Kinematic Analysis of a Six-Degrees-of-Freedom Model Based on ISB Recommendation: A Repeatability Analysis and Comparison with Conventional Gait Model

Objective. The purpose of the present work was to assess the validity of a six-degrees-of-freedom gait analysis model based on the ISB recommendation on definitions of joint coordinate systems (ISB 6DOF) through a quantitative comparison with the Helen Hays model (HH) and repeatability assessment. Methods. Four healthy subjects were analysed with both marker sets: an HH marker set and four marker clusters in ISB 6DOF. A navigated pointer was used to indicate the anatomical landmark position in the cluster reference system according to the ISB recommendation. Three gait cycles were selected from the data collected simultaneously for the two marker sets. Results. Two protocols showed good intertrial repeatability, which apart from pelvic rotation did not exceed 2°. The greatest differences between protocols were observed in the transverse plane as well as for knee angles. Knee internal/external rotation revealed the lowest subject-to-subject and interprotocol repeatability and inconsistent patterns for both protocols. Knee range of movement in transverse plane was overestimated for the HH set (the mean is 34°), which could indicate the cross-talk effect. Conclusions. The ISB 6DOF anatomically based protocol enabled full 3D kinematic description of joints according to the current standard with clinically acceptable intertrial repeatability and minimal equipment requirements

Behaviorism and the concepts of influencing the attitudes of patients towards health behaviors

Health professionals in primary care teams need to know how to effectively encourage patients to change health behaviors to achieve treatment goals. Understanding the behavioral patterns and psychological underpinnings of making changes can help healthcare professionals deliver interventions with a higher success rate. The aim of the study was to assess the importance of behavior patterns in shaping patients' health attitudes and behaviors. There are three types of theoretical models that explain how health behaviors are initiated and changed: motivational, post-intentional, and multistage models. Motivation models describe the role of individual cognitive variables in the process of creating the intention to change behavior. Changing habits in the context of health promotion takes place by influencing the perception of patients. This can be achieved using the TRA (Theory of Reasoned Action), TBP (Theory of Planned Behavior) and HBM (Health Belief Model) models by convincing the public about susceptibility to a given disease, disseminating knowledge about effective methods of prevention and generating persuasion, support, admiration or recognition in society after positive behaviors such as smoking cessation or regular physical activity. Post-intentional models indicate factors that increase the chance of translating motivation into action. They commit the individual to a certain action when certain environmental circumstances are met, thus helping to translate the intention of the goal into action. Multi-stage models describe health behaviors as involving several separate stages. These theories are based on the assumption that people at different stages will behave differently, so the types of interventions and information needed to change behavior will vary depending on the stage they are at. Helping patients set realistic goals, such as moving to the next stage, can facilitate the change process. Effective behavioral interventions must be based on changing the approach of medical staff to the interpersonal process with the patient. This approach should be patient-centred and collaborative. Medical staff should assess the importance that the patient attaches to his health and the treatment process, and thus also the willingness and motivation to comply with the recommendations. Merely providing information will not guarantee a change in their behavior. Healthcare professionals should use active listening techniques (using open-ended questions, explanations, reflective and summarizing statements), should encourage patients to express concerns, and should be able to weigh the pros and cons of different treatment approaches

Family medicine in rural areas - perspectives and development opportunities

Access to health care should be universal and equal regardless of health needs, socio-economic status and place of residence. Empirical research confirms, however, that there are differences in access to health care between people in urban and rural areas. The main challenges for the health care system in rural areas are staff shortages, greater distance from large hospitals, difficult access to specialist and preventive services, and lower effectiveness of emergency care. The aim of the study was to analyze practical solutions to improve the organization of care in POZ, taking into account the principles of coordinated care in rural areas. As part of this study, an attempt was made to present practical solutions that may help to improve the organization of care in primary health care in rural areas. It is worth emphasizing once again that effective and efficient care for the population must be consistent with the concept of care coordination. In addition, the work shows how important from the perspective of the development of medicine in rural areas can be the inclusion of teamwork, financial motivators, including the so-called 'Rural addition' and the impact of modern technologies based on self-care and remote monitoring of patients' health

Doświadczenia międzynarodowe w kontekście wdrożenia opieki farmaceutycznej w Polsce

