Risk factor identification and prevention of osteoporosis in the primary care setting

On one of her visits, MB Borg, a 54 year old lady, showed concern about her risk of developing osteoporosis. Lately, she had been listening to a series of radio and TV programmes on this matter where particular emphasis was put on bone density scans. She was preoccupied about being at risk for osteoporosis and wanted to know what she could do to prevent it or even treat it if she was found to suffer from osteoporosis.peer-reviewe

Iron deficiency anaemia in general practice

Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells, and thus their oxygen-carrying capacity, is insufficient to meet the physiological needs of the body. Anaemia can also occur if the red blood cells don’t contain enough haemoglobin. This article discusses a case presentation.peer-reviewe

Looking out for osteoporosis in a woman's health check-up

"It's time, once again, for my annual checkup." Most women understand that this involves a cervical PAP smear and possibly a mammogram. However, few women think about their bones' health and consequently fail to give it its due importance. Peak bone mass is achieved by age 30. After that, as breakdown outstrips formation, bones slowly decrease in density. If the body is unable to maintain an adequate amount of bone formation, bones continue to lose density and become increasingly fragile, eventually resulting in osteoporosis. In women, the decrease in bone loss accelerates for five to ten years after menopause. Thus, attention to skeletal health should be paid to prevent osteoporosis and consequently fractures.peer-reviewe

RESIDUAL VOLUME OF AMPOULE-VIALS AND UNDERDOSING OF MEDICATIONS PREPARED BY A NURSING STAFF

Objective: Identify the residual volume in ampoule-vials after the preparation of injectables, associating the errors related to underdosing with the classes of drugs.Method: This is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach. Data were collected between December 2020 and September 2021, in a private outpatient service located in a Brazilian municipality in the northeast of the state of São Paulo. A total of 562 ampoule-vials of medications prepared by a nursing staff were analyzed. A form was used containing the commercial name of the medication, therapeutic class/indication, reconstitution date and time, volume used to reconstitute the medication and residual volume of each vial. The datawere tabulated and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the ANOVA test.Results: theresidual volume of 462 (82.2%) ampoule-vials varied between 0.1 ml and 1.5 ml, whereas 165 (29.4%) ampoule-vials had 0.2 ml of residual volume, with a mean loss of 4.5% of the solution. There was no difference in the loss of solution between the different classes of drugs.Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for interventions to reduce failures in the medication preparation phases, with emphasis on errors associated with therapeutic underdosing

VOLUME RESIDUAL DE FRASCOS-AMPOLA E SUBDOSAGENS DE MEDICAMENTOS PREPARADOS PELA EQUIPE DE ENFERMAGEM

Objetivo: Identificar o volume residual em frascos-ampola, após o preparo de injetáveis, associando os erros relacionados a subdoses com as classes dos medicamentos. Método: Estudo descritivo, de abordagem quantitativa. Os dados foram coletados no período de dezembro de 2020 a setembro de 2021, em um serviço ambulatorial privado de um município brasileiro localizado a nordeste do Estado de São Paulo. Foram analisados 562 frascos-ampola de medicamentos preparados pela equipe de enfermagem. Utilizou-se formulário contendo o nome comercial do medicamento, classe/indicação terapêutica, data e horário de reconstituição, volume utilizado para reconstituição do medicamento e volume residual de cada frasco. Os dados foram tabulados e analisados por estatística descritiva e teste ANOVA. Resultados: 462 (82,2%) frascos-ampola continham volume residual que variou de 0,1 ml a 1,5 ml e 165 (29,4%) continham 0,2 ml de solução residual, com perda média de 4,5% da solução. Não houve diferença na perda de solução entre as diferentes classes de medicamentos. Conclusão: Os achados destacam a necessidade de intervenções para a redução de falhas, nas fases de preparo dos medicamentos, com ênfase nos erros associados às subdosagens terapêuticas

