A bacteriological study of hospital beds before and after disinfection with phenolic disinfectant

In hospitals, one of the ways to control microbial contamination is by disinfecting the furniture used by patients. This study's main objective was to evaluate the microbiological condition of hospital mattresses before and after such disinfection, in order to identify bacteria that are epidemiologically important in nosocomial infection, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. RODAC plates with two different culture media were used to collect specimens. Patient beds were selected according to previously established criteria, and surface areas on the mattresses were chosen at random. From the total of 1 040 plate cultures from 52 mattresses, positive results were obtained from 500 of them (48.1%), 263 before disinfection and 237 after disinfection. Considering the selectivity of the culture media, the positivity rate was high. There were high prevalences of S. aureus both before and after mattress disinfection. The study results suggest that the usual disinfection procedures, instead of diminishing the number of microbes, merely displace them from one part of the mattress to another, and the number of microorganisms remains the same.

Psychiatric disorders and psychiatric consultation in a general hospital: A case- control study

Introduction: Psychiatric consultation (PC) has been considered an efficient tool to develop research, to track and to give assistance benefiting patients, health professionals and the institution. However, it has not been much used in Brazil. Although 30 to 50% of general hospital (GH) inpatients may present a psychiatric disorder, only 1 to 12% of them are referred to assessment. The aims of this study were: to assess mental disorders in a GH; to identify which of these patients are sent to psychiatric care; to verify alleged reasons for referral to psychiatric consultation, and to examine the relationship between PC and psychiatric learning (during medical school and residence). Methods: A case-control patient study was conducted (47 cases and 94 controls) to analyze in detail the following variables: socio-demographic; clinical; degree of information (about the disease and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures), and relationship between patient and health team. Psychiatric diagnoses were made according to the ICD- 10 criteria. The Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ), the CAGE and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were used as well as a specifically designed questionnaire to collect clinical and demographic data. Results: Behavioral alterations, either of elation or of depression, were the main for requesting a PC; 95.8% of the cases and 27.7% of the controls had a mental disorder. Organic mental disorders and alcohol-related disorders were the most frequent diagnoses in group I (cases), while anxiety, depressive and alcohol-related disorders were predominant in group II (controls). Control group patients were better informed and more able to establish an appropriate relationship with the health team than case patients. The logistic regression showed CAGE-positive patients having 12.85 times greater risk of being referred to PC, followed by unemployed patients (2.44 times more PC referrals). Discussion: The SRQ and CAGE were quite useful in the screening of possible patients and might be important for medical students to learn and use as generalists. Further research is needed to verify if and how the newly-established service will improve the diagnostic and treatment skills of our students.

Attributable fraction of work accidents related to occupational noise exposure in a Southeastern city of Brazil

Noise is the most frequent type of occupational exposure and can lead to both auditory and extra-auditory dysfunction as well as increasing the risk of work accidents. The purpose of this study was to estimate the attributable fraction of work accidents related to occupational noise exposure in a medium-sized city in Southeast Brazil. In this hospital-based case-control study, including 600 cases and 822 controls, the odds ratio of work accidents (controlled for several covariables) was obtained classifying occupational noise exposure into four levels and determining the prevalence at each level. Based on these data, the calculated attributable fraction was 0.3041 (95%CI: 0.2341-0.3676), i.e., 30% of work accidents in the study area were statistically associated with occupational noise exposure. The authors discuss the causes of this association and the implications for the prevention of work accidents.

A família do paciente em situação crônica de vida: a visão de enfermeiros de um hospital de ensino

This exploratory descriptive study, of qualitative nature had the purpose to study how the nurses from a hospital school see the family as care participants. Six nurses from clinics of chronically ill patients were interviewed. The data analysis allowed to infer that the nurses had only little knowledge of the family's thematic during graduation, making the relationship with the accompanying families very difficult. Daily care during hospitalization period is marked by easy moments when members are willing to participate in the process, and by difficulties when they attempt to break institutional rules. It was suggested that new nurses have theoretical foundation to attend the family in several scenarios of care. It was considered the need of investments in professional training, and that the advance of humanization of services implies in exchange and integration of knowledge among patients, family members, health professionals, support staff and managers beyond the science field.

Evaluation of temporomandibular joint noise in partially edentulous patients.

