Isfahan COVID cohort study: Rationale, methodology, and initial results.

Background: The Isfahan COVID Cohort (ICC) study was designed to investigate the short- and long-term consequences of patients with COVID-19 in Iran. This report presents the rationale, methodology, and initial results of ICC. Materials and Methods: ICC is a 5-year multicentric prospective cohort study that is ongoing on two groups including 5000 patients hospitalized with moderate or severe and 800 nonhospitalized patients with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 in Isfahan. The ICC endpoints are morbidity, mortality, incident cases, or worsening of underlying noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors. In the current analysis, we examined the persistent symptoms and incident NCDs or risk factors in 819 previously hospitalized patients who completed 1-year follow-up. Results: The two most common symptoms were joint pain/myalgia (19.7%) and dry cough/dyspnea (18.7%). Around 60% of patients had at least one symptom which was more common among women than men and in middle aged than younger or older patients. Female (odds ratio [OR] =1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-2.55) and highly-educated patients (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.56-3.04) had higher risk of having any symptom in 1-year follow-up. New cases of hypertension followed by diabetes then coronary heart disease (CHD) were the most common incident NCDs. Conclusion: During 1-year follow-up after hospital discharge, about 60% of patients experienced persistent symptoms. Incident hypertension, diabetes, and CHD were the most common events seen. Close monitoring and extensive health services with integrative approaches are needed to improve the health status of these patients.

Unusual cause of breast wound: postoperative pyoderma gangrenosum.

Postoperative pyoderma gangrenosum (PPG) is an unusual clinical entity, which shows rapidly progressive skin necrosis that can occur within surgical sites after any surgical procedure. Usually, it is diagnosed as wound infection at the time of presentation, but antibiotic therapy and wound debridement fail to arrest rapid ulcer enlargement. We report the case of PPG in a 21-year-old woman after a reduction mammoplasty surgery. In this report, we emphasise the importance of considering pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) as one of the differential diagnoses of breast ulcers after surgical procedures. Careful clinical assessment may establish an early diagnosis and prevent potential serious complications.

Ibuprofen and Low-level Laser Therapy for Pain Control during Fixed Orthodontic Therapy: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials and Meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: To systematically review high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of use of ibuprofen and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for pain control during fixed orthodontic appliance therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web-based systematic search of PubMed and Medline database using relevant keywords was performed in August 2016 limited to the English language studies. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, RCTs utilizing blind approach were selected. The quality of studies was analyzed and only high-quality studies were included. Following data extraction, meta-analysis was performed by standardized mean difference Hedges' (adjusted) g with 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: A total number of six studies (four ibuprofen and two LLLT) comprising 315 patients were included. Heterogeneity among ibuprofen studies was small, while large heterogeneity was found among LLLT studies. The results showed that both ibuprofen and LLLT could reduce pain intensity during fixed orthodontic therapy and during 17 days follow-up period. However, this reduction was statistically significant only at 6 to 24 hours postoperatively for ibuprofen and 2 hours and 3 to 7 days for LLLT (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Considering the limitations of the current meta-analysis, ibuprofen could alleviate orthodontic archwire activation pain during the 1st day with relatively high level of evidence. Low-level laser therapy could reduce this pain in the long term with limited evidence. Further well-designed RCTs are required to provide more evidence.

An Exploratory Mixed Method Study for Developing and Psychometric Properties of the Sexual Information, Motivation and Behavioral Skills Scale (SIMBS) in Iranian Couples.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to construct and assay the psychometric properties of a scale in order to recognize sexual information, motivation and behavioral skills of Iranian couples. STUDY DESIGN: a mixed method study. METHODS: This was an exploratory mixed method investigation conducted in two stages from Sep 2017 to Jun 2018 in Isfahan, Iran. First, qualitative methods (individual interviews with 22 couples) were applied to generate items and develop the questionnaire. Second, psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed. Reliability was evaluated by composite reliability, Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and internal consistency. Moreover, Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were carried out to examine construct validity. To evaluate content validity were performed CVI and CVR. RESULTS: An item pool comprising 107 statements related to couple 'sexual information, motivation and behavioral skills were generated in the first stage. In the second stage, item reduction was exerted and the final issue of the questionnaire including 51 items was expanded. The evaluation of the psychometric properties of the final version displayed that the scale had good reliability and structure. The results from exploratory factory analysis demonstrated a 9-factor solution for the scale that jointly reported for the 39.5% of the observed variance. The mean scores of the CVI and CVR were 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. Additional analyses indicated acceptable results for composite reliability for the subscale of instrument ranging from 0.78 to 0.95. CONCLUSION: The sexual information, motivation and behavioral skills scale is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used in future studies on Iranian couples.

