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@#Introduction: Parental knowledge on nephrotic syndrome and disease relapse is important for early recognition and treatment of relapse to prevent the complications. Parental knowledge on nephrotic syndrome was reported to be inadequate from published studies. To date, there is no study on parental knowledge on childhood nephrotic syndrome in Malaysia. This study is thus aimed at to determine the level of knowledge on NS and disease relapse among parents of children with nephrotic syndrome and determine factors that influence knowledge on nephrotic syndrome and disease relapse. Study Design and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Paediatric Nephrology Clinic, Hospital Selayang from November 2016 to November 2017. Seventy-eight parents were recruited based on universal sampling. Selfadministered questionnaire in Bahasa Malaysia and English was designed through focus group discussion with five subject matter experts and validated through content validity. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0. Results: Majority of parents or guardians (91%) were able to answer more than 50% of the questions correctly. Of these, 56% were able to answer more than 75% of the questions correctly. A 'cut-off' of 75% was defined as good knowledge. Parents of children with frequent relapses had higher parental knowledge and this was statistically significant (p=0.025). Conclusion: Parental knowledge on nephrotic syndrome and disease relapse was still inadequate as only 56% parents had good knowledge. The main areas of deficit in parental knowledge were related to medications, infections, home urine dipstick monitoring, and recognition of warning signs during relapse.
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Objective To explore the association between the cholesterol level and disease relapse in patients with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders (NMOSD). Methods Clinical and biochemical data of 96 patients with NMOSD were retrospectively analyzed. According to disease relapses, NMOSD patients were divided into primary and relapse groups.Their clinical characteristics and cholesterol level were compared between the two groups.The correlation between cholesterol level and disease recurrence was analyzed by partial correlation adjusted for sex. Results Between the primary group and relapse group,there were statistically significant differences in gender(48.8% vs. 80%, P<0.05), cholesterol (CHO)(4.27±0.85 vs. 5.18±1.26)and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)level[2.37(0.90)vs. 3.00 (1.21)](P<0.001). There were no significant difference in age, upper respiratory infection, gastrointestinal tract, rate of higher cerebrospinal fluid protein, triglyceride (TG)and high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)(P>0.05). The percentage of recurrent patients in CHO normal and higher groups were 43.55% and 82.35% respectively, which was statistically significant difference between the two groups ( x2=13.51, P<0.01); The rate of relapse of LDL-C normal and higher groups were 47.69% and 75% respectively, which was statistically significant difference between the two groups ( x2=7.58,P<0.01).After adjusting for sex,CHO level was positively correlated with disease relapse(r=0.346,P<0.01),and LDL-C level also was positively correlated with disease relapse(r=0.380,P<0.01). Conclusion High CHO and LDL-C level may be associated with disease relapse, which has some clinical guiding significance for controlling CHO level in NMOSD patients.
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INTRODUÇÃO: O controle da tuberculose é um grave problema de saúde pública. Em 2012, o Brasil contabilizou 71.230 novos casos com incidência de 45,4 casos/100 mil habitantes no Rio Grande do Sul e Alvorada é o município de maior incidência da doença no país. OBJETIVO: Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o perfil dos pacientes com tuberculose no município de Alvorada e os fatores associados com o abandono do tratamento. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal retrospectivo que avaliou todos os prontuários dos pacientes diagnosticados com tuberculose no município de Alvorada no período de 2008 a 2010. A associação entre as variáveis foi determinada com auxílio do SPSS 13.0. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 301 prontuários no período do estudo. A média de idade dos pacientes foi de 37,7 ± 14,8 anos, sendo 73% do sexo masculino. Declararam-se tabagistas 50,6% dos pacientes, 41,6% faziam uso de bebida alcoólica e 20,6% uso de drogas ilícitas. A forma clínica predominante foi a pulmonar e 17,0% dos pacientes apresentaram sorologia positiva para HIV. A cura ocorreu em 75,9% dos casos e 16,6% dos pacientes abandonaram o tratamento. A drogadição, o uso de cigarro, a idade e a positividade para o HIV foram variáveis associadas ao abandono do tratamento. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados sugerem que pacientes mais jovens que fazem uso de drogas ilícitas, de cigarro e que são positivos para o HIV abandonam mais o tratamento. Deste modo, são necessárias medidas específicas que atinjam essa população para aumentar a taxa de cura e reduzir a taxa de abandono.
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis control is a serious public health issue. In 2012, Brazil accounted for 71,230 new cases. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul the incidence was 45.4 cases per 100.000 inhabitants, and Alvorada is the city with the highest incidence in the country. AIM: This study aimed to describe the profile of patients with tuberculosis in Alvorada and the factors associated with treatment dropout. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated medical records of all patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in Alvorada from 2008 to 2010. The association among variables was analyzed with SPSS 13.0.RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 37.7 ± 14.8 years, and 73% were male. 50.6% of patients were smokers, 41.6% were alcohol users, and 20.6% took illicit drugs. The predominant clinical presentation was pulmonary, and 17.0% of the patients tested positive for HIV. Cure was achieved in 75.9% of cases, and 16.6% of patients dropped out of treatment. Drugs and tobacco use, age, and HIV were variables associated with treatment dropout. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that younger patients who use illicit drugs and tobacco and who are positive for HIV present a higher dropout rate. Thus, specific measures are necessary in order to reach this population, increase the cure rate and reduce the dropout rate.