Burnout syndrome: a preliminary study of a population of nurses in italian prisons.

INTRODUCTION: Burnout is a set of psychological manifestations ("emotional exhaustion", "depersonalization" and reduced "personal accomplishment") that principally affects healthcare professionals. OBJECTIVES: Analysis of the level of burnout among twelve nurses who work in two Italian prisons. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Maslach Burnout Inventory was administered. In order to explore possible correlations between the three dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and such variables as age, years of service in general and years of service in prisons, multiple regression based on the ordinary least squares method (OLS model) was performed. RESULTS: The response rate was 100%, of whom 66.6% female and 33.4% male. The average age is 38.1 years. Over half of the sample had worked from 0 to 10 years in prisons (58.4%), and only one respondent had done so between 21 and 30 years (8.3%). The data indicate that the highest levels of burnout concerned the dimension of "depersonalization" (66.7%) and "personal accomplishment" (41.6%). Emotional exhaustion of nurses in carrying out their work diminished with the increase of the independent variable of "personal accomplishment" (p-value 0.0361); it increased with the increase of the age variable (p-value 0.0117). Personal accomplishment decreased with the increase of the independent variables of emotional exhaustion (p-value 0.0361) and years of service in prisons (p-value 0.0238). For depersonalization, no statistically significant coefficients were observed. Model 1 of multiple regression showed a significant statistical association between the emotional exhaustion (dependent variable) and personal achievