Dysthanasia: nursing professionals' perception

Dysthanasia means slow and painful death without quality of life. This study aimed to know whether nurses identify dysthanasia as part of the final process of the lives of terminal patients hospitalized at an adult ICU. This is an exploratory-qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten nurses with at least one year of experience in an ICU, and interpreted through content analysis. Results indicate that nurses understand and identify dysthanasia, do not agree with it and recognize elements of orthonasia as the adequate procedure for terminal patients. We conclude that nurses interpret dysthanasia as extending life with pain and suffering, while terminal patients are submitted to futile treatments that do not benefit them. They also identify dysthanasia using elements of orthonasia to explain it.Distanasia significa muerte lenta, con sufrimiento y sin calidad de vida. En esta investigación se buscó conocer si los enfermeros identifican la distanasia como parte del proceso final de la vida de personas en estado terminal, internadas en una UTI para adultos. El estudio es de naturaleza exploratoria, con abordaje cualitativo. Los datos fueron recolectados por medio de entrevista semiestructurada con 10 enfermeros con un mínimo de un año de experiencia en UTI; los datos fueron interpretados por el análisis de contenido. Se obtuvo como resultado que los enfermeros comprenden e identifican la distanasia y se oponen a la misma, presentando elementos de ortotanasia como procedimiento adecuado para pacientes en estado terminal. Se concluye que los enfermeros interpretan la distanasia como el prolongamiento de la vida con dolor y sufrimiento, en el cual los pacientes terminales son sometidos a tratamientos fútiles que no traen beneficios. También identifican la distanasia, usando elementos de la ortotanasia para hacerla explicita.Distanásia significa morte lenta, sofrida e sem qualidade de vida. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se conhecer se os enfermeiros identificam a distanásia como parte do processo final da vida de pessoas em terminalidade, internadas em UTI adulto. O estudo é de natureza exploratória, com abordagem qualitativa. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevista semiestruturada com 10 enfermeiros com, no mínimo, um ano de experiência em UTI, e interpretados pela análise de conteúdo. Teve-se como resultado que os enfermeiros compreendem e identificam a distanásia e se opõem à mesma, trazendo elementos da ortotanásia como procedimento adequado para pacientes em terminalidade. Conclui-se que os enfermeiros interpretam a distanásia como o prolongamento de vida com dor e sofrimento, onde os pacientes terminais são submetidos a tratamentos fúteis que não trazem benefícios. E também identificam a distanásia, usando elementos da ortotanásia para explicitá-la

Child wasting and concurrent stunting in low- and middle-income countries

Sustainable Development Goal 2.2—to end malnutrition by 2030—includes the elimination of child wasting, defined as a weight-for-length z-score that is more than two standard deviations below the median of the World Health Organization standards for child growth 1. Prevailing methods to measure wasting rely on cross-sectional surveys that cannot measure onset, recovery and persistence—key features that inform preventive interventions and estimates of disease burden. Here we analyse 21 longitudinal cohorts and show that wasting is a highly dynamic process of onset and recovery, with incidence peaking between birth and 3 months. Many more children experience an episode of wasting at some point during their first 24 months than prevalent cases at a single point in time suggest. For example, at the age of 24 months, 5.6% of children were wasted, but by the same age (24 months), 29.2% of children had experienced at least one wasting episode and 10.0% had experienced two or more episodes. Children who were wasted before the age of 6 months had a faster recovery and shorter episodes than did children who were wasted at older ages; however, early wasting increased the risk of later growth faltering, including concurrent wasting and stunting (low length-for-age z-score), and thus increased the risk of mortality. In diverse populations with high seasonal rainfall, the population average weight-for-length z-score varied substantially (more than 0.5 z in some cohorts), with the lowest mean z-scores occurring during the rainiest months; this indicates that seasonally targeted interventions could be considered. Our results show the importance of establishing interventions to prevent wasting from birth to the age of 6 months, probably through improved maternal nutrition, to complement current programmes that focus on children aged 6–59 months

Early-childhood linear growth faltering in low- and middle-income countries

Globally, 149 million children under 5 years of age are estimated to be stunted (length more than 2 standard deviations below international growth standards) 1,2. Stunting, a form of linear growth faltering, increases the risk of illness, impaired cognitive development and mortality. Global stunting estimates rely on cross-sectional surveys, which cannot provide direct information about the timing of onset or persistence of growth faltering—a key consideration for defining critical windows to deliver preventive interventions. Here we completed a pooled analysis of longitudinal studies in low- and middle-income countries (n = 32 cohorts, 52,640 children, ages 0–24 months), allowing us to identify the typical age of onset of linear growth faltering and to investigate recurrent faltering in early life. The highest incidence of stunting onset occurred from birth to the age of 3 months, with substantially higher stunting at birth in South Asia. From 0 to 15 months, stunting reversal was rare; children who reversed their stunting status frequently relapsed, and relapse rates were substantially higher among children born stunted. Early onset and low reversal rates suggest that improving children’s linear growth will require life course interventions for women of childbearing age and a greater emphasis on interventions for children under 6 months of age

