Clinics
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between body adiposity and postural control in elderly women. ⋯ The subjects with a greater fat mass exhibited poor balance control, indicating that body adiposity level was associated with postural control in the elderly women examined in the present study.
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To assess pulmonary function and the prevalence of atopy in school-age children who were very low birth weight as infants and to compare those who had bronchopulmonary dysplasia to those who did not. ⋯ Our data showed no significant differences in lung function between bronchopulmonary dysplasia and no bronchopulmonary dysplasia patients at school age and no evidence of an association between atopy and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
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To analyze the prevalence and types of prescribing and dispensing errors occurring with high-alert medications and to propose preventive measures to avoid errors with these medications. ⋯ The system of drug prescribing and dispensing at the hospital investigated in this study should be improved by incorporating the best practices of medication safety and preventing medication errors. High-alert medications may be used as triggers for improving the safety of the drug-utilization system.
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Population aging raises concerns regarding the increases in the rates of morbidity and mortality that result from influenza and its complications. Although vaccination is the most important tool for preventing influenza, vaccination program among high-risk groups has not reached its predetermined aims in several settings. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of clinical and demographic factors on vaccine compliance among the elderly in a setting that includes a well-established annual national influenza vaccination campaign. ⋯ The education of patients and health care professionals along with the implementation of immunization campaigns should be evaluated and considered by health authorities as essential for increasing the success rate of influenza vaccination compliance among the elderly.
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Oral health in Down syndrome children has some peculiar aspects that must be considered in the follow-up of these patients. This study focuses on characterizing the environmental and host factors associated with dental caries in Portuguese children with and without Down syndrome. ⋯ Our results show that Portuguese children with Down syndrome have lower caries rates than children without Down syndrome. This reduced prevalence may be associated with the parents' greater concern about oral health care in Down syndrome children, resulting in their taking them sooner to visit a dentist, as well as to a higher bruxism prevalence and delayed tooth eruption.