Piercings in medical students and their effects on the skin

BACKGROUND: Piercings are body embellishments commonly seen in young people, however their inherent risk of infection and scarring disorders are less divulged. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of body piercings among medical students and their possible dermatologic consequences. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 58 medical students, by means of a structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, technical issues related to the piercing and characteristics of the dermatologic complications. RESULTS: The sample was predominantly female (86.2%), with mean age 24 ± 3 years. The placement of the first piercing occurred during adolescence (median age 15), without medical supervision (91.4%) or knowledge of parents/guardians (74%). Most piercings were made of metal alloy/stainless steel, in a dumbbell model (51.7%), inserted in the umbilical area (53.5%) or ear (41.4%), with frequent cutaneous reactions in the first six months post-piercing. Hypertrophic scarring, pain, swelling and infection (p<0.05) had significantly higher frequencies among those with navel piercings. CONCLUSION: Piercing insertion occurred during adolescence. Local inflammatory and infectious reactions were common. Scarring disorders and dermatitis appeared in the long term. There is need for preventive and educational activities, starting with those in the academic environment. .

Sibilância recorrente em lactentes: mudanças epidemiológicas / Recurrent wheezing in infants: epidemiological changes

OBJETIVO: Verificar mudanças na epidemiologia da sibilância recorrente em lactentes de Curitiba (PR). MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com aplicação do questionário Estudio Internacional de Sibilancias en Lactantes (EISL). Pais de lactentes entre 12 e 15 meses de vida preencheram o instrumento entre agosto de 2005 e dezembro de 2006 (fase I), e de setembro de 2009 a setembro de 2010 (fase III). RESULTADOS: Pais de 3.003 lactentes participaram da fase I, e 22,6% dos lactentes apresentaram sibilância recorrente (> 3 episódios). Após 5 anos, 1.003 pais preencheram o mesmo questionário na fase III, e 19,8% dos lactentes apresentaram sibilância recorrente (p = 0,1). Houve redução na gravidade dos sintomas (p = 0,001) e nas visitas a prontos-socorros (p < 0,001), mas não houve redução nas internações (p = 0,12). Ter o diagnóstico médico de asma foi mais frequente na fase III (p = 0,03). CONCLUSÕES: Não houve mudança na prevalência de sibilância recorrente em lactentes, mas ocorreu redução na gravidade, embora sem afetar o nível de internações e com aumento do diagnóstico de asma pelos clínicos.

OBJECTIVE: To determine epidemiological changes in recurrent wheezing among infants in Curitiba, Brazil. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the questionnaire Estudio Internacional de Sibilancias en Lactantes (EISL). Parents of infants aged 12 to 15 months completed the instrument from August 2005 to December 2006 (phase I) and from September 2009 to September 2010 (phase III). RESULTS: Parents of 3,003 infants participated in phase I, and 22.6% of the infants had recurrent wheezing (> 3 episodes). After 5 years, 1,003 parents completed the same questionnaire during phase III, and 19.8% of the infants had recurrent wheezing (p = 0.1). There was a reduction in symptom severity (p = 0.001) and number of emergency department visits (p < 0.001), but not in number of hospitalizations (p = 0.12). Physician-diagnosed asthma was more frequent in phase III (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: There were no changes in the prevalence of recurrent wheezing in infants, but there was an increase in physician-diagnosed asthma and a reduction in severity, which, however, did not affect the rate of hospitalizations.