Quality of life of infertile couples in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Objective:To investigate the quality of life of infertile couples who seek in vitro fertilizations(IVFs)by gender in the Gaza Strip,Palestine.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted,from February 2019 to November 2019,among 383 infertile couples selected through convenient sampling.A valid and reliable Arabic version of the fertility quality of life questionnaire(FertiQoL)was used in data collection.One way analysis of variance and independent t-test were applied to compare between males and females.Results:The mean age of males and females was(34.54±8.54)years and(29.28±6.71)years,respectively.More than half of them had university degree(64%and 60%,respectively).The mean duration of infertility was(5.66±3.54)years.The mean males’scores of FertiQoL and its subscales(emotion,mind/body,social,core,tolerability,and treatment)were significantly higher than females’scores(P<0.05).Conclusions:Males have higher scores of FertiQoL and its subscales than females.The mean score of FertiQoL increases with better education,but decreases with increase of age,duration of marriage,duration of infertility and number of IVF attempts.Routine psychological assessment and counseling are necessary for infertile women taking into considerations factors affecting their quality of life.

Quantification Threshold Pixel Technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Paraspinal Muscles Atrophy among Discopathy Patients

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between lumbosacral discopathy status and paraspinal atrophic changes (Cross-sectional area (CSA) and fatty infiltration (FI)) among different age groups. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 200 patients with confirmed discopathy who were examined by lumbosacral Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at the two main governmental hospitals in Gaza Strip. Using ImageJ software and quantification threshold technique, we measured the CSA and FI of paraspinal muscles {multifidus (MF) & erector spinae (ES)}. The interpretation of MRI images was performed by two radiologists with a good inter-observer agreement between the radiological discopathy findings. Results: The highest percentage and severity of discopathy were noticed at the level of L4/5 (89.5%), followed by L5/S1 (14.5%). The FI is increased towards lower levels of L3/4 to L5/S1. No correlation was found between discopathy level, the severity of discopathy, and CSA of MF & ES muscles. In contrast, a correlation was observed between FI of MF & ES muscles, discopathy level, and severity. Also, the results illustrated no significant relation was observed between CSA of MF & ES muscles and age groups (P > 0.05), while a significant correlation was reported between FI and age groups (P Conclusion: The MRI quantification threshold pixel technique for paraspinal muscles reflected the atrophic changes like CSA and FI in discopathy patients.