Family practice
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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the diversion of health resources away from routine primary care delivery. This disruption of health services has necessitated new approaches to providing care to ensure continuity. ⋯ Substantial disruptions to routine primary care occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary care practices' rapid adaptation, often with limited resources and support, demonstrates agility and innovative capacity. Findings underscore the need for timely guidance and support from authorities to optimize the provision of comprehensive routine care during pandemics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cost-effectiveness of physiotherapy in childhood functional constipation: a randomized controlled trial in primary care.
Health care expenditures for children with functional constipation (FC) are high, while conservative management is successful in only 50% of the children. The aim is to evaluate whether adding physiotherapy to conventional treatment (CT) is a cost-effective strategy in the management of children with FC aged 4-18 years in primary care. ⋯ Physiotherapy added to CT as first-line treatment for all children with FC is not cost-effective compared with CT alone. Future studies should consider the cost-effectiveness of physiotherapy added to CT in children with chronic laxative use.
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Observational Study
Acute lower respiratory infections: real-world evidence of antibiotic prescription pattern and costs from a large administrative Italian database.
This observational retrospective analysis aimed to describe antibiotic prescription pattern in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and their costs, from the Italian National Health Service perspective. ⋯ Findings confirmed the very high use of antimicrobials in Italy and highlighted the urgent need of improving current prescribing practices and developing new molecules, to stop the incessant spread of antimicrobial resistance and related socioeconomic impacts.
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Sexually transmitted infections are a major public health issue, both in France and worldwide. Primary healthcare professionals play a key role in sexual health and prevention, but few take on this subject. Prevention strategies are diverse, thus risk reduction strategies focussing on behavioural changes are still needed. ⋯ Some tools could be used in primary care, with possible efficiency though results are difficult to generalize, and value should be assessed in daily practice. Future research should also focus on older population given the epidemiological evolutions, but also lower-risk population to target all patients seen in primary care settings.