Polski merkuriusz lekarski : organ Polskiego Towarzystwa Lekarskiego
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Pol. Merkur. Lekarski · Oct 2010
Review[Empathy-building of physicians. Part II--Early exposure of students to patient's situation].
Medical training should aim at providing students' with opportunities to learn about and explore their cognitive and emotional responses to patients' illness and suffering. The training should also foster understanding of a patient's experiences and encourage empathic communication. Teaching approaches that use experiential learning methods seem to serve these educational goals, well. ⋯ We searched PubMed, ProQuest, ERIC, MedLine and Polish Medical Bibliography (Polska Bibliografia Lekarska--published from 1990 to the present--for studies that address methods for teaching empathy to medical students. Analysis of papers reporting the use of methods allowing early exposure to patient's situation indicate, that students reported a positive learning experience that has allowed to perceive patients as human beings, not as disease. The results show that, irrespective of the method used, empathy may be fostered in the course of medical training.
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Pol. Merkur. Lekarski · Oct 2010
Review[Empathy-building of physicians. Part I--A review of applied methods].
Clinical empathy is a multidimensional concept consisting of four attributes: cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and motivational. Empathy involves an interest in and understanding of patients' experiences, concerns, and perspectives associated with illness combined with a capacity to care and an intention to help. Empathy in the context of clinical care is believed to be beneficial not only to the patients, but also to health professionals. ⋯ Results of the literature search reveal, that medical educators have employed a variety of methods and approaches to enhance students' empathy. In this review, we grouped these methods into five approaches, namely, early clinical exposure, playing a role of a patient, exposure to literature and the arts, improving skills associated with empathy, exposure to role models. These methods will be dealt with in details in the follow up papers.
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Pol. Merkur. Lekarski · Sep 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study[Influence of low-molecular-weight heparin on the life quality of patients after intravascular medical procedures in comparison to patients who were treated with oral anticoagulants].
Atherosclerosis is the illness of arteries which causes changes in vessels leading to their narrowing and then to their closure. Men are mainly attacked by illnesses of arteries. There are several factors which can intensify these illnesses such as: diabetes, smoking cigarettes, diet rich in cholesterol, arterial hypertension. Chronic ischemia of lower extremities is the most frequent illness with which patients notify. Patients with long-standing atherosclerotic process are usually afflicted with thrombotic ischemia. The life quality is the term that can have many meanings. It can be treated objectively or subjectively. In the first case we deal with the quality of life and in the second one with the feeling of life quality. Considering the problem we can base on the level of fulfilling the norm or on riches of obtained experience. The term life quality is significantly connected with the process of cognitive assessment of the individual. The quality of life of patients who were subjected to intravascular medical procedures considerably changes. The continuation of surgical treatment is pharmacotherapy which is connected with administering to patients low-molecular-weight heparin or oral antithrombotic medicine. The aim of the study was an evaluation of quality of life of patient after intravascular medical procedures, at which continued treatment was low-molecular-weight heparin and comparison of received results with subjective feeling of quality of life among ill across passing, treated oral anticoagulants medicines. ⋯ Conducted research has shown that the life quality of patients who were treated with low-molecular-weight heparin changed for better in higher degree than patients who were treated with oral antithrombotic medicine.
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In the recent decades research on child abuse has grown impressively. Four types of child abuse: physical, psychological (emotional), sexual, and neglect have been clinically observed and defined. In 1972, John Caffey, a pediatric radiologist, published an article on the theory and practice of the abusive shaking of infants. ⋯ Additionally, 1300 children were fatally injured from SBS the same year. The ability to detect SBS is difficult secondary to under reporting and misdiagnosis. There is no established set of symptoms that indicate SBS.
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Pol. Merkur. Lekarski · Jun 2010
Review[Physiological functions of L-ornithine and L-aspartate in the body and the efficacy of administration of L-ornithine-L-aspartate in conditions of relative deficiency].
L-ornithine-L-aspartate (LOLA) is a stable salt of two natural nonessential L-amino acids: ornithine and aspartic acid. It is formulated and marketed in low and high doses. Low doses are used as a food supplement and high doses (above 5 g) as a medicinal product to lower blood ammonia concentration and to eliminate symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy associated with liver cirrhosis. ⋯ In health and with proper diet, L-ornithine and L-aspartate are synthesized de novo in sufficient quantities, but in the states of disease, tissue damage, organ insufficiency, excessive metabolic demand, growth, pregnancy, or urea cycle enzyme deficiencies, these amino acids need to be supplemented with the food. The review of available data indicate that there is direct and indirect (resulting from physiology) scientific rationale for dietary use of LOLA, depending on an individual's physiological, metabolic or pathological conditions. In conditional ornithine deficiency, daily supplementation with LOLA at doses about 1 g/day is safe and, as demonstrated in vitro, should be sufficient to saturate tissue ornithine concentration to prevent postprandial hyperammonemia and to stimulate tissue regeneration.