Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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Objectives The cognitive function of homeless children and adolescents may be overlooked, albeit understandably, when societal interventions focus on their immediate housing needs. Nevertheless, homelessness might be hypothesized to carry many risks for the developing mind and brain. We wanted to discover whether this hypothesis had been tested previously. ⋯ Yet when compared with those who are domiciled, these children tend to have lower intellectual functioning and decreased academic achievement. Furthermore, adolescents evince cognitive impairments in the contexts of drug, physical, and sexual abuse. Conclusions We suggest that cognitive and mental health screening be incorporated into those intervention programs deployed to facilitate societal reintegration of homeless children and adolescents.
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Ibuprofen was the first non-aspirin non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) to be approved for over-the-counter (OTC) use and is widely considered to be the best tolerated drug of its class. Low-dose, OTC ibuprofen has been used for pain relief for over 30 years without any obvious major health issues. However, there is no clear differentiation between the OTC and prescription doses of ibuprofen, and their respective effects. ⋯ The tolerability concerns associated with higher dose NSAIDs currently do not apply to low-dose, short-term use of ibuprofen for common pain. Ibuprofen is associated with the least risk of GI complications compared with other NSAIDs and is considered relatively benign in overdose. This review will aim to distinguish the safety of OTC or non-prescription use of ibuprofen from its prescription use.
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In summary, scientific evidence demonstrates that the rate of serious GI adverse events associated with the use of NSAIDs is comparatively low depending on the definition used, serious GI adverse events occur in 1% of patients each year and occurs in the use of high doses with long-term treatment in chronic conditions. At OTC doses, the incidence of GI adverse events in both adults and children receiving ibuprofen has been shown to be similar to that of paracetamol. Even at prescription doses of ibuprofen, upper GI bleeding is infrequent, and is usually associated with long-term use. Of all the NSAIDs, ibuprofen appears to have one of the best GI tolerability profiles.