Acta Medica Port
-
The need for palliative care is increasing. Future doctors must be prepared for this, so it is essential to develop skills during their undergraduate studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of medical students at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra regarding palliative care. ⋯ Fifth-year medical students know what palliative care is and consider it important. However, they do not feel adequately trained and ready to take care of patients who need palliative care. It is essential to reflect on how physicians should be trained and to reconsider the medical syllabus, given the present lack of undergraduate medical training in palliative care.
-
The prevalence at birth of congenital heart disease in Portugal is 8.3/1000 births; undetected critical congenital heart disease may result in adverse outcomes for the fetus/newborn infant. This study describes the reported cases of congenital heart disease in Portugal in 2015 regarding antenatal diagnosis, cardiac defect, and presence of other congenital anomalies/chromosomal abnormalities. These indicators are compared in live births and medical pregnancy terminations. Additionally, postnatal deaths were characterized. ⋯ These results are paramount to characterize the Portuguese scenario and improve Healthcare planning. It is important to improve reporting in the Portuguese National Registry of Congenital Birth Defects.
-
In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus occurred in Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei Province and has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization since January 2020. ⋯ Despite intensive research, the exact origin of the virus and pathophysiology of coronavirus disease is not yet completely known, and clinically approved vaccines and drugs that target severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are lacking.