São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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The prevalence of psychiatric conditions in clinical settings is high, particularly in emergency services. This is a challenge for healthcare professionals and an essential element in the functioning of the mental health network. The objective here was to describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile and the practices among patients treated psychiatrically in the Emergency Unit. ⋯ This study emphasizes that it is important for professionals working in emergency service to have information about the patients' profile and the main reasons that lead them to seek psychiatric care, and to establish a diagnosis that will allow proper management at the emergency service and case referral.
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Osteoporosis is a skeletal abnormality characterized by reduction and alteration of bone microarchitecture that results in increased fragility and greater predisposition to fractures. Age and low bone mass are the main non-modifiable risk factors for osteoporotic fractures. The modifiable factors include sedentary lifestyle, inadequate calcium intake, excessive alcohol and/or caffeine consumption, smoking and low body weight. The aim here was to evaluate the association between low bone mass and calcium and caffeine intake among perimenopausal women in Southern Brazil. ⋯ No association was found between calcium and caffeine intake and bone mass. High prevalence of low bone mass was observed.
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Accelerated atherosclerosis has become a major problem in rheumatic inflammatory disease. The aim here was to analyze carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients and correlate this with clinical parameters and inflammatory markers. ⋯ SpA patients have a higher degree of subclinical atherosclerosis than in controls, thus supporting clinical evidence of increased cardiovascular risk in rheumatic patients.
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The Federal Constitution of 1988 allowed the National Congress to contribute towards formulation of new public policies. The objective of this study was to analyze the legislative production that dealt with health issues that was in passage in the National Congress between January 2007 and December 2008. ⋯ In analyzing the data from this study, it was noted that the legislative production relating to healthcare was low and the transformation rate from draft bill to legal regulation was negligible. The results from the evaluation showed that the quality of legislative production was impaired.
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CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Orthopedic surgery implies high costs for both public and private healthcare. The aim of this study was to better understand the differences between the public and private sectors regarding treatment of a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, which is a common knee injury. DESIGN AND SETTING Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted during the Brazilian Orthopedics Congress in Brasília. ⋯ RESULTS The orthopedic surgeons who were evaluated used different approaches and treatment options in different Brazilian states, comparing between the public and private systems. CONCLUSION Both in the public and in the private systems in Brazil, because of non-medical issues surrounding the treatment, the best medical decision is not always made. This may be harmful both to patients and to physicians.