Rostrum of Asclepius Vol 6, No. 1 (2007): January - March 2007

The female athlete triad is a syndrome which consists of eating disorders, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. The syndrome is increasing in prevalence over the last thirty years, as more women are participating in sports at a competitive level. The aim of the present study was to review the research data regarding the female athlete triad in order to under- line the significance of the problem.The method οf this study included search of international medical and nursing literature data-bases, for the reason that the female athlete triad has been extensively studied after 1990. The results from the review of relevant studies showed that female athletes who follow hard preparative athletic programmes in which body weight is critical for success, often manifest eating disorder patterns. These lead to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitarian-ovarian axis (HPO) and as a result to amenorrhea. Hypothalamic amenorrhea can lead to osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. Adolescents may particularly be at risk because it is during this crucial time that females attain their peak bone mass. Conclusively, a course of action that aims at preventing the occurrence of the syndrome is necessary. Prevention of the female athlete triad through education and identification of the athletes at risk may decrease the incidence of long-term catastrophic effects to health. Monitoring from a group of specialists should serve as a cornerstone when planning a program of training and preparation for high athletic performance.

Keywords: female athlete triad - eating disorders, amenorrhea - osteoporosis

Burnout syndrome is referred to the experience of exhaustion and diminished interest, that is manifested by the professionals usually in the work context. Health care proffesionals are often at high risk of burnout syndrome and job dissatisfaction. Burn-out syndrome consists a serious multidimensional phenomenon, because it can lead the professionals of health to psychosomatic problems, work-associated withdrawal behaviour and a lower quality of care. The aim of this review was to study the burn out syndrome of health care professionals. The method of this study included bibliography research from both the review and the research international literature, as well as to Greece and was referred to the “burn out syndrome”. Results: Most studies focus on the role of work environment of health care professionals, as the main factor for the development of burn out syndrome, in combination with other factors such as personality, critically ill patients, and organizational structure and staff relationships. Furthermore, the results of this study showed the need for referral to an expert, who deals with emotional problems triggered by the daily contacts with patients and the staff nurse, in order to control the professional stress. Conclusively: Early recognition of burnout phenomenon contributes to better professional behaviour and better health care quality for patients. Health care professionals need knowledge and education about how to beat burnout syndrome.

Keywords: Burnout syndrome, depersonalization, cynicism, health care professionals

Chronic infection from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. It is estimated that more than 170 million people worldwide are infected by HCV. HCV is responsible for the 70% of cases of chronic hepatitis, the 60% of cases of hepatocellular cancer and the 30% of liver transplantations. Therapy of chronic infection from the HCV aims to the: a) eradication of the virus from liver and blood and sustenance of undetectable serum HCV-RNA after the end of the treatment and b) stabilization or improvement of liver histological status. In 80’ physicians treated chronic hepatitis C by using interferon alpha (IFN-α), whereas few years later they added ribavirin to the treatment. The combination therapy of IFN-α and ribavirin had had better results, but many patients left untreated. In 90’ IFN-α was replaced by pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFN-α), with or without the use of ribavirin. In this study the following questions are answered: a) which patients should be treated? b) what are the appropriate clinical and laboratory tests before treatment? c) which is the most effective therapeutic scheme and which is its duration? and d) which is the appropriate surveillance of the patients, especially after the end of the treatment? Additionally, there are mentioned the most common adverse effects of interferon and ribavirin treatment, which are in many cases the cause of altering the treatment

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis C, Interferon, Ribavirin

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of polarized-infrared light on secondary skin wound healing of full thickness skin wounds in a rat model. Full thickness skin wounds sized 2 by 2 cm were surgically inflicted in two groups of male Wistar rats, 20 animals each. In the first group (experimental group - EG) the animals were exposed 7 min daily to polarized-infrared light produced by a BIOPTRON device. In the second group (control group - CG), the animals were subjected to the same procedure, but with the device not activated. Mice were sacrificed on 0, 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th day, following the infliction of skin defect. Size and healing process of each wound were recorded and evaluated by means of planimetry and histological examination. Skin biopsies were taken from euthanized rats and histological examinations were prepared. According to our findings with the planimetry evaluation, there was acceleration of the healing process in experimental group, whereas an improvement of healing process was identified at each time of histological examination, compared to the control group

Keywords: polarized-infrared light, wound healing, neovascularization, re-epithelialization

In the last years there has been observed an increase of Albanian economic immigrants living in Greece with their families. During their pregnancy Albanian women rely on Greek hospitals for obsteatric follow-up as well as the the benefits of proper medical care at childbirth. The sample of our study constituted of 175 Albanian new mothers who gave birth in a big public hospital of Thessalonici. The majority of these women stated that they were satisfied with the obstetrical care offered even though some of them didn’t have a complete follow-up during their pregnancy and they had feet fear upon entering the hospital.

Keywords: Immigrants, Albanians, childbirth, discriminations

The term “nursing” starts to be used in the Greek nursing field during the 40s and 50s, however, it continued to be almost unknown among the members of the Greek society. Thus, the search of the start of the inclusion of the term nursing in the Greek dictionaries and encyclopaedias is interesting for Greek nurses. Aim: The search of the term “nursing” in Greek dictionaries and encyclopedias. Material and method: An historical research was conducted for the period of 1833until the year 2002. Sixty dictionaries and encyclopedias were found ans studied. Results: The first publications of this period are; the “Dictionary of Greek Language” (Vienna, 1836), the “Encyclopedia Lexicon” (Smyrna, 1864) and the “Encyclopedic Lexicon” (Eleftheroudakis, Athens 1890-1891). The term “nursing” it was not included in those publications. In the 20th century the publications of 54 dictionaries and encyclopedias dating 1900 to 1999 were found. In most of those publications the term “nursing” is not mentioned, and it strted aping only in the 90s in just 3 sources; the “Encyclopedia Papyros Larousse Britanicca” (Athens, 1991), the “Modern Lexicon of Greek Language” (Patakis Publications, 1991), reprint of “Greek Lexicon” Tegopoulos-Fytrakis (1999) and the “Lexicon of Modern Greek” by Babiniotis (1998). In the 21st century two dictionaries were found, in which the word “nursing” is not included, while it is mentioned in the “Big Lexicon of Modern Greek” (Bousnaki, 2002) and in the reprint of Babiniotis’ Dictionary in 2002. Conclusions: The term “nursing” has started to be included in the dictionaries, however, more effort needs to be paid by the nursing authorities towards to the correct attribution of the term in publications

Keywords: Term Nursing, Greek, Dictionary, Encyclopedia