Dyspnea in Children as a Symptom of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections and Antibiotic Prescribing

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea is an unpleasant feeling of breathing difficulty, shortness of breath and inability to satisfy the hunger for air. The role of family physicians is to be prepared to recognise dyspnea as a symptom of acute respiratory infections (ARI), to perform triage and managing of children with acute dyspnea and make continuous education of parents. In the treatment of acute dyspnea more important is to treat dyspnea as a symptom than the prescribing of antibiotics (AB). Nowadays, even more often large amount of children, because of the noncompliance in the treatment and the pressure from the parents, unnecessary is hospitalised and frequently used antibiotics: According to the guidelines, a small percentage of children with ARI should be treated with AB. The rate of antibiotic prescription should be around 15-20% and lower.AIM: To assess doctor’s AB prescriptions in Primary care practices in Macedonia, for ARI and dyspnea in children we use the data from a National project about antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections, which has been run in 2014 November as a part of E - quality program.METHODS: Eighty-six general practitioners from Macedonia have taken participation in it. The group of 3026 children, from 0-5 years of age, with symptoms of dyspnea, was analysed. We have found a rate of 54.6% antibiotic prescriptions (AB). From 3026 children with dyspnea, AB got 1519 children, 852 of which were prescribed by a specialist.RESULTS: The children were mostly diagnosed with upper ARI, in 57.7%. The most used AB is amoxicillin + clavulonic acid. We concluded that there was an increased and inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics in children with ARI, presented with dyspnea in Macedonia.CONCLUSION: Perceptions and the parent's attitudes do not correlate with the severity of clinical picture of the disease in children and lack of use Evidence-based medicine (EBM), insecurity, fear, loss of patients effect on antibiotic prescribing of the doctors

Effectiveness of combining feedback about lung age or exhaled carbon monoxide levels with Very Brief Advice (VBA) and support for smoking cessation in primary care compared to giving VBA and support alone – protocol for a randomized controlled trial within the Breathe Well research program

INTRODUCTION: In 2015, smoking prevalence in Republic of Macedonia was 36% in men and 21% in women We aim to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two methods of motivating smokers to quit smoking compared with very brief advice (VBA) alone. Тo date, there are no studies investigating smoking cessation treatment in Republic of Macedonia. METHODS/DESIGN: RCT with process evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis within 31 general practices in Republic of Macedonia recruiting smokers currently smoking >10 cigarettes per day, aged >35 years, attending primary care practices for any reason, regardless of motivation to quit smoking. Respondents will be randomized into one of three groups: (1) VBA and assessment and communication of lung age; (2) VBA and additional assessment and communication of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) levels; or (3) control group – VBA. All participants who attempt to quit smoking will be offered behavioral support based on the UK standard program for smoking cessation. Primary outcome: Proportion of smokers who are quit at 4 weeks (7-day point prevalence, confirmed by salivary cotinine level). Secondary outcomes: Proportion who have attempted to quit smoking or have quit smoking, a proportion that has reduced the number of cigarettes and motivation to quit smoking; cost-effectiveness analysis calculating cost per quality-adjusted life year. We will evaluate the fidelity to the intervention and will explore patients’ and GPs’ experience and the acceptability of the study intervention by interview. DISCUSSION: The study will evaluate the effectiveness of combining feedback about lung age or exhaled CO levels with VBA and support for smoking cessation in primary care compared to giving VBA and support alone. It will explore how willing primary care physicians are to perform such interventions and the acceptability and effectiveness of such interventions to patients in Republic of Macedonia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered on the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN54228638)

Engaging stakeholders to level up COPD care in LMICs:lessons learned from the "Breathe Well" programme in Brazil, China, Georgia, and North Macedonia

BACKGROUND: Effective stakeholder engagement in health research is increasingly being recognised and promoted as an important pathway to closing the gap between knowledge production and its use in health systems. However, little is known about its process and impacts, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. This opinion piece draws on the stakeholder engagement experiences from a global health research programme on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) led by clinician researchers in Brazil, China, Georgia and North Macedonia, and presents the process, outcomes and lessons learned.MAIN BODY: Each country team was supported with an overarching engagement protocol and mentored to develop a tailored plan. Patient involvement in research was previously limited in all countries, requiring intensive efforts through personal communication, meetings, advisory groups and social media. Accredited training programmes were effective incentives for participation from healthcare providers; and aligning research findings with competing policy priorities enabled interest and dialogue with decision-makers. The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited possibilities for planned engagement, although remote methods were used where possible. Planned and persistent engagement contributed to shared knowledge and commitment to change, including raised patient and public awareness about COPD, improved skills and practice of healthcare providers, increased interest and support from clinical leaders, and dialogue for integrating COPD services into national policy and practice.CONCLUSION: Stakeholder engagement enabled relevant local actors to produce and utilise knowledge for small wins such as improving day-to-day practice and for long-term goals of equitable access to COPD care. For it to be successful and sustained, stakeholder engagement needs to be valued and integrated throughout the research and knowledge generation process, complete with dedicated resources, contextualised and flexible planning, and commitment.</p

