Relaçäo entre margem cirúrgica e recidica local no tratamento conservador do câncer de mama / Relationship between surgical margin and local recurrence in conservative treatment of breast cancer

Os fatores prognóstico característicos das pacientes e/ou do tumor, assim como as medidas complementares ao tratamento cirúrgico, podem estar associados a um aumento do risco de recidiva local de câncer de mama nas pacientes submetidas a tratamento conservador. A literatura diverge muito quanto à influência desses fatores na taxa de recorrência local; contudo, a importância do comprometimento da margem curúrgica é consenso. Afim de relacionar a extensäo da margem de ressecçäo livre de tumor e a presença de recidiva local, bem como outras características do tumor associadas à recidiva, foi realizada análise retrospectiva de 219 pacientes submetidas a tratamento conservador de câncer de mama. A taxa de recidiva foi de 17,8 por cento. Pacientes com margens de menor risco (livre acima de 0,5cm), radioterapia, boost e idade acima de 45 anos apresentaram menores taxas de recidiva, näo sendo, no entanto, estatisticamente significantes. As demais características histológicas do tumor (tamanho do tumor, grau histológico, invasäo, compromentimento de linfonodos, necrose e receptor estrogênico) näo demonstraram influência. Apenas a ampliaçäo de margem cirúrgica diminui significativamente de recidiva local (p=0,04), o que tem implicaçäo direta na extensäo da margem livre de tumor

Pharmacy distribution of advice, symptomatic treatment and antimicrobial drugs to patients with cough

It i an accepted fact that, in many countries, pharmacies are the predominat source of medical advice over-the-counter drugs, and supplies of "prescription-only" drugs for sale without a prescription. To assess the activities conducted by pharmacists or pharmacy counter assistants in response to a common health problem, a cross-sectional study was done at 114 pharmacies in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A fictitious case-history of cough was used by trained personnel entering the pharmacy and the subsequent activities by the pharmacist or pharmacy counter assistant were analyzed. Some kind of medication was provided in 101 (88.5 percent)of the pharmacies. Pharmacists gave medication in 80 percent of pharmacies, and pharmacy assistants in 95.5 percent (p<0.03). The class of medication most frequently dispensed was the expectorants (97 times, 92.4 percent), however, systemic antibiotics were provided in 11 pharmacies (10.5 percent). Of note, the pharmacists provided antibiotics more frequently than did pharmacy assistants (p=0.016). We conclude that pharmacy advice and symptomatic medical care (expectorants) are very common and that pharmacy assistants are more likely than pharmacists to provide medication. Of concern, when pharmacists were the drug dispensers of antibiotics which should be provided by prescription only, drugs were provided without proper diagnosis, and often incorrect dosages. This reflects a pontentially dangerous practice in need of careful evaluation, education and supervision.