The effect of yoga on the delivery and neonatal outcomes in nulliparous pregnant women in Iran: a clinical trial study.

BACKGROUND: Yoga can reduce the risk of preterm delivery, cesarean section (CS), and fetal death. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Yoga on pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal outcomes. METHODS: This was a clinical trial study and using the random sampling without replacement 70 pregnant women entered Hatha Yoga and control groups according to the color of the ball they took from a bag containing two balls (blue or red). The data collection tool was a questionnaire pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal outcomes. The intervention in this study included pregnancy Hatha Yoga exercises that first session of pregnancy Yoga started from the 26th week and samples attended the last session in the 37th week. They exercised Yoga twice a week (each session lasting 75 min) in a Yoga specialized sports club. The control group received the routine prenatal care that all pregnant women receive. RESULTS: The results showed that yoga reduced the induction of labor, the episiotomy rupture, duration of labor, also had a significant effect on normal birth weight and delivery at the appropriate gestational age. There were significant differences between the first and second Apgar scores of the infants. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that Yoga can improve the outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. They can be used as part of the care protocol along with childbirth preparation classes to reduce the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRCT20180623040197N2 (2019-02-11).

The effects of musical stimulation on the level of consciousness among patients with head trauma hospitalized in intensive care units: A randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Improvement in the level of consciousness (LOC) is considered as an indicator of recovery among patients with head trauma (HT). musical stimulation is a simple noninvasive intervention with potential positive effects on LOC. This study evaluated the effects of musical stimulation on LOC among patients with HT hospitalized in intensive care unit. METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted in 2018-2019. Fifty-four patients with HT were purposively and consecutively recruited from two trauma intensive care units in Qazvin, Iran, and randomly allocated to a control (n = 27) and an intervention (n = 27) group. Participants in the intervention group received fifteen-minute musical stimulation once daily for seven consecutive days using an MP3 player and a headphone for their counterparts, the headphones were silent for 15 min without receiving any musical stimulation once daily for seven consecutive days. A demographic questionnaire, the Glasgow Coma Scale, and the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale were used for data collection. LOC was daily assessed before and after each musical stimulation session. The SPSS program (v. 23.0) was used for data analysis at a significance level of less than 0.05. FINDINGS: There were significant between-group differences respecting the posttest mean score of LOC in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh days of the study intervention (P < 0.05)., the posttest mean score of LOC in the intervention group significantly increased in the intervention group (P < 0.0001), while it did not significantly change in the control group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: musical stimulation is effective in significantly improving LOC among hospitalized patients with HT. Therefore, it can be used as a non-expensive noninvasive intervention to improve treatment outcomes among these patients.

Comparing the effects of upper limb and breathing exercises on six-minute walking distance among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a three-group randomized controlled clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: Physical exercise can improve patient outcomes and reduce hospitalization and mortality rates among subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study aimed to compare the effects of upper limb and breathing exercises on six-minute walking distance among these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This three-group randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2017-2018 in Velayat hospital, Qazvin, Iran. Seventy-five patients were purposively selected from the outpatient lung clinic of the hospital and randomly allocated to either the 25-patient groups of upper limb exercise, breathing exercise, or control. The patients in the first group were performing upper limb exercises thrice weekly for one month in the study setting. Their counterparts in the second group were doing pursed-lip and diaphragmatic breathing exercises four times daily for one month at their homes. However, the patients in the control group received no exercise intervention. Six-minute walk test was performed by each participant both before and after the study intervention. The SPSS for Windows program (v. 23.0) was used to analyze the data via the Chi-square test, the paired-sample t test, and the one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Before the intervention, the groups did not significantly differ from each other respecting six-minute walking distance. During the study, walking distance in the control group did not change significantly, while it remarkably increased in both the upper limb exercise and the breathing exercise groups (p < 0.05). After the intervention, walking distance in the upper limb exercise group was significantly greater than the breathing exercise group (p < 0.05) and the control group (p < 0.05); however, the difference between the breathing exercise and the control groups was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Upper limb exercise is more effective than breathing exercise in increasing walking distance among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Therefore, upper limb exercise can be used as a safe, simple, and inexpensive rehabilitation technique for these patients.

Efficacy of topical chamomile on the incidence of phlebitis due to an amiodarone infusion in coronary care patients: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Amiodarone is a useful antiarrhythmic drug. Phlebitis, caused by intravenous amiodarone, is common in patients in coronary care units (CCUs). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of topical chamomile on the incidence of phlebitis due to the administration of an amiodarone infusion into the peripheral vein. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: This was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, conducted on 40 patients (n = 20 per group) in two groups-an intervention group (chamomile ointment) and a control group (lanoline, as a placebo), hospitalized in the CCUs and undergoing an amiodarone infusion into the peripheral vein over 24 h. Following the cannulation and commencement of the infusion, placebo or chamomile ointment was rubbed in, up to 10 cm superior to the catheter and repeated every eight hours for three days. The cannula site was then assessed based on the phlebitis checklist. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The incidence and time of occurrence of phlebitis, relative risk, severity of phlebitis were the main outcome measures. RESULTS: Nineteen patients (19/20) in the control group had phlebitis on the first day of the study and one patient (20/20) on the second day. In the intervention group, phlebitis occurred in 13 cases (13/20) on the first day and another two (2/7) was found on the second day. The incidence of phlebitis was significantly different between two groups (P = 0.023). The cumulative incidence of phlebitis in the intervention group (15/20) is significantly later and lower than that in the control group (20/20) during two days (P = 0.008). Two patients in the intervention group did not develop phlebitis at all during the 3-day study. Also, the relative risk of phlebitis in the two groups was 0.68 (P = 0.008 5). A significant difference was not observed with regard to phlebitis severity in both groups. CONCLUSION: It seems that phlebitis occurred to a lesser extent and at a later time frame in the intervention group compared to control group. Topical chamomile may be effective in decreasing the incidence of phlebitis due to an amiodarone infusion. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This protocol was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT2014042017361N1).