BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The study of herbal medicine (HM) use which is related to maternal health, a public health priority in many sub-Saharan African countries including Zambia, has been limited. Accordingly, we aimed to determine the prevalence and patterns of HM use during pregnancy in Lusaka Province, Zambia.

A survey-based (interviewer-administered), cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted in 446 adult pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in June/July 2019.

Overall, 57.8% of participants reported using HM during their current pregnancy, with a mean of 2.0±1.5 remedies/woman. Logistic regression analysis showed that HM use was significantly associated with HM use in prior pregnancies (p<0.001) and willingness to use HM in the future (p<0.001). The most commonly used herbs were lemon for nausea/vomiting and common cold, soybean to boost energy, ginger for common cold and nausea/vomiting, and Aloe vera for skin care. The perceived safety of HM (37.6%) and its complementary action with conventional medicines (35.3%) were the main reasons for HM use.

HM use among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Lusaka Province, Zambia is common, and a wide range of herbs is used.

HM use among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Lusaka Province, Zambia is common, and a wide range of herbs is used.

This study aims to investigate the effect of music therapy integrated with family recollection on physiological parameters of patients with traumatic brain injury who are admitted to Intensive Care Units.

Sixty patients were selected through convenience sampling and were then randomly assigned to the intervention group and control group. In the intervention group and for 6 consecutive days, the patients received a combination of music and auditory stimulation twice a day for 15minutes. The patients’ physiological parameters were measured before the intervention, and then 10minutes and finally 30minutes after the intervention. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling method through MLwiN version 2.27.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic factors and the duration of coma. However, the results of the two-level multiple linear models which were performed for 6 consecutive days indicated a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate and heart rate for the patients in the intervention group as compared to the patients in the control group (P<0.0001). Nevertheless, no significant difference was observed in temperature and oxygen saturation (P>0.05).

Integration of music therapy with family recollection can moderate physiological parameters. Therefore, it is recommended to use this cost-effective treatment along with the routine treatments, especially for patients with traumatic brain injury.

Integration of music therapy with family recollection can moderate physiological parameters. Therefore, it is recommended to use this cost-effective treatment along with the routine treatments, especially for patients with traumatic brain injury.

Anxiety, pain, and fatigue are common postoperative problems that disturb the recovery and quality of life in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. These postoperative problems are associated with prolonged recovery and decreased quality of life. find more This study was aimed at evaluating the combined effects of foot massage and patient education on anxiety, fatigue, pain, self-efficacy, and quality of life in patients undergoing CABG surgery.

In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 130 participants were randomly allocated to experimental (n=65) and control (n=65) groups. The experimental group received a combination of foot massage and patient education as interventions and the control group received usual care of the hospital.

The experimental group had a significant decrease in anxiety (p=0.001), fatigue (p=0.001), pain (p=0.001), and increased self-efficacy (p=0.001) and quality of life (p=0.001).

The combined form of foot massage and patient education is effective in decreasing anxiety, fatigue, pain, and increasing self-efficacy and the quality of life. These interventions will support the recovery of patients and reduce their suffering.

The combined form of foot massage and patient education is effective in decreasing anxiety, fatigue, pain, and increasing self-efficacy and the quality of life. These interventions will support the recovery of patients and reduce their suffering.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a life-threatening disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is accounted as global public health concern. Treatment of COVID-19 is primarily supportive and the role of antiviral agents is yet to be established. However, there are no specific anti-COVID-19 drugs and vaccine until now. This review focuses on traditional medicine such as medicinal plant extracts as promising approaches against COVID-19. Chinese, Indian and Iranian traditional medicine, suggests some herbs for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of the diseases including COVID-19. Although, inhibition of viral replication is considered as general mechanism of herbal extracts, however some studies demonstrated that traditional herbal extracts can interact with key viral proteins which are associated with virus virulence. Chinese, Indian and Iranian traditional medicine, suggests some herbs for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of the diseases including COVID-19. However the beneficial effects of these traditional medicines and their clinical trials remained to be known. Herein, we reviewed the latest updates on traditional medicines proposed for treatment of COVID-19.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of breathing exercise on nausea, vomiting, and functional status in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

This randomized controlled trial was conducted with a total of 60 breast cancer patients in the ambulatory chemotherapy unit of a university hospital. The data were collected using Patient Information Form, Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLI-C), Visual Analog Scale, and Patient Diary. The patients were followed up for the first seven days. While the control group received routine nursing care until the posttest, the intervention group received breathing exercise for six days. On the seventh day, FLI-C was repeated for all the patients.

It was determined that the patients in the intervention group had less number of nausea, vomiting, and retching episodes after the breathing exercise (p<0.05) and experienced lower severity of nausea (p<0.05) compared to patients in the control group.

Consequently, it was determined that the breathing exercise reduced chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting and retching in breast cancer patients and affected positively functional status of patients.