Nutritional Status, Breastfeeding, and Evolution of Infants with Acute Viral Bronchiolitis

Acute viral bronchiolitis is a common respiratory infectious disease of infancy. A prospective study was carried out with 175 infants aged up to six months to evaluate their nutritional and breastfeeding status as possible risk factors for unfavourable evolution of previously-healthy infants from a care hospital. Immunofluorescence test for virus and anthropometric assessment were performed. Outcomes were length of oxygen-use, length of hospital stay, and type of hospital unit needed. Seventy-three percent of the infants were well-nourished, 6% undernourished, 8.6% at a nutritional risk, 10.9% overweight, and 1.7% obese. Eighty-one percent of the undernourished and nutritionally at-risk infants and 72% of the well-nourished, overweight, and obese infants did not receive exclusive breastfeeding. The median length of hospital stay was four days and of oxygen-use was 60 hours. The nutritional status did not affect the clinical course of previously-healthy infants with acute viral brochiolitis. The duration of exclusive breastfeeding, but not type of breastfeeding, was inversely related to the length of oxygen-use and the length of hospital stay. Shorter exclusive breastfeeding was observed in infants who were assigned to a paediatric ward or to an intensive care unit. In conclusion, longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with better clinical outcomes

Early administration of two intravenous bolus of aminophylline added to the standard treatment of children with acute asthma

SummaryObjectivesEvaluate the efficacy of adding two intravenous bolus of aminophylline to the standard treatment of acute asthma episode in children admitted to the pediatric emergency room (PER).MethodsBetween March 2001 and February 2002, 60 children (2–5 years old), admitted to the PER at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (Brazil), due to an episode of acute asthma, refractory to conventional therapy (an oral dose of steroids and at least three doses of inhaled albuterol, associated or not with oxygen) were enrolled in a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial. The randomization was performed in blocks of 10 patients, who received a “bronchodilator solution” (either saline or aminophylline), in two doses: on arrival at the PER and again 6h later. The intervention group received aminophylline 5mg/kg/dose diluted in normal saline (NS) solution up to a 20mL volume, while the placebo group received plain NS, both in an infusion rate of 1cc/min. The main outcomes were total length of hospital stay, length of supplemental oxygen use, number of bronchodilator nebulizations and/or aerosol inhalations performed and patient destination. The groups were compared using the Students t-test, Mann–Whitney test and Chi-Square test, accepting p<0.05 as significant.ResultsComparing the main outcomes, we did not find differences between the placebo and aminophylline groups: 29.0±14.7 versus 26.2±13.4 beta-agonist nebulizations per patient (p=0.46); 2.4±10.6 versus 5.6±14.2 aerosol inhalations per patient (p=0.32); 24.7±30.0 versus 26.0±25.2h for oxygen supplement (p=0.86); 43.2±30.0 versus 43.6±23.7h for length of hospital stay (p=0.95). We also did not find differences between the two groups related to the blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation.ConclusionIn children aged 2–5 years admitted to a PER with asthma, two intravenous doses of 5mg/kg of aminophylline given 6h apart did not change the length of stay in hospital, the number of nebulizations given or the duration of oxygen therapy required. We are unable to tell whether there would be benefit with higher doses of aminophylline designed to give levels in the usual therapeutic range

Nutritional Status, Breastfeeding, and Evolution of Infants with Acute Viral Bronchiolitis

Acute viral bronchiolitis is a common respiratory infectious disease of infancy. A prospective study was carried out with 175 infants aged up to six months to evaluate their nutritional and breastfeeding status as possible risk factors for unfavourable evolution of previously-healthy infants from a care hospital. Immunofluorescence test for virus and anthropometric assessment were performed. Outcomes were length of oxygen-use, length of hospital stay, and type of hospital unit needed. Seventy-three percent of the infants were well-nourished, 6% undernourished, 8.6% at a nutritional risk, 10.9% overweight, and 1.7% obese. Eighty-one percent of the undernourished and nutritionally at-risk infants and 72% of the well-nourished, overweight, and obese infants did not receive exclusive breastfeeding. The median length of hospital stay was four days and of oxygen-use was 60 hours. The nutritional status did not affect the clinical course of previously-healthy infants with acute viral brochiolitis. The duration of exclusive breastfeeding, but not type of breastfeeding, was inversely related to the length of oxygen-use and the length of hospital stay. Shorter exclusive breastfeeding was observed in infants who were assigned to a paediatric ward or to an intensive care unit. In conclusion, longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with better clinical outcomes