Дисфагија како рана презентација на Di George синдром- приказ на случај

DiGeorge’s syndrome is a 22q11.2 deletion leading to abnormal embryogenesis of pharyngeal arches and it is manifesting in a variety of clinical signs and symptoms. The spectrum of anomalies varies from minor facial dysmorphism and cleft palate to a broad spectrum of cardiovascular anomalies, thymic disfunction and immune deficiencies, hypocalcemia due tohypoparathyroidism,growth and developmental delay and speech disturbances. Cardiovascular anomalies might include right sided aortic arch, aberrant vesiclesand vascular ring. Here we present an atypical case of partial DiGeorge’s syndrome with feeding and swallowing difficulties and laryngeal stridor in the neonatal period. Early presentation in this period is usually due to severe hypocalcemia and cardiac disease. Feeding difficulties in a preterm baby needed clinical assessment skills in order to establish the diagnosis and delineate it from feeding difficulties usually seen in preterm babies. Esophagogram (barium X Ray) showed antero-posterior oblique impression towards the right side, the latero- lateral view showed impression on the rare side, suspected to be esophageal sub stenosis due to vascular anomaly, aberrant right subclavian arteryand suspectedthymic hypoplasia. We report a 9-year follow up periodbya team of subspecialists. The child had two surgeries due to aberrant vessel and velopharyngeal deficiency. Optimal management of patients with DiGeorge’s syndrome requires a multidisciplinary teamwhichshould include a cardiologist, immunologist, geneticist, speech/language therapist, endocrinologist and other subspecialists depending on patient`'s phenotype.DiGeorge Синдромот е резултат на делеција на 22q11.2 која води до пореметена ембриогенеза на фарингеалните лаци и се манифестира со различни знаци и симптоми. Спектарот на аномалии во овој синдром е варијабилен и може да се презентира само со минорна лицева дизморфија и расцеп на непцето но и со широк спектар на кардиоваскуларни аномалии, дисфункција на тимус и имун дефицит, хипокалцемија поради хипопаратироидизам, пореметување во растот и развојот и проблеми во говорот. Кардиоваскуларните аномалии може да се од типот на десен аортен лак, аберантни крвни садови и васкуларен ринг. Во овој приказ на случај прикажуваме атипичен случај на парцијален синдром на DiGeorge кој се презентираше со потешкотии во голтање и ларингеален стридор во неонаталниот период. Раната презентација на овој синдром во неонаталната возраст најчесто се дијагностицира со хипокалцемија и конгенитална кардиопатија. Потребна е добра клиничка проценка за да се разликува проблем при хранење на прематурно новородено од другите проблеми при голтање. Езофагограмот покажа коса импресија на антеро-постериорниот правец со ориентација кон десно суспектна за субстеноза на езофагусот на опишаното ниво од васкуларна етиологија, аберантна десна артерија субклавија и суспектна&nbsp; хипоплазија на тимус. Пациентот беше следен во период од 9 години од тим на субспецијалисти. Во тој период имаше две хируршки интервенции (корекција на аберантен крвен сад и велофарингеален дефицит). Пациентите со синдром на DiGeorge треба да бидат следени&nbsp; од мултидисциплинарен тим кој вклучува кардиолог, имунолог, генетичар, ендокринолог, логопед и други субспецијалисти според фенотипот на пациентот

Community lung health service design for COPD patients in China by the Breathe Well group

COPD is increasingly common in China but is poorly understood by patients, medications are not used as prescribed and there is no access to recommended non-pharmacological treatment. We explored COPD patients’ and general practitioners’ (GPs) knowledge of COPD, views on its management and the acceptability of a flexible lung health service (LHS) offering health education, exercise, self-management, smoking cessation and mental health support. Using a convergent mixed methods design, data were collected from patients and GPs using focus groups (FGs) in four Chinese cities, questionnaires were also used to collect data from patients. FGs were audio-recorded and transcribed. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, thematic framework analysis was used for the qualitative data. Two-hundred fifty-one patients completed the questionnaire; 39 patients and 30 GPs participated in ten separate FGs. Three overarching themes were identified: patients’ lack of knowledge/understanding of COPD, current management of COPD not meeting patients’ needs and LHS design, which was well received by patients and GPs. Participants wanted COPD education, TaiChi, psychological support and WeChat for social support. 39% of survey responders did not know what to do when their breathing worsened and 24% did not know how to use their inhalers. 36% of survey respondents requested guided relaxation. Overall, participants did not fully understand the implications of COPD and current treatment was sub-optimal. There was support for developing a culturally appropriate intervention meeting Chinese patients’ needs, health beliefs, and local healthcare delivery. Further research should explore the feasibility of such a service

Exploring the need for, and design of, a community lung health service for COPD patients in China:a mixed method study. Findings from the Breathe Well group

COPD is increasingly common in China but is poorly understood by patients, medications are not used as prescribed and there is no access to recommended non-pharmacological treatment. We explored COPD patients’ and general practitioners’ (GPs) knowledge of COPD, views on its management and the acceptability of a flexible lung health service (LHS) offering health education, exercise, self-management, smoking cessation and mental health support. Using a convergent mixed methods design, data were collected from patients and GPs using focus groups (FGs) in four Chinese cities, questionnaires were also used to collect data from patients. FGs were audio-recorded and transcribed. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, thematic framework analysis was used for the qualitative data. Two-hundred fifty-one patients completed the questionnaire; 39 patients and 30 GPs participated in ten separate FGs. Three overarching themes were identified: patients’ lack of knowledge/understanding of COPD, current management of COPD not meeting patients’ needs and LHS design, which was well received by patients and GPs. Participants wanted COPD education, TaiChi, psychological support and WeChat for social support. 39% of survey responders did not know what to do when their breathing worsened and 24% did not know how to use their inhalers. 36% of survey respondents requested guided relaxation. Overall, participants did not fully understand the implications of COPD and current treatment was sub-optimal. There was support for developing a culturally appropriate intervention meeting Chinese patients’ needs, health beliefs, and local healthcare delivery. Further research should explore the feasibility of such a service