ABSTRACT
We report a 77-year-old female patient who was admitted to the Emergency Department with impairment of consciousness, hypotension, bradycardia and hypothermia. She required endotracheal intubation and transfer to Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Computed tomography of the brain showed no lesions. Electrocardiogram showed abnormalities suggestive of severe hypothermia (bradycardia, marked elevation of J point associated with ST depression, a negative T wave in V2 to V6 and prolongation of QTc), which was confirmed with a pulmonary artery catheter. Myxedema coma, infections and neurological diseases were discarded. The cause of severe hypothermia was unclear, and the probable source was suspected to be accidental. After intensive treatment the patient improved, achieving normalization of electrocardiographic changes, recovery of organic functions and she was discharged home after 22 days.
Subject(s)
Aged , Female , Humans , Bradycardia/etiology , Hypothermia/complications , Bradycardia/physiopathology , Electrocardiography , Hypothermia/physiopathology , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Background: Wheat flour in Chile is fortified with folie acid and pregnant women are also supplemented with the vitamin, but the population level of knowledge or awareness about this vitamin and its use by pregnant women is unknown. Aim: To assess the level of knowledge that postpartum women from Santiago de Chile have about folie acid. Material and methods: A questionnaire about folie acid and its efects on the prevention of neural tube defects was developed adapting questionnaires designed abroad. It was applied by medical students to puerperal women, hospitalized in public hospitals. Results: The questionnaire was applied to 342 women aged 26 ± 7 years. Sixty one percent were housewives and 55 percent completed high school education. Forty seven percent of these women had heard about folie acid, 9.6 percent knew that it was able to prevent congenital defects and only one received an adequate supplementation during pregnancy. Women aged 25 to 34 years and those with an adequate medical care during pregnancy had a significantly better knowledge about folie acid and its role in the prevention of congenital anormalies. The more commom means to receive information about folie acid were midwifes (34 percent), mass media (28 percent) and doctors (20 percent). Two hundred eleven women (62 percent) agreed to take folie acid in a future gestation and 58 percent preferred to do so using fortified foods. Conclusions: Post partum women from Santiago have a poor knowledge about the relevance of folie acid supplementation.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Folic Acid/administration & dosage , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Promotion , Health Surveys , Neural Tube Defects/prevention & control , Awareness , Chile , Cross-Sectional Studies , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Introduction: intake of Folic Acid (FA) before conception and during early pregnancy reduces the incidence of neural tube defects (NTD). In Chile the management of the pregnant adolescent women is a relevant public health problem. So, the aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and intake of FA in a sample of adolescent and older parturient. Methods: a survey was conducted in one group of teenagers (group A) and another group of older puerperal (group B) corresponding to four public maternities of Santiago. Results: finally, 79 teenagers and 263 older women were surveyed. Both groups showed a poor knowledge about the benefit of intake of FA during this period. Regarding the control before pregnancy, we found an attendance of 10.1 percent in the group A and 24.7 percent in the group B, whereas only 5.1 percent of the group A and 1.9 percent of the group B had an intake of FA according to the medical recommendation. Conclusion: our patients have scanty information about the benefits of the periconceptional intake of FA. It seems necessary to design new methods and tools in order to increase the use of the FA in women of childbearing age, especially in the groups at risk for NTD.