Avaliação do procedimento de intubação traqueal em unidades de referência de terapia intensiva pediátricas e neonatais

OBJETIVO: Descrever a taxa de sucesso e os fenômenos associados ao procedimento de intubação traqueal em duas unidades de terapia intensiva neonatais e duas pediátricas de Porto Alegre. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, com etapas retrospectiva e prospectiva, em que foram avaliadas todas as intubações ocorridas durante 6 meses em quatro unidades selecionadas. Realizou-se revisão padronizada de prontuários e entrevista com os médicos responsáveis, para caracterizar o procedimento de intubação. Utilizou-se o teste t para variáveis contínuas com distribuição normal, Mann-Whitney para distribuição assimétrica e o qui-quadrado para variáveis categóricas, com p OBJECTIVE: To describe intubation procedures in two pediatric and two neonatal intensive care units in the city of Porto Alegre. METHODS: Cross-sectional study divided into a retrospective and a prospective phase. All intubations performed in these units during a 6-month period were considered. Data were collected by interviewing the physician responsible for the procedure and reviewing the patients' charts, including drugs administered, sedation status, number of attempts, difficulties and complications during the procedure. Data were analyzed using the t test and the Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables, considering a p < 0.05. RESULTS: Sedatives were administered in 89.5% of the 134 pediatric procedures and 24% of the 116 neonatal procedures (p < 0.001). Muscle relaxants were prescribed for 3% of the children and 0.9% of the neonates. Only 53.7% of the children and 31.9% of the neonates were considered as adequately relaxed. The children who were inadequately relaxed had more intubations attempts (2.4&plusmn;1.3 vs 1.7&plusmn;1.2 p = 0.001), became more hypoxemic (20.9 vs 5.5% p = 0.015) and were more difficult to intubate (54.8 vs 25% p < 0.001). There were more urgent cases and more intubations attempts (2&plusmn;1.2 vs 1.5&plusmn;0.9 p = 0.036) among the inadequately relaxed neonates. Difficulties and complications occurred in 38.8 and 28.3% of the pediatric cases and 29 and 12% of the neonatal cases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was no established routine for intubation procedures in the units studied, and the use of muscle relaxants was not usual. The absence of adequate muscle relaxation is associated with more intubation attempts, difficulties and hypoxemia during the intubation procedure

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia: Emerging issues from a global perspective

Medical professional societies have traditionally opposed physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia (PAS-E), but this opposition may be shifting. We present 5 reasons why physicians shouldn’t be involved in PAS-E. 1. Slippery slopes: There is evidence that safeguards in the Netherlands and Belgium are ineffective and violated, including administering lethal drugs without patient consent, absence of terminal illness, untreated psychiatric diagnoses, and nonreporting; 2. Lack of self-determination: Psychological and social motives characterize requests for PAS-E more than physical symptoms or rational choices; many requests disappear with improved symptom control and psychological support; 3. Inadequate palliative care: Better palliative care makes most patients physically comfortable. Many individuals requesting PAS-E don’t want to die but to escape their suffering. Adequate treatment for depression and pain decreases the desire for death; 4. Medical professionalism: PAS-E transgresses the inviolable rule that physicians heal and palliate suffering but never intentionally inflict death; 5. Differences between means and ends: Proeuthanasia advocates look to the ends (the patient’s death) and say the ends justify the means; opponents disagree and believe that killing patients to relieve suffering is different from allowing natural death and is not acceptable. Conclusions: Physicians have a duty to eliminate pain and suffering, not the person with the pain and suffering. Solutions for suffering lie in improving palliative care and social conditions and addressing the reasons for PAS-E requests. They should not include changing medical practice to allow PAS-E