Causes and consequences of child growth faltering in low-resource settings

Growth faltering in children (low length for age or low weight for length) during the first 1,000 days of life (from conception to 2 years of age) influences short-term and long-term health and survival 1,2. Interventions such as nutritional supplementation during pregnancy and the postnatal period could help prevent growth faltering, but programmatic action has been insufficient to eliminate the high burden of stunting and wasting in low- and middle-income countries. Identification of age windows and population subgroups on which to focus will benefit future preventive efforts. Here we use a population intervention effects analysis of 33 longitudinal cohorts (83,671 children, 662,763 measurements) and 30 separate exposures to show that improving maternal anthropometry and child condition at birth accounted for population increases in length-for-age z-scores of up to 0.40 and weight-for-length z-scores of up to 0.15 by 24 months of age. Boys had consistently higher risk of all forms of growth faltering than girls. Early postnatal growth faltering predisposed children to subsequent and persistent growth faltering. Children with multiple growth deficits exhibited higher mortality rates from birth to 2 years of age than children without growth deficits (hazard ratios 1.9 to 8.7). The importance of prenatal causes and severe consequences for children who experienced early growth faltering support a focus on pre-conception and pregnancy as a key opportunity for new preventive interventions

Association of the Karnofsky Performance Scale with the Quality of Life of Brazilian Women Undergoing Palliative Care

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Evaluation of the Quality of Life of Gynecological Cancer Patients Submitted to Antineoplastic Chemotherapy Evaluación de la calidad de vida de portadoras de cáncer ginecológico, sometidas a quimioterapia antineoplásica Avaliação da qualidade de vida de portadoras de câncer ginecológico, submetidas à quimioterapia antineoplásica

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of female gynecological cancer patients submitted to antineoplastic chemotherapy Between August 2007 and April 2009, 50 patients who were undergoing chemotherapy at an outpatient chemotherapy unit in Uberaba - MG were interviewed, by applying the instrument of evaluation of Quality of Life of the World Health Organization, WHOQOL-BREF. The results showed that the domain most affected was the Physical and the more preserved, the Social, with the mean of the general quality of life above the means obtained in other studies. All domains correlated significantly with the general quality of life. It was evident then that the quality of life of these women is satisfactory, however it is suggested that the domains with lower scores be the targets of more accurate observations during multi-professional interventions in order to provide a better quality of life during the chemotherapy treatment.<br>Este estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la calidad de vida de mujeres portadoras de cáncer ginecológico sometidas a quimioterapia antineoplásica. Fueron entrevistadas 50 pacientes en el período de agosto de 2007 a abril de 2009 que estaban en tratamiento quimioterapéutico en un ambulatorio de quimioterapia de Uberaba-MG, mediante la aplicación del instrumento de evaluación de Calidad de Vida de la Organización Mundial de la Salud-WHOQOL-bref. Los resultados apuntaron que el dominio más comprometido fue el físico y el más preservado, el social, siendo que la calidad de vida general obtuvo un promedio superior al obtenido en otros estudios. Todos los dominios se correlacionaron significativamente con la calidad de vida general. Se puede evidenciar, entonces, que la calidad de vida de esas mujeres fue satisfactoria; sin embargo se sugiere que los dominios con puntajes más bajos sean examinados con observaciones más exactas durante las intervenciones multiprofesionales, a fin de proporcionar una mejor calidad de vida durante el tratamiento quimioterapéutico.<br>Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a qualidade de vida de mulheres portadoras de câncer ginecológico, submetidas à quimioterapia antineoplásica. Foram entrevistadas 50 pacientes, no período de agosto de 2007 a abril de 2009, que estavam em tratamento quimioterápico em um ambulatório de quimioterapia de Uberaba, MG, mediante aplicação do instrumento de avaliação de Qualidade de Vida da Organização Mundial da Saúde-WHOQOL-bref. Os resultados apontaram que o domínio mais comprometido foi o físico e o mais preservado, o social, sendo que a qualidade de vida geral obteve média acima da obtida em outros estudos. Todos os domínios correlacionaram-se significativamente com a qualidade de vida geral. Pode-se evidenciar, então, que a qualidade de vida dessas mulheres é satisfatória; entretanto, sugere-se que os domínios com escores mais baixos sejam alvo de observações mais acuradas, durante as intervenções multiprofissionais, a fim de se proporcionar melhor qualidade de vida durante o tratamento quimioterápico