The Association of Opium Abuse with Mortality Amongst Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Iranian Population.

Opioid abuse is a serious problem in the society. Since the first months of COVID-19 pandemic, several myths, rumors and misconceptions have been spread about the benefits of opium consumption for COVID-19 outcome. In addition, data are limited on the relationship between opium abuse and COVID-19 mortality amongst hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In this historical cohort study, we assessed the risks of several variables for mortality amongst all hospitalized COVID-19 patients from the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic in South of Iran from March 15th, 2021 to October 14th, 2021. Data was acquired from the Medical Care Monitoring Center (MCMC), affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. A total of 64,427 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were included into the analysis. The mortality rate was 10.59% (n = 6756). Of all, 2030 (3.15%) patients-1702 males and 328 females-reported the positive history of opium abuse with a mean age of 57 ± 17.21 years. The results of multivariable risk showed that the positive history of opium abuse had a significant association with mortality (adjusted RR: 1.173; p = 0.007). Other significant predictive risk factors were male gender, elder ages, and comorbidities such as pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, nephrological diseases, neurological diseases, and diabetes. However, being a health care worker and having thyroid gland diseases were protective factors amongst hospitalized COVID-19 patients (adjusted RR: 0.650 and 0.642; p = 0.040 and < .0001, respectively). Opium abuse is a risk factor for mortality amongst hospitalized COVID-19 patients. It is vital to educate societies about the consequences of unauthorized opium consumption.

Efficacy of herbal treatments for functional dyspepsia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a very common condition globally. Relevant keywords were searched for in title and abstract of selected databases, that is, Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of knowledge, and Google Scholar. Placebo and active-control trials on herbal remedies amongst adults who were diagnosed with FD were included. Dichotomous outcomes were presented as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and continuous outcomes were presented as pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI. Forty-nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were entered into meta-analysis (6,987 subjects). Herbal remedies resulted in a higher improvement in FD symptoms in comparison with the placebo (SMD = -0.58 [-0.66- -0.51], p < .00001 and RR = 1.73 [1.62-1.85], p < .00001). No significant difference between herbal remedies and placebo in the incidence of adverse events was observed (12.27 vs. 8.41%, RR = 1.06 [0.91-1.23], p = .45). Also, herbal remedies resulted in a higher improvement in quality of life in comparison with placebo (SMD = -0.64 [-0.73- -0.55], p < .00001). When comparing herbal remedies with conventional medicine through sensitivity analysis, no outcomes were significantly different (p > .05). Herbal remedies might be efficacious and safe in treating FD, and demonstrate comparable effect sizes for efficacy to conventional treatments. Further high-quality studies are warranted to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the herbal remedies.

Effect of chamomile on chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in pediatric leukemia patients: A randomized triple-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is one of the main side effects of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment. In this trial, we evaluated the efficacy of chamomile in management of neutropenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized triple-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out in 2-18-year-old children with ALL. Participants in each group daily received 2.5 ml of either chamomile syrup or placebo syrup for a period of 30 days. Participants' white blood cell (WBC), and absolute neutrophil count (ANC), as well as their quality of life were evaluated. RESULTS: The study was completed with a total of 40 patients. An increasing trend of ANC was observed in the treatment group despite the decreasing trend in placebo group, which was statistically significant between the two groups (P Interaction=0.019, 95% confidence intervals=15.076-171.324). No serious side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: Using chamomile syrup as a complementary therapy in children with leukemia could improve their immunity (as it increased WBC) by minimizing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

The effect of Delphinium denudatum (Jadwar) on fatigue: A randomized double blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Fatigue is a common problem in modern-day life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Delphinium denudatum (Jadwar) on fatigue. METHODS: This study was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial between healthy normal university students. In each group, participants were given one capsule of either WEACURE® (containing 500 mg of Jadwar root powder) or placebo for 15 consecutive days. Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) questionnaire was used before and after the intervention to evaluate different aspects of fatigue. RESULTS: A total number of 64 participants completed the study. Data analysis showed decrease in the scores of all five domains of fatigue in Jadwar group (13.31 ±â€¯3.05-7.75 ±â€¯2.66, 12.31 ±â€¯3.55-7.63 ±â€¯2.62, 12.22 ±â€¯4.26-6.97 ±â€¯2.06, 11.56 ±â€¯4.21 to 7.28 ±â€¯2.37, 12.91 ±â€¯3.09-7.34 ±â€¯2.13 in general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue domains, respectively) which was statistically significant (P value<0.0001). This situation was significantly superior to the placebo group. Prescribed dosage of WEACURE® capsule was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: As a complementary tonic agent, Jadwar have a potential to reduce fatigue in normal population. However, objective evaluation of its anti-fatigue effect should be further evaluated.