to the existing problems in the educational system of the university. All the items of the questionnaire were constructed and standardized in terms of validity and reliability based on the latest reliable sources and textbooks on educational assessment [Likert indices]. Cronbach alpha was estimated to be 0.85. The most satisfaction from educational programs in basic sciences and clinical sciences was related to practical skills [4.36 +/- 1.22] versus satisfaction with education [4.76 +/- 1.66]. The quantity indices in basic sciences were 68.44% [3.42] which is in a fairly optimal range; for clinical sciences it was 77.2% [3.86], being also in an optimum range. TUMS must make an attempt to reach the optimal point in every educational aspect

effects of arsenic trioxide and zoledronic acid on malignant plasma cells derived from bone marrow cells of multiple myeloma patients

Multiple myeloma [MM] is a disease of plasma cells that has fatal consequences. New agents associated with molecular targets have prompted clinical investigators to design new treatment strategies initially for advanced MM and later for newly diagnosed MM, with encouraging preliminary results. We devised a project to assess the mechanisms of action of two drugs, Arsenic trioxide [ATO] and Zoledronic acid [Zometa] on Bone marrow mononuclear cells [BMMCs] derived from patients. Bone marrow samples were collected from 10 patients after receipt of formal consent. BMMCs were collected from samples. In two parallel sets of experiments, BMMCs were treated with 0.5, 2, 6 micro M ATO and 0.1, 10, 100 micro M Zometa, for 72 h. The following analyses were then performed on treated cells as compared to untreated cells [assumed as control]: cytotoxicity using Micro culture tetrazolium test [MTT assay]; matrix metalloproteinase-2 zymography; comparative gene expression analysis of IL-6, vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [ICAM-l]. MTT assay showed significant proliferation inhibition in ATO high dose treatment [6 uM]. However, no significant inhibitory effect of Zometa was seen. Zymography analyses showed significant decrease in gelatinolytic activity in treated cells. Analyses of gene expression using Real-Time RT-PCR methodology showed significant decrease in IL-6, ICAM-1, and VEGF genes as normalized against Hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase normalizer and as compared with untreated cells. Both ATO and Zometa could significantly decrease MM cells critical phenotype and genotype. This finding could support the hypothesis that ATO or Zometa could inhibit growth and metastasis of malignant cells

satisfaction of medical practitioners from continuing medical education program of Tehran university of medical sciences

The concept of Continuing Medical Education in medical sciences has been rapidly gaining popularity during the last decades. The objective of this study was to assess the satisfaction of medical profession graduates participating in the programs of Continuing Medical Education [CME] in terms of their professional requirements. In a cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study, a reliable and valid retest questionnaire was used to determine the satisfaction from continuing medical education CME program. One hundred and three medical profession graduates who had participated in CME program in 2006 were enrolled. The satisfaction for anesthesiologists with the compatibility of CME programs with their professional requirements was 28.3%; for general practitioners and pediatricians with the capability of professors in presenting the program, 40%; and for gynecologists and obstetricians with the capability of 31.6%. We conclude from the results of this study that a high satisfaction was noticed among medical professionals that may be due to previous works of researchers who have assessed the needs precisely and standardized the modern teaching methods