Quality of life is becoming recognized increasingly as an important outcome measure which needs to be considered by social workers. However, there does not appear to be a clear consensus about the definition of quality of life. In addition, social workers are likely to experience difficulties choosing and applying an appropriate instrument with which to measure quality of life because of the ma...

helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) plays an important role in the development of peptic and duodenal ulcerations as well as gastric cancer. several studies have shown a strong association between specific genotypes of h. pylori and gastrointestinal tract diseases. the vaca and caga genes, which are the putative virulence factors of the bacterium, are important determinants of h. pylori-related dis...

background: intracytoplasmic sperm injection (icsi) is an advanced technique employed in assisted reproductive clinics for treatment of infertile couples. the reproductive endocrinologists try their level best to identify factors that enhance success rate after icsi. objective: to compare estradiol progesterone ratio on ovulation induction day amongst pregnancy outcome groups following icsi. ma...

purpose: to evaluate the prevalence, natural course, and final visual acuity in patients with stages iii or iv of diffuse lamellar keratitis (dlk) following laser in situ keratomileusis  (lasik). methods: in this descriptive study, records of all the patients who underwent lasik surgery in two private excimer laser clinics were reviewed. according to linebarger- lindstrom-hardten classification...

background: the aim of this study was to evaluate whether higher serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-i (igf-i) in the acute phase of ischemic stroke are associated with less severe strokes and better functional outcome in a period of 12-month follow-up. methods: from october 2014 to august 2015, patients with the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke admitted to the stroke unit of firoozgar...

background: venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ecmo) provides systemic arterial support without directly unloading the left heart, which causes an elevated left ventricular (lv) pressure. the aim of the present study was to investigate the adjunctive application of the impella device for lv unloading in patients during ecmo. methods: this retrospective cohort study included patie...

introduction: jejunoileal atresia (jia) is a common cause of neonatal intestinal obstruction and is a common surgical emergency. the aim of this study was to compare primary anastomosis without resection of the dilated segment with transanastomotic t tube jejunostomy (tatto) versus resection of the dilated segment without t tube as the control group for treatment of patients with jia. material ...

the absence of cerebrospinal fluid (csf) pleocytosis in invasive meningococcal disease (imd) has been associated with an increased risk of death. it is unknown whether patients who lack a cellular response to central nervous system (cns) infection are at the same risk of adverse outcome as patiens without cns infection. to determine the frequency of presentation and outcome of three groups of c...

introduction: allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a potentially curative treatment modality for hematological malignancies. we evaluated the outcome of patients suffering from hematological malignancies, including acute leukemias, chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome after allogeneic transplantation. methods: all patients having hematological malignancies with...

background: c linical trials of revascularization have routinely under-enrolled elderly subjects. thus, symptom relief and improved survival might not apply to elderly patients, in whom the risk of mortality and disability from revascularization procedures seems to be high and co-morbidity is more prevalent. the present case control study was performed to draw a comparison in terms of the proce...