Symptom Incidence and Defining the Symptom Clusters in the Patients with Heart Failure

3rd World Heart Failure Congress -- NOV 29-DEC 02, 2012 -- Istanbul, TURKEYWOS: 00031169820017

Features of Pressure Ulcers in Hospitalized Older Adults

WOS: 000335385900005PubMed ID: 24531518BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence and risk of pressure ulcers (PrUs) among hospitalized patients 65 years or older in a university hospital setting and to assess the potential for prevention and healing in that population. METHODS: The retrospective study conducted at the general medicine departments of Ege University Hospital in Izmir, Turkey, included 209 patients (115 females, 94 males) 65 years or older, who had been admitted to the hospital for a variety of reasons between April 1, 2011, and October 1, 2011. The following tools were used to collect data: a data collection form to identify the sociodemographic and medical characteristics of the patients, the Braden Risk Assessment Scale to assess the risk of PrUs, and a form to monitor PrUs, which included the site of the PrU, the category, and the PUSH (Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing) score, a tool for tracking changes in PrUs status applied at weekly intervals. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 73 (6.4) years. The prevalence of PrUs was 5.8% during the hospital stay. Pressure ulcers appeared most frequently in the ischeal tuberosity area (40%), and 45.2% of all PrUs observed were category II. The comorbidities of the patients who had PrUs were as follows: rheumatoid arthritis, 40% (n = 5); acute renal failure, 24% (n = 3); multiple myeloma, 8% (n = 1); chronic renal failure, 8% (n = 1); pneumonia, 8% (n = 1); and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 8% (n = 1). CONCLUSIONS: Pressure ulcers are a common healthcare complication in the older adult population, with potentially severe consequences. The most important intervention that healthcare professionals can make to reduce PrUs is to determine and address risk factors

Usage of Analgesics among Young Girls and Dysmenorrhea

Objective: This study aimed to determine dysmenorrhea prevalence and menstruation characteristics among young girls and whether dysmenorrhea affects the use of analgesics. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in female university students who applied to Baskent University's Medicosocial Center. Results: There were 190 participants in the dysmenorrhea group and 80 participants in the control group. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 70%. Reading of the drug prospectus in the dysmenorrhea group was higher than in the control group (69.9% vs. 46.8%, p < 0.05). Recommending her own drug to someone else (67.8% versus 53.3%, p < 0.05) and not paying attention to the recommended drug use period (72.5% vs. 59.7%; p < 0.05) was higher in the dysmenorrhea group than in the control group. In the dysmenorrhea group, the reasons to take the last pain relievers were headache or abdominal pain in the same order as the control group and the rate of abdominal pain was higher in the study group (30.0% versus 11.5%, p < 0.05). The inability to remember the name of the last used pain reliever was higher in the study group (24.2% versus 17.5%, p < 0.05). The rate of knowing the name of any three different pain relievers was higher in the study group (81.6% versus 80.4%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: University students who are in need of medication due to diseases more frequently encounter drugs. Developing behaviors on rational drug use in these students may provide productive results. It may be effective to organize contact meetings for students on the use of non-prescription drugs