São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Muscle strength and functional independence are considered to be determinants of frailty levels among elderly people. The aim here was to compare lower-limb muscle strength (LLMS) with functional independence in relation to sex, age and number of frailty criteria, and to ascertain the influence of these variables on elderly outpatients' independence. ⋯ Elderly individuals with 1 or 2 frailty criteria presented greater independence in all FTSST scores. The subjects with higher LLMS presented better functional independence.
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The new social panorama resulting from aging of the Brazilian population is leading to significant transformations within healthcare. Through the cluster analysis strategy, it was sought to describe the specific care demands of the elderly population, using frailty components. ⋯ These data characterize the profile of this population and can be used as the basis for developing efficient strategies aimed at diminishing functional dependence, poor self-rated health and impaired quality of life.
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Nausea and vomiting are major inconveniences for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Despite standard preventive treatment, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) still occurs in approximately 50% of these patients. In an attempt to optimize this treatment, we evaluated the possible effects of carbamazepine for prevention of CINV. ⋯ Carbamazepine was not effective for prevention of CINV and also had a deleterious side-effect profile in this population.
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Observational Study
Relationship between mental health and spiritual wellbeing among hemodialysis patients: a correlation study.
The stress of living with a terminal disease has a negative impact on the mental health of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Spirituality is a potential coping mechanism for stressful experiences. Studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among HD patients are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental health and spiritual well-being among HD patients. ⋯ Poor mental health was associated with lower spiritual wellbeing. This has important implications for delivery of palliative care to HD patients.
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There have been few studies on the risk factors for subgroups of stuttering. The aim of this study was to characterize the risk factors for developmental familial stuttering among boys who stutter and who do not stutter, such as disfluency types, associated quality and communication factors, emotional and physical stress, familial attitudes and personal reactions. ⋯ The findings suggest that the presence of stuttering-like disfluency, associated quality and communication factors, emotional stress and inappropriate family attitudes are important risk factors for familial developmental stuttering among boys.