Article Info Background: Communication is a necessity of social life which is very important in health care settings due to the type of work and clients. The aim of this study was determine the association between interpersonal communication skills (ICSs) and personality dimensions of nurses working in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 223 nurses were selected by stratified random sampling method and they completed the Burton ICSs and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation, independent ttest, and multiple linear regression at a significant level of P = 0.050. Results: Among the selected nurses, 9.9%, 75.8%, and 14.3% had a poor, moderate and good communication skills respectively. The association between age (P = 0.026) and work experience (P = 0.025) with ICSs were inversely significant. There was a significant correlation between good communication skills and the extroversion personality aspect (P = 0.001), pleasure (P < 0.001), and accountability (P = 0.039). The pleasure and extroversion were able to predict and explain 8.7% of the ICSs nurses. Conclusions: More than half of the nurses had difficulties in ICSs. The communication pattern of nurses is effective in their performance and quality of work; therefore, their personality dimensions and traits can be taken into account in the process of recruiting, transferring, or moving them. Hence, each person can be appropriately located in the right place in terms of the area of activity, and type and number of clients.

Article Info Background: Behavioral disorders in childhood are very important due to the possibility of behavioral-mental disorders in adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of behavioral disorders factors among children in the 4th and 5th grade of primary school in Rafsanjan City, Iran, in 2016. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 500 students were selected from among the 4th and 5th grade of primary school based on the sample size formula and randomized cluster sampling method. Parents of the selected children filled out the demographic characteristics checklist and the Rutter Children's Behavior Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test in SPSS software. Results: From the parents' points of view, 110 (22%), 45 (9%), and 5 (1%) children had behavioral disorder, symptoms of aggression, and symptoms of antisocial behavior, respectively. The association between prevalence of behavioral disorder and student's age, father's occupation (P < 0.001), parental divorce (P < 0.012), birth rank (P = 0.034), parental addiction (P < 0.001), and parental education (P = 0.048) was statistically significance. Conclusions: The prevalence of behavioral disorders among children in the 4th and 5th grade of primary school in Rafsanjan was high. Due to the negative effects of these disorders on different educational and social aspects of the students, the greater attention of authorities, teachers, and parents seems necessary to identify conducive factors and find appropriate strategies to prevent the emergence of such disorders.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported contrasting results about the effects of ECT on serotonin levels. We wanted to investigate the therapeutic effects of ECT on plasma serotonin levels in patients with major depressive disorder. METHODS In this cohort study, 36 patients with MDD were allocated to ECT group (n=21) and Non-ECT group (n=15). Plasma serotonin levels of the ECT group were measured before ECT, 15 minutes and 2-, 6-, and 24-hours, 16-and 30-days after treatment. In the Non-ECT group, measurement of serotonin was performed before drug therapy, 16 days and 30 days after drug therapy. Data was analysed with SPSS-16 using independent t-test, and repeated with ANOVA at a significance level of p ≤0.050.

Background and aimSildenafil is used to treat erectile dysfunction but it has association with some side effects. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of duration of taking sildenafil on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with erectile dysfunction.MethodsThe study population of this cross-sectional study were all males with erectile dysfunction referring to the urology clinic affiliated to Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (Kerman, Iran) over a one-year period (2015–2016) among whom 110 patients were included in the study. After medical examinations and required investigations, a weekly dose of 25–100mg sildenafil (50 mg per week on average) was prescribed for patients. IOP in these patients was measured by an ophthalmologist before, one month after and three months after taking medication respectively. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using repeated measures test.ResultsMean IOP before taking medication as well as one month and three months after taking sildenafil was 14.88±1.3, 15±1.28 and 15±1.34 mmHg respectively. Analysis of results showed that the difference in IOP in various periods of measurement was significant (p<0.001). Mean IOP before taking sildenafil was significantly different from three months after taking it (p<0.001) and mean IOP one month after taking sildenafil was significantly different from three months after taking it (p=0.002).ConclusionResults of this study indicated that taking sildenafil for three months increased IOP. Although these changes may not be clinically significant.

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