The Pharmacist Profession Act and planned pharmaceutical services introduce many changes in community pharmacies, which require effective and efficient implementation. The below article aimed to analyse international experiences in the field of pharmaceutical care and to identify solutions that could be implemented in Poland. United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria and Australia were considered. These countries were analysed in terms of which pharmaceutical care services are provided, how pharmaceutical care was firstly introduced, what compensation pharmacists receive for additional services and what IT systems are used.Ustawa o zawodzie farmaceuty oraz świadczenia planowane w ramach opieki farmaceutycznej w Polsce wprowadzą szereg zmian w funkcjonowaniu aptek ogólnodostępnych, które wymagają skutecznego i efektywnego wdrożenia. Celem niniejszej pracy była analiza doświadczeń międzynarodowych w zakresie opieki farmaceutycznej oraz poszukiwanie rozwiązań, które byłyby możliwe do zaimplementowania w Polsce. Analizie poddano zakresy świadczeń udzielanych w ramach opieki farmaceutycznej w Stanach Zjednoczonych, Wielkiej Brytanii, Królestwie Niderlandów, Szwecji, Austrii i Australii. Kraje te przeanalizowano pod kątem zakresu świadczonych usług w ramach opieki farmaceutycznej, przebiegu wdrożenia opieki farmaceutycznej, premiowania farmaceutów za świadczenie dodatkowych usług oraz pod kątem oceny systemu IT.  &nbsp

Istota kwestionariusza przeglądu lekowego farmaceuty z perspektywy koordynowanej opieki zdrowotnej

In the pharmaceutical care the pharmacist cooperates with other representatives of the medical professions and caters the patient with holistic care. The pharmacist concentrates on identifying and solving drug problems. The tool that makes the process feasible is the pharmaceutical patient questionnaire. Introducing this pharmaceutical patient questionnaire is the main goal of the paper. This research investigates the issue of defining and creating pharmaceutical patient questionnaire, which can be used in coordinated pharmaceutical care process. The paper shows an original concept created by Medical and Diagnostical Center in Siedlce, Poland (MCD). In the research and analysis process the authors of the study have created an original concept of pharmaceutical patient questionnaire, which can be used in coordinated pharmaceutical care process in Poland. The pharmaceutical patient questionnaire comprises the following information:  patient’s personal data, patient’s subjective feelings concerning his health, different illnesses, allergies, vaccinations, preventive medical examinations and other basic medical indicators or parameters. At the core of the pharmaceutical patient questionnaire is the information on the type of medicine used taken by the patient, the name of the medicine, the doses, effectiveness of the therapy, side effects and own patient’s medicine supplies. This tool also comprises information on pharmacist- patient interview, the pharmacist’s recommendation and other concerning information.   Identification and reinforcement of the scope of information provided in the frame of pharmaceutical patient questionnairemay have a crucial influence on implementing and conducting coordinated pharmaceutical care.Idea opieki farmaceutycznej zakłada ścisłą współpracę farmaceuty z przedstawicielami innych profesji medycznych w celu objęcia pacjenta holistyczną opieka zdrowotną. Zadaniem farmaceuty jest rozpoznawanie oraz proponowanie rozwiązań w zakresie problemów i interakcji lekowych. Realizacji tego procesu nie byłaby możliwa bez odpowiednich narzędzi. W ramach niniejszej pracy zaprezentowano istotę i zakres kwestionariusza przeglądu lekowego farmaceuty. Kwestionariusz ten jest autorskim narzędziem stworzonym w oparciu o doświadczenie i praktykę medyczno-biznesową podmiotu leczniczego Centrum Medyczno-Diagnostyczne w Siedlcach. Kwestionariusz przeglądu lekowego farmaceuty umożliwia zbieranie następujących informacji: dane osobowe pacjenta, subiektywne odczucia pacjenta dotyczące jego stanu zdrowia, informacje o chorobach, alergiach, szczepieniach, badaniach okresowych i prewencyjnych oraz inne dodatkowe dane medyczne. Istotną częścią kwestionariusza jest blok informacji dot. farmakoterapii, w tym rodzaju i typie leków przyjmowanych przez pacjenta, dawkowaniu, efektywności terapii, działaniach niepożądanych związanych z przyjmowaniem produktów leczniczych oraz zasobach lekowych pacjenta. Prezentowane narzędzie zawiera także dodatkowe informacje bazujące na wywiadzie z pacjentem oraz odpowiednie zalecenia farmaceuty. Prawidłowa identyfikacja oraz poszerzenie zakresu informacji zawartych w ramach kwestionariusza przeglądu lekowego farmaceuty ma kluczowe znaczenie dla implementacji oraz realizacji koordynowanej opieki zdrowotnej, uwzgledniającej aspekt opieki farmaceutycznej

Cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19: summary of current knowledge

Introduction and purpose: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), had been spreading rapidly throughout the world, mainly affecting respiratory system. Except pulmonary symptoms, skin lesions might also occur. The precise percentage of patients with confirmed COVID-19 who presented cutaneous manifestations is still unknown (0.2% - 20.4%). Part of the skin lesions might be drug-induced. Brief description of the state of knowledge: Cutaneous manifestations in the course of the coronavirus disease could be divided into six main groups: maculopapular rash, urticarial lesions, chilblain‐like lesions, vesicular eruptions, petechial/purpuric lesions and livedoid lesions. The most common skin lesions are maculopapular eruptions (47%). Trunk is the most affected location, whereas pruritus is the most frequent additional symptom among patients with skin lesions associated with coronavirus disease. These lesions appear mainly in elderly patients except pseudo chilblains which are present among children and young adults with SARS-Cov-2 infection. The majority of cutaneous manifestations occur after COVID-19 systemic symptoms, but the appearance of vesicular lesions before the respiratory signs was also reported. Cutaneous manifestations resolved spontaneously at different times, ranging from a few days to 2-4 weeks. Moreover, patients with severe course of COVID-19 with maculopapular rash have better prognosis (2% mortality rate) in comparison to patients who developed livedoid lesions in course of the coronavirus disease (10% mortality rate). Summary: Pseudo-chilblains and vesicular lesions are the most specific cutaneous manifestations of coronavirus disease. Healthcare professionals should pay attention to patients who present skin symptoms in the course of COVID-19. Cutaneous manifestations can facilitate the doctor the diagnosis and even estimate the severity of coronavirus disease

Influence of surgically inducted weight loss on sexual function of obese male patients - literature overview

Introduction:  Obesity is one of the most challenging and popular problem in nowadays society. Overweight and obesity are connected with chronic complications, such as arterial hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Nonsurgical methods of weight loss were not positively conducted in significant part of obese population. It has given a chance to develop part of medicine known as bariatric surgery. Obesity is identified as an risk factor for sexual dysfunction.  The aim of this article is to summarize the main findings of studies about the influence of bariatric surgery on sexual functions of obese male patients.    Materials and methods: The study is based on medical articles gathered from PubMed database spanning the years 2016-2023 and article from National Institutes of Health and from Nutritionhospitalaria. The research was conducted through the analysis of keywords such as ”Obesity”, „Bariatric Surgery”, Sexual Dysfunction”, „Men”.    Results: This review indicated that surgically inducted weight loss could improve sexual function in obese men. It is connected with important increase in IIEF score and serum testosteron level. It is a need for further clinical studies to explore association of sexual function after bariatric surgery.&nbsp

Pectus Excavatum: A review of current treatment possibilities

Anterior chest wall depression known as Pectus excavatum (PE) , is currently the most common congenital chest wall deformation, with incidence estimated at 1/400 births, five times more frequently in boys than girls (5:1 ratio in occurrence). 1 Etiology of this deformity is formed by several hypothesis, including overgrowth of the ribs, developmental failure of the bony thorax or weakness and abnormal flexibility of the sternum. While theoretical concepts of its origin may differ, the common ground is the characteristics of said deformation: a posterior depression of the sternum and the lower costal cartilages. 2Surgical treatment options were described since 1949 with Ravitch procedure and since then a number of new ones has been developed. For many years Ravitch and Nuss procedures were the main way to treat pectus excavatum, with a growing bias towards latter one. Since the Nuss procedure characterizes with less invasive approach and fever overall complications 3 its popularity outgrew Ravitch procedure and currently is described as MIRPE – Minimally Invasive Pectus Excavatum Repair. 4 However afterward then many new techniques were developed, focusing on reducing overall procedure risks, improving patient safety and quality of life and including new technical possibilities. The aim of this study was to gather and evaluate current literature to highlight new treatment options