Profile of pediatric patients with cerebral palsy at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Philippine General Hospital

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> Data is necessary for a hospital-wide cerebral palsy (CP) profile, this being the leading pediatric diagnosis at the PGH Rehabilitation Medicine Out Patient clinic. This study aims to identify clinical features, severity of disability and common interventions in pediatric CP patients.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODS:</strong> CP profile data collection forms were accomplished from September 2014 to December 2015.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>PRIMARY RESULTS:</strong> Among 125 participants: 55% were < 5 years old, 47% were delivered vaginally, 42% had perinatal onset of condition, 34% had normal birth weight and 23% were moderately preterm. Most were quadriplegic (36%) and spastic (50%). Primary caregivers were mostly mothers (45%) and</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> A hospital-wide cerebral palsy profile should be established to monitor CP, given its multifactorial cause and complex functional impact. Trends should be correlated with maternal and patient factors, healthcare provision and socioeconomics</p>

Anorexia nervosa: diagnóstico, mudanças no perfil e tratamento / Anorexia nervosa: diagnosis, changes in profile and treatment

A anorexia nervosa é um transtorno alimentar grave, associado a altas taxas de mortalidade. Esta condição se caracteriza pela intensa perda de peso, de modo intencional, ocasionada por restrição alimentar e motivada pela distorção de imagem corporal dos pacientes. Afeta, sobretudo, adolescentes e adultos jovens do sexo feminino. Mudanças no perfil de pacientes com anorexia nervosa têm sido relatadas tanto por clínicos da área de saúde mental quanto por pesquisadores. Neste artigo serão explorados aspectos relacionados ao diagnóstico, a idade de início do transtorno - atualmente verificado em crianças - o aumento de sua prevalência entre homens e o tratamento. Conhecer os critérios diagnósticos da anorexia nervosa e as mudanças no perfil de pacientes afetados é tarefa premente, tanto para profissionais da área de saúde mental quanto para outros que acompanham o desenvolvimento infantil, como pediatras, dentistas e professores, que podem identificar os casos mais precocemente e encaminhá-los a tratamento específico...

The Philippine National Ear Institute: Patient and audilogic profiles

Background: The Philippine National Ear Institute (PNEI) was created to promote health of hearing and balance among Filipinos. Over the years, it has provided audiologic services to thousands of patients annually and has published relevant hearing and balance research. Objective: To describe the patients served by the PNEI in terms of age, region of origin, occupation, pretest diagnosis, and audiologic results. Methods: Study Design - Cross-sectional study Setting - National tertiary care center Population - All records of patients referred for audiologic testing at PNEI in 2006 were reviewed and encoded into analyzable format. Results: A total of 1,756 patients had audiologic records for review. Median age was 32.5 years, with the age distribution presented according to sex, type of tests done including common reasons for referral, and median threshold levels by frequency. Coverage was national in scope, with most patients coming from the National Capital Region and from Regions III and IVa. Occupation was indicated in 37.8 percent of the working age group, most of whom were unemployed. The most common pretest diagnosis was chronic otitis media (26.6 percent), followed by hearing loss of unknown etiology (13.0 percent) and tinnitus (9.3 percent). Severity of hearing impairment based on pure tone audiometry was variable, and was presented according to common diagnoses. About 39 percent of hearing impairment cases were sensorineural, 36 percent conductive and 25 percent due to mixed defect. Bilateral Type A ears were found in 45.4 percent of patients by tympanometry, while 29.3 percent were bilateral Type B. For otoacoustic emissions, 69.0 percent were labeled as "refer" in at least one ear. Conclusion: The PNEI is a major national referral center for audiology that holds much promise in developing programs for national surveillance of the hearing status of different sectors in Philippine society. (Author)

New medical record improves the data of trauma patient care.

Introduction: Presently many hospitals are pursuing hospital accreditation. One important issue is the improvement of medical recording. Accurate medical recording is very important in order to provide quality patient follow-up, medical education and legal evidence. Because of limitation of time in trauma patient care, important patient data from previous medical record is sometimes missed or not available. The development of a well-organized medical recording system may help to improve accuracy in data recording. Objective of the study: To compare the new medical record form with the previous one using the hospital accreditation scoring system for medical records. Methodology: After collecting both new and previous records that were filled-in by the same group of physicians and sixth year medical students in the Trauma Services Unit of Siriraj Hospital from December 1st – 31st 2001, these 30 records in each recording system were randomly placed into the study. Scoring and comparison of the records were performed by staff of the Division of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery. Results: Six parts of the record were compared (patient profile, patient history, physical examination, diagnosis, laboratory and management). By using student’s t-test, the new record showed more statistically significant improvement of data recording than the old record in four areas, i.e. patient history, physical examination, diagnosis and management. The laboratory record section could not be compared because different patients needed different investigations. Both new and previous records were recorded completely in the patient profile section. Conclusion: The new medical recording system will improve recording and therefore improve the care given to injured patients.

Alterações cronológicas do perfil dos pacientes e da modalidade de tratamento cirúrgico do megaesôfago chagásico

OBJECTIVE: To analize the changes in the profile of the patients with chagasic megaesophagus and treatment modalities by comparing two groups of patients in different time periods. METHODS: Two series of consecutive patients with chagasic megaesophagus treated surgically were analized in two different time periods, between 1955 and 1962 (n=147) and between 1988 and1998 (n=100). The age, duration of disphagia and the stage of the disease were correlated to the type of surgical procedure. The degree of megaesophagus was defined radiologically. RESULTS: There was a reduction in the number of patients, an increase in the median age and a reduction in the duration of disphagia in the second time period. During the first period, ressectional procedures were more common, while cardiomiotomy predominated in the second. CONCLUSIONS: The profile of the patients with chagasic megaesophagus, treated at the HCFMRP-USP, has changed along the years, the main change being earlier stages of the disease. Earlier medical assistance results in less aggressive surgical procedures with the perspective of better outcomes.

OBJETIVO: Analisar eventuais mudanças no perfil de pacientes com megaesôfago chagásico e na escolha da modalidade de tratamento cirúrgico, mediante estudo comparativo de dois grupos de pacientes em períodos diferentes. MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas duas séries consecutivas de pacientes com megaesôfago chagásico tratados cirurgicamente em dois períodos de tempo: de 1955 a 1962 (n = 147) e de 1988 a 1998 (n = 100). A idade, a duração da disfagia e o estádio evolutivo da doença foram correlacionados com o tipo de cirurgia realizada. O grau do megaesôfago foi definido mediante exame radiológico padronizado. RESULTADOS: Houve redução no número de pacientes, aumento da idade média e diminuição da duração da disfagia no segundo período. As cirurgias de ressecção esofágica predominaram no primeiro e a cardiomiotomia no segundo período. CONCLUSÕES: O perfil dos pacientes com megaesôfago chagásico atendidos no HCFMRP-USP mudou, caracterizando-se pelo estádio mais precoce da doença. A assistência médica mais precoce resulta em modalidade terapêutica cirúrgica menos agressiva, com perspectiva de melhores resultados.