Articles: disease.
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Meningococcal disease is still a serious public health problem in many countries. A vaccine produced by Cuba was the first product against B meningococcus available on a large scale. In an attempt to control the increasing incidence of this serogroup in greater Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the vaccine was used in 1990 in children aged 6 months-9 years. About 1.6 million children were vaccinated. ⋯ The results suggest that the vaccine produced by Cuba may offer protection against serogroup B meningococcal disease, but its effects may not be homogeneous.
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Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Community surveys are used to determine the proportion of children with ARI for whom care is sought by questioning mothers about the signs and symptoms of illness episodes. The validity of this approach has been studied infrequently. ⋯ Maternal reporting of ARI symptoms is non-specific 2 and 4 weeks after diagnosis but may be useful for monitoring trends in the proportion of children with pneumonia who receive medical care. To maximize specificity, ARI programmes should generally use a recall period of 2 weeks.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Zinc supplementation in young children with acute diarrhea in India.
In developing countries the duration and severity of diarrheal illnesses are greatest among infants and young children with malnutrition and impaired immune status, both factors that may be associated with zinc deficiency. In children with severe zinc deficiency, diarrhea is common and responds quickly to zinc supplementation. ⋯ For infants and young children with acute diarrhea, zinc supplementation results in clinically important reductions in the duration and severity of diarrhea.
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Bull Pan Am Health Organ · Sep 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComparative study of safety and efficacy of IUD insertions by physicians and nursing personnel in Brazil.
To assess whether trained nursing personnel could provide IUD services as safely and effectively as physicians in Brazil, an experimental study was conducted at the main clinic of the Center for Research on Integrated Maternal and Child Care in Rio de Janeiro. From November 1984 through April 1986, a total of 1,711 women who requested IUD insertion at the clinic were randomly assigned to have a Copper-T 200 IUD inserted by one of the clinic's 11 physicians or 13 nurses. All of the physicians and nursing staff members who provided these services had taken the Center's standard clinical family planning training course. ⋯ These findings suggest that future training, besides preparing nursing personnel in IUD insertion, should emphasize preparation in taking the client's medical history and diagnosing existing medical symptoms that could be associated with IUD insertion complications. In addition, if a nulliparous woman requests an insertion, it should be performed by a physician or more experienced nursing staff member with close medical supervision. Because of high rates of reported pain at insertion, such women, as well as those with medical symptoms associated IUD insertion complications and those with a history of PID or STD, should be considered candidates for extra care and counseling.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Discuss the course of acute pancreatitis in pregnant patients and demonstrate that most attacks of pancreatitis in pregnancy are mild. ⋯ Early diagnosis and treatment is of utmost importance. Gallstones and/or hyperlipidemia seems to have a specific link with acute pancreatitis in pregnancy. Although acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of pregnancy, we present evidence that both maternal and fetal mortality can be minimized if appropriately treated.