Association Study of Transforming Growth Factor Alpha TaqI Polymorphism and the Risk of Cleft Lip and/or Palate in an Iranian Population.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of TGFA TaqI polymorphism with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLP) in an Iranian population. METHODS: In this case-control study, 113 children with NSCLP and 209 controls were included. Genotyping of the TaqI polymorphism was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: For the TGFA TaqI polymorphism, the distributions of genotypes in the NSCLP (p = 0.810) and control group (p = 0.422) were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There was no statistically significant difference in the genotype distribution (p = 0.059) and allele frequency (p = 0.065) of the TGFA TaqI polymorphism in the NSCLP and control groups. CONCLUSION: TGFA TaqI polymorphism was not associated with the risk of NSCLP in Iranian children. Birth Defects Research 109:1386-1389, 2017.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exploring perceptions of instructors about childbirth preparation training courses: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Childbirth preparation training courses on maternal and neonatal health increase awareness, and capability of pregnant women in overcoming fear and anxiety and managing labor pains. OBJECTIVE: To identify the affecting factors and barriers of these courses from the perspective of their instructors. METHODS: This qualitative study of the content analysis type, has been conducted on 16 certified teachers of the training courses of the Hamadan city in 2015. Data were collected by semi-structured in-depth interviews and were then analyzed by using MAXQDA10 application. RESULTS: Participants' experiences are indicated on three main themes including the objectives of the course, facilitators and barriers. The main objectives of the course were reported as to improve maternal and newborn health, promote natural childbirth and preparedness for parenting and breastfeeding. The main facilitators of the successful implementation include observing educational standards, strengthening the communication and relationship between mothers and staff, mobilization, and the role of instructor. The major barriers are reported as inadequate support from management system, insufficient intra-sector collaboration, poor attitude of obstetricians and physicians, inadequate access, theory-practice gap and not intended to labor naturally. CONCLUSION: The results of our study show that multiple factors are involved in the participation of pregnant women in antenatal classes. Promoting natural childbirth requires intra-sector and inter-sectoral collaboration, as well as the community participation.

Development of a Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention for Iranian Adults: Appling Intervention Mapping

Background: While the incidence rate of the colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasing over the last three decades in Iran, very limited interventions to increase CRC screening have been developed for Iranian population. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of Intervention Mapping (IM) for applying theory and evidence and considering local contexts to develop a CRC screening program among adults in Iran. Materials and Methods: From April 2014 to July 2016 following the IM process, six steps were formulated and implemented. First a need assessment was conducted involving relevant stakeholders and using focus groups discussions (n=10), individual interviews (n=20), and a household survey (n= 480). Then a matrix of change objectives was developed for each behavioral outcome and theoretical methods and their practical applications were identified to guide intervention development and implementation. A multi-component intervention was developed and piloted. Decision on suitable parts of intervention was made based on feedback of pilot study. Finally, evaluation plan including process and outcome evaluation was generated and conducted to inform future scale up. Results: The needs assessment highlighted factors affecting CRC screening including knowledge, self efficacy, social support and perceived benefit and barriers (financial problems, fear of detection of cancer and etc). Results of needs assessment were used to develop next steps IM. The program utilized methods like information delivery, modeling, and persuasion. Practical applications included video presentation, group discussion, role playing and postcards.This program was assessed through a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Results showed that there were significant differences in CRC screening uptake between intervention groups and control (P<0.001). Conclusions: IM is a useful process in the design of a theory-based intervention addressing CRC screening among Iranian population.