O impacto económico da prevenção de úlceras de pressão num hospital universitário / The economic impact of pressure ulcers prevention in a university hospital

Objetivo: As úlceras de pressão constituem uma condição evitável que se traduz numa diminuição da qualidade de vida do doente. Simultaneamente representam um acréscimo nos custos para os serviços de saúde, associados ao aumento do tempo de internamento. A investigação é fundamental para justificar a prevenção enquanto medida de sustentabilidade e melhoria dos cuidados de saúde. O estudo visa estimar o efeito individual das diferentes categorias das úlceras de pressão no incremento do tempo de internamento hospitalar e os ganhos em saúde que derivam da intervenções autónomas e independentes dos enfermeiros do domínio da prevenção das UP. Métodos: A determinação do impacto incremental das diferentes categorias das UP no tempo de internamento é obtida por uso de um modelo econométrico concebido para esse fim. Os ganhos em saúde são determinados com o uso da equação preconizada pela ordem profissional dos enfermeiros (OE). Resultados: O impacto incremental das diferentes categorias de UP no internamento hospitalar é por ordem crescente de severidade clínica da UP de 1,05 dias; 1,64 dias; 3,53 dias e 10,29 dias. Estima-se que tenha sido prevenido o incremento de 2977,61 dias de internamento hospitalar, em resultado da prevenção das úlceras de pressão. Conclusão: É possível incrementar os ganhos em saúde e contribuir na redução do impacto das UP no internamento hospitalar ao clinicamente indispensável através da maximização na efetividade diagnóstica.

Objective: Pressure ulcers are an avoidable condition that results in a decrease in the health related quality of life of the client. At the same time, they represent an increase in costs for health services associated with an increase in length of hospital stay. Research in this area is fundamental to justify prevention as a measure of sustainability and improvement of health care. The study aims to estimate the individual effect of the different categories of pressure ulcers on the increase of hospitalization time and the health gains derived from autonomous and independent interventions of nurses in the field of PU prevention. Methods: The determination of the incremental impact of the different UP categories in the length of stay is obtained by using an econometric model designed for this purpose. Health gains are determined using the equation recommended by the professional order of nurses (OE). Results: The incremental impact of the different categories of PU on hospital admission is in ascending order of clinical severity of PU of 1.05 days; 1.64 days; 3.53 days and 10.29 days. It is estimated that an increase of 2977.61 days of hospitalization was prevented, as a result of the prevention of pressure ulcers. Conclusion: It is possible to increase the health gains and contribute in reducing the impact of PUs in hospital admission to the clinically indispensable by maximizing the diagnostic effectiveness.

Female urinary incontinence and sexuality

ABSTRACT Urinary incontinence is a common problem among women and it is estimated that between 15 and 55% of them complain of lower urinary symptoms. The most prevalent form of urinary incontinence is associated with stress, followed by mixed urinary incontinence and urge urinary incontinence. It is a symptom with several effects on quality of life of women mainly in their social, familiar and sexual domains. Female reproductive and urinary systems share anatomical structures, which promotes that urinary problems interfere with sexual function in females. This article is a review of both the concepts of female urinary incontinence and its impact on global and sexual quality of life. Nowadays, it is assumed that urinary incontinence, especially urge urinary incontinence, promotes anxiety and several self-esteem damages in women. The odour and the fear of incontinence during sexual intercourse affect female sexual function and this is related with the unpredictability and the chronicity of incontinence, namely urge urinary incontinence. Female urinary incontinence management involves conservative (pelvic floor muscle training), surgical and pharmacological treatment. Both conservative and surgical treatments have been studied about its benefit in urinary incontinence and also the impact among female sexual function. Unfortunately, there are sparse articles that evaluate the benefits of female sexual function with drug management of incontinence.