VOLUMEN RESIDUAL DE FRASCOS AMPOLLA Y SUBDOSIFICACIÓN DE MEDICAMENTOS PREPARADOS POR EL EQUIPO DE ENFERMERÍA

Objetivo: Identificar volúmenes residuales en frascos ampolla luego de prepararse inyectables, asociando los errores relacionados a subdosificaciones con las clases de losmedicamentos.Método: Estudio descriptivo, de abordaje cuantitativo. Datos recolectados entre diciembre de 2020 y setiembre de 2021 en servicio ambulatorio privado de unmunicipio brasileño del noreste del Estado de São Paulo. Fueron analizados 562 frascos ampolla de medicamentos preparados por el equipo de enfermería. Se utilizó formulario, consignando nombre comercial del medicamento, clase/indicación terapéutica, fecha y hora de reconstitución, volumen utilizado para reconstituir el medicamento y volumen residual de cada frasco. Los datos fueron tabulados y analizados por estadística descriptiva y test ANOVA. Resultados: 462 (82,2%) frascos ampolla contenían volumen residual deentre 0,1 ml y 1,5 ml, y 165 (29,4%) contenían 0,2 ml de solución residual, con una pérdida media del 4,5% de solución. No se observó diferencia de pérdida de solución entre las diferentes clases de medicamentos.Conclusión: Los hallazgos destacan la necesidad de intervenciones para reducir fallos en las fases de preparación de medicamentos, haciendo énfasis en los errores asociados con subdosificaciones terapéuticas

Smoking in Systemic Sclerosis: a Longitudinal European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group Study

Data on the role of tobacco exposure in systemic sclerosis (SSc) severity and progression are scarce. We aimed to assess the effects of smoking on the evolution of pulmonary and skin manifestations in the EUSTAR database

Technologies for Monitoring Lifestyle Habits Related to Brain Health : A Systematic Review

Brain health refers to the preservation of brain integrity and function optimized for an individual's biological age. Several studies have demonstrated that our lifestyles habits impact our brain health and our cognitive and mental wellbeing. Monitoring such lifestyles is thus critical and mobile technologies are essential to enable such a goal. Three databases were selected to carry out the search. Then, a PRISMA and PICOTS based criteria for a more detailed review on the basis of monitoring lifestyle aspects were used to filter the publications. We identified 133 publications after removing duplicates. Fifteen were finally selected from our criteria. Many studies still use questionnaires as the only tool for monitoring and do not apply advanced analytic or AI approaches to fine-tune results. We anticipate a transformative boom in the near future developing and implementing solutions that are able to integrate, in a flexible and adaptable way, data from technologies and devices that users might already use. This will enable continuous monitoring of objective data to guide the personalized definition of lifestyle goals and data-driven coaching to offer the necessary support to ensure adherence and satisfaction

Linking EORTC QLQ-C-30 and PedsQL/PEDQOL physical functioning scores in patients with osteosarcoma

PURPOSE: The available questionnaires for quality-of-life (QoL) assessments are age-group specific, limiting comparability and impeding longitudinal analyses. The comparability of measurements, however, is a necessary condition for gaining scientific evidence. To overcome this problem, we assessed the viability of harmonising data from paediatric and adult patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. METHOD: To this end, we linked physical functioning scores from the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Paediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (PEDQOL) to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) for adults. Samples from the EURAMOS-1 QoL sub-study of 75 (PedsQL) and 112 (PEDQOL) adolescent osteosarcoma patients were concurrently administered both paediatric and adult questionnaires on 98 (PedsQL) and 156 (PEDQOL) occasions. We identified corresponding scores using the single-group equipercentile linking method. RESULTS: Linked physical functioning scores showed sufficient concordance to the EORTC QLQ-C30: Lin's ρ = 0.74 (PedsQL) and Lin's ρ = 0.64 (PEDQOL). CONCLUSION: Score linking provides clinicians and researchers with a common metric for assessing QoL with PRO measures across the entire lifespan of patients