Hospital Practices and Research

Abstract Letter to Editor

Abstract Background: Smart hospitals today use Artificial Intelligence to improve the quality of their services. In this sense, optimizing the patient's electronic medical record is one of the most significant issues that these hospitals face.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the role of AI in patient electronic records in a smart hospital.
Methods: This study was a systematic review, with keywords searched in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and SID databases. In Persian and English, the keywords were artificial intelligence algorithms, electronic medical records, service quality, and hospital. The inclusion criteria included publication in Persian or English, full-text papers, current publications, and a focus on the use of AI in electronic medical records. Finally, about 57 papers related to the investigation were picked.
Results: After reviewing previous related studies, it was discovered that AI can play a role in various aspects of electronic patient records, such as disease diagnosis, predicting relapse and recovery periods, improving treatment accuracy and reducing medical errors, digital care, and decision-support systems. This can result in a 20-30% improvement in resource planning, a 30% decrease in wait times, better resource use, and more accurate predictions.
Conclusion: Leveraging AI in electronic patient records is critical for maximizing benefits while minimizing hazards. Despite the limitations, AI has the potential to become a critical tool for smart hospitals in improving healthcare delivery and efficiency. Accordingly, healthcare leaders that incorporate AI algorithms into their systems can give more effective and up-to-date care to their patients.

Abstract Background: Low back pain is an important health problem and is one of the main symptoms in lumbar disc pathology. It is not known whether paraspinal muscular weakness is a cause or a result of low back pain.
Objectives: The current study was performed in order to investigate paraspinal muscles Cross-Section Area (CSA) and Fat Infiltration (FI) in chronic versus acute Low Back Pain (LBP) patients and their association with disc herniation.
Methods: 76 acute and 76 chronic LBP adult subjects who were candidates for magnetic resonance imaging in a referral hospital in Isfahan, Iran, were evaluated in terms of demographics, their pain and disability severity, FI (signal intensity index) of paraspinal muscles in five lumbar levels, CSA of paraspinal muscles in five lumbar levels and disk herniation degree in five lumbar levels.
Results: Overweight patients: 34 (45.9 %); obese: 12 (16.2 %); ODI score: 25.2 (6.7) and mean VAS score was: 6.44 (1.2). The longer the pain persisted, the higher its severity was felt. Similar numbers were found for females. Females had higher pain scores and higher FI in paraspinal muscles. Accordingly, FI was higher, and CSA was lower in chronic LBP than acute LBP (P<0.05). Women had smaller, and fattier paraspinal muscles (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Chronic LBP is associated with a decreased muscle volume in paraspinal muscles. Regular physical activity routines, weight loss meal plans, physiotherapy and corrective training programs might prevent chronicity of LBP, increase paraspinal CSA, decrease paraspinal FI, attenuate back pain severity and hence improve patients’ quality of life.

Abstract Background: Parasitic infections are most prevalent in developing nations and among individuals with weakened immune systems or immunocompromised.
Objectives: Due to the lack of epidemiologic information on such infections, the prevalence of enteric, respiratory, and urogenital parasites was investigated among patients in teaching hospitals in Alborz province, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1248 samples were collected from January to July 2023. Microscopic examination was performed using direct wet mount, formalin-ether concentration techniques, and trichrome staining. To detect Enterobius vermicularis parasite, we have used the Scotch test method.
Results: The prevalence of parasitic infections was 7.1%. The most commonly identified parasitic infections in the study were Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (29 cases, 2.3%), and Blastocystis sp. (26 cases, 2.1%). 40.2% of our studied cases showed gastrointestinal symptoms and the majority of symptoms were relating to anorexia and abdominal pain.
Conclusion: Given the significant global prevalence of parasitic infections, it is crucial to identify and treat infected individuals, implement urban water improvement programs, avoid the use of human feces as fertilizer in agriculture, and maintain public, and personal hygiene.

Abstract Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 has put more pressure on the medical staff.
Objectives: The current study was performed to determine the role of emotional exhaustion on self-compassion in nurses via the mediation of empathy during the outbreak of COVID-19.
Methods: The present study was a descriptive and analytical study conducted on 150 nurses working in Al-Zahra and Kashani hospitals in Isfahan, Iran in 2021. The data were collected by three standard questionnaires of Emotional exhaustion (Chen), Self-compassion (Neff), and Empathy (Davis) and were analyzed in SPSS version 24 and LISREL8 software.
Results: The results of the study revealed that the three variables of self-compassion, empathy and emotional exhaustion are not significantly different according to the demographic characteristics of nurses (P>0.05). There was a direct and significant relationship between empathy and emotional exhaustion (P<0.05). Ultimately, the proposed model has a good fit and in the direct and indirect relationships of the model, the role of empathy as a mediator between emotional exhaustion and self-compassion is confirmed.
Conclusion: In line with the obtained results, it is suggested that considering the spread of a deadly infectious disease, appropriate educational measures and strategies should be implemented to promote or boost the spirit of empathy among health sector employees, especially nurses.

Abstract Background: Hospitals in the national capital were staring at the rising cases of pink eye, more than 100 of which had been daily hitting the outpatient departments of major hospitals in Delhi during the month of July 2023. Outbreaks of Conjunctivitis are common globally, with people across all age and socio-economic status getting affected.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to do a molecular analysis on the etiology in cases of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis.
Methods: A multicentric prospective observational study was carried out during the outbreak of conjunctivitis in Delhi. The clinical samples were processed by polymerase chain reaction for common etiology of acute keratoconjunctivitis.
Results: Adenoviral etiology was witnessed in 8.3% of cases, while no other bacterial or viral etiology could be documented.
Conclusion: Studying the etiological pattern of any outbreak of infections can provide insights into the prevalent transmissible pathogens and help in future preparedness.

Abstract Background: Platelets/Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) has been investigated not only in hematological diseases but also in clinical conditions involving almost all organs and systems including inflammatory, neoplastic, and cardiovascular diseases.
Objectives: This study was planned to perform an analysis of the studies on PLR through the PubMed database, to measure the impact of the relevant studies on the diagnosis of diseases.
Methods: This analysis was performed on 16.01.2021 by searching with the word group "platelet lymphocyte ratio", "platelet lymphocyte ratio" in the PubMed database.
Results: The study included 723 articles, of which 580 (80.2%) were retrospective. It was determined that 420 (58.1%) of the studies were conducted by a single clinical department, 55.6% (n=402) were indexed in SCI/SCI-E index, 56.7% (n=410) were Open Access, and 58.8% (n=425) had significant results related to the clinical condition studied. Most publications were from Turkey (n=239, 33.1%), China (n=211, 29.2%), and Japan (n=55, 7.6%).
Conclusion: The majority of the analyzed studies were retrospective, and were SCI/SCI-E indexed. Their role in malignancy diagnoses was evaluated the most. A total of 59 different clinical conditions were evaluated and "platelet lymphocyte ratio" was found useful in the diagnosis of relevant clinical conditions in 58.8% of the studies. PLR is a value that is significantly associated with the diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases and can be obtained by a simple calculation from a complete blood count.

Abstract Background: Health literacy involves the ability to obtain, comprehend, and use essential information and services to make informed decisions in various life contexts. Spiritual health literacy, specifically, relates to applying principles that foster a balanced and harmonious relationship with oneself and others.
Objectives: This study aims to explore the outcomes of spiritual health literacy among students.
Methods: The present study is a qualitative research of thematic analysis type. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview conducted with 13 experts selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis involving descriptive coding, interpretive coding, and integration through overarching themes was used to analyze the interviews.
Results: Based on the interviews conducted with experts and the subsequent coding, eight main themes and 28 sub-themes were identified under the consequences of spiritual health literacy among university students in Gonabad city in Iran. These themes include self-management skills, self-awareness, self-control, problem-solving, personal development, social development, and cultural development.
Conclusion: The results of this study reveal the significant outcomes of spiritual health literacy among students, showing that it has a multifaceted impact on their personal and social development. Accordingly, incorporating various aspects of spiritual health literacy into educational policy is of particular importance.