In order to evaluate the presence of TMD (temporomandibular disorder), dissatisfaction related to the use of removable partial dentures (RPD) and the effect of the treatment on temporomandibular joint noises, 13 female patients with Kennedy class I and II mandibular arch were selected. Another 13 young, asymptomatic, dentate patients, also female, were used as reference. After four years, 38.4% were found to have a moderate or severe degree of TMD. Over the four years, the degree of TMD increased in 46.15% of the patients, was not affected in 20.07%, while in 15.38% it decreased or the patients remained free from signs and symptoms. About 30% of the patients at the second year and 46% after the fourth year, had complaints regarding retention and stability. It was concluded that there is no relationship between TMD and the condition of partially edentulous Kennedy class I and II, but patient dissatisfaction increased after the second year and temporomandibular joint noise was reduced significantly with the replacement of the teeth.

Adverse drug reaction as cause of hospital admission of elderly people: a pilot study

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of adverse drug reactions (ADR) related to hospital admission of elderly people, identifying the use of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM), the ADR and the risk factors associated with the hospitalization. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a private hospital of São Paulo State, Brazil. All patients aged ≥ 60 years, admitted in the general practice ward in May 2006 were interviewed about the drugs used and the symptoms/complaints that resulted in hospitalization. More than a half (54.5 %) of elderly hospitalizations were related with ADR. The therapeutic classes involved with ADR were: cardiovascular (37.7 %), central nervous (34.6 %) and respiratory (5.7 %). The ADR observed were disorders in circulatory (28.4 %), digestive (20.0 %) and respiratory (18.9 %) tracts. 27 elderly had made PIM and in 20 of them this was the cause of hospitalization. Polypharmacy was an ADR risk factor (p = 0.021).These data allows the healthcare professionals upgrade, qualifying them in pharmcovigilance.

Cuidado em saúde mental: a escuta de pacientes egressos de um Hospital Dia.

This is a qualitative study aiming at understanding how patients discharged from a Mental Health Day Hospital view the service, at learning whether such service contributed to changes in their lives and at whether those individuals continued treatment. Semi-structured interviews and documental research were used for nine patients who had completed treatment at the service in 2008. Thematic analysis was adopted for organization of the data obtained, which were analyzed according to the Psychosocial Rehabilitation framework. It emphasizes the importance of looking for the various subjective aspects of human existence, requiring from services and professionals the establishment of a caring relationship that enables the reconstruction of trajectories interrupted by the onset of the disease, through actions that consider the integrality and intersectionality.

The evaluation of an instrument for pediatric oncology patient classification

The objectives of this study were to assess the interrater reproducibility of the instrument to classify pediatric patients with cancer; verify the adequacy of the patient classification instrument for pediatric patients with cancer; and make a proposal for changing the instrument, thus allowing for the necessary adjustments for pediatric oncology patients. A total of 34 pediatric inpatients of a Cancer Hospital were evaluated by the teams of physicians, nurses and nursing technicians. The Kappa coefficient was used to rate the agreement between the scores, which revealed a moderate to high value in the objective classifications, and a low value in the subjective. In conclusion, the instrument is reliable and reproducible, however, it is suggested that to classify pediatric oncology patients, some items should be complemented in order to reach an outcome that is more compatible with the reality of this specific population.

Odontogenic infection causing orbital cellulitis in a pediatric patient

Odontogenic abscess can become an orbital cellulitis, causing potentially serious intracranial and orbital complications. The full clinical complications from odontogenic orbital cellulitis in a pediatric patient are rarely seen daily in hospital emergency departments. Thus, odontogenic orbital cellulitis still remains a rarity, resulting in a medical challenge. With this in mind, this study aimed to describe a case of periorbital and orbital cellulitis resulting from odontogenic origin in a 6-year-old patient who was successfully treated by performing intravenous antibiotic administration combined with surgical drainage. Copyright © 2013 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.

Considerações sobre analgesia controlada pelo paciente (PCA) em hospital universitário

Pós-graduação em Anestesiologia - FMB

Perfil audiológico e genético de pacientes com perda auditiva sensorioneural não sindrônica atendidos no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu-Universidade Estadual Paulista

Pós-graduação em Bases Gerais da Cirurgia - FMB

Epidemiologia das reações transfusionais imediatas no Hospital Amaral Carvalho de Jaú

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Análise do sistema de distribuição de medicamentos em hospital oncológico do Estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas - FCFAR

Preditores de incorreçao na prescrição de antimicrobianos no Hospital Estadual Bauru (Bauru, São Paulo)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)