-Background -Endothelial dysfunction is one of the early stages of vascular diseases. Objective -The aim of this study was to investigate the endothelial dysfunction markers in patients with chronic gastritis associated with

Clinical teaching is the core of nursing education and together with the decrease in clinical learning opportunities should be top priority for research attention. This study aimed to determine the effects of an educational pre-internship package on nursing students’ self-efficacy to deliver critical care. This controlled experimental study was conducted among 37 nursing students selected by using the census sampling method. The educational intervention was performed for three days in a case group, before beginning the internship. The data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, the self-efficacy-in-clinical-performance questionnaire, and 10 clinical scenarios. The self-efficacy of the test group was examined at baseline and after the intervention, and then compared with the control group. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24, through an independent t-test and paired t-test. The results showed that the intervention resulted in a significant difference (p < 0.001) in the total score of self-efficacy between the case (161.26 ± 6.07) and control (119.72 ± 10.13) groups .In addition, the correlation between self-efficacy and score of the students’ performance was significantly positive (89%, p < 0.001). Also, there was a series of significant differences (p < 0.001) in the mean scores of examining the patient, the nursing diagnosis, care planning, implementing the care plan, and assessing the care plan between cases and controls. The results of this study indicated that the educational pre-internship package for cardiac critical care has a positive effect on promoting nursing students’ self-efficacy. These findings can be used as a strategy to enhance students’ competency before entering the internship and graduation.

Introduction Cardiac arrhythmias are important causes of death among populations and always responsible for a high percentage of mortality in hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of arrhythmias in COVID-19 patients in the Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Hospital of Ilam from March to August 2020. Materials and Methods In this descriptive-analytical study, all the COVID-19 patients with a cardiac condition admitted to the intensive care unit were enrolled by census. Electrocardiography (ECG) and Holter monitoring were used to diagnose arrhythmias. Data analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage). Results The total number of eligible patients was 45, of whom 26 (57.8%) were men, and 19 (42.2%) were women. The mortality rate of arrhythmias among COVID-19 patients was 17.77% (8 out of 45 patients), and the recovery rate was 82.13% (37 out of 45 patients). Conclusion Tachycardia and the lack of response to heart rate reducing drug be observed in patients with COVID-19.Owing to an overlap between these symptoms and those of heart diseases, there is a need to further evaluate patients with arrhythmias. Although arrhythmias are not common in COVID-19 patients, they can be fatal and inflict a high mortality rate, which can be prevented by early detection.

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical features of 68 coronavirus 2019-infected cardiac cases on gender basis. Methodology: Clinical, laboratory and electrocardiographic data of 68 COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases, analyzed and compared by gender-wise. Results: Dry cough (78% of male, 80% females) and fever (62% of male, 75% females) were the most common symptoms. Out of these 97% of them needed O2 supplementation. O2 saturation in patients with O2 therapy was 85%; 31% of men and 11% of women experienced intubation. The most common laboratory abnormalities, were neutrophilia, leukocytosis, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, decreased hemoglobin level, increased creatinine and urea, in men and women. Troponin level was different between male and female. Pneumonia was found in 86-87% patients. Approximately, Males and female, respectively53.10 and 52.8%, shown sinus tachycardia (ST arrythmia). PVC arrythmia was found in 2.9% of total patients. BBB arrythmia was found in 31.20% of males vs. 11.10% of females. The mean systole/diastole blood pressures respectively were 130±4/79.7 ±2 in males and 134±4/81±3 in females. Heart axis changes was identified in 43.8% and 27.8% of males and females respectively. Conclusion: Severity of symptoms and outcomes of COVID-19 in cardiac patients showed some differences between men and women which could be associated with differences in immune responses, respiratory tract properties, renin angiotensin system, sex hormones and lifestyle.  However, more studies to categorize gender differences are required.