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Background & Aim: Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is one of the common complications in patients under treatment with hemodialysis. Progressive muscle relaxation is a method which has been designed for reducing patients’ stress, pain and anxiety. The present study aimed to determine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation on the severity of RLS in hemodialysis patients.

Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study (IRCT2015102824769N1), 74 hemodialysis patients were selected by convenience sampling method and divided into intervention and control groups based on records numbers. The intervention group was trained in progressive muscle relaxation technique in two half-hour sessions and they were asked to practice it twice a day for one month. RLS severity was measured using the standardized RLS questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical tests (independent and paired t-test, analysis of co-variance) using SPSS software version 23.

Results: There was no significant difference in the distribution of variables in the intervention and control group before intervention (P>0.05). Before the intervention, RLS severity score was 28.24±7.33 in the intervention group and 25.57±9.85 in the control group (P=0.189). After the intervention, the score for the intervention group was reduced to 10.67±5.66 (P>0.001) while there was no significant change in the control group after the intervention (26.16±9.69). Also, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in the mean score of RLS severity after removing the effect of RLS severity on pretest (P>0.0001).

Conclusion: The use of progressive muscle relaxation technique reduces RLS severity in patients under treatment with hemodialysis. Therefore, this technique is recommended to be used as one of the non-pharmacological methods to improve RLS in these patients.

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Background & Aim: Many patients with cardiovascular disease suffer from some degree of anxiety after admission to the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU). Anxiety adversely affects patients’ recovery. High levels of anxiety increases mortality risk up to three times. This study aimed to determine the effect of pre-operative supportive care plan on anxiety of patients with acute coronary syndrome after admission to CCU.
Methods & Materials: In this clinical trial, 74 patients with acute coronary syndrome, admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit of Vasei hospital of Sabzevar in 2016. Participants were selected via convenience sampling and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The control group only received routine nursing care. For the intervention group, besides routine care, the supportive nursing care was delivered on the intellectual, emotional and physical domains. The Beck Anxiety Inventory questionnaire was completed by both groups before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U test and independent t-test using the SPSS software version 16.
Results: Before the intervention, no significant difference was observed in the anxiety score between the intervention and control groups (P=0.162). After the intervention, the anxiety score in the intervention group was lower than in the control group (P=0.023).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, supportive care plan reduced anxiety in the intervention group compared to the control group. Therefore, supportive care plan is recommended for reducing anxiety in these patients.
Clinical trial registry: IRCT2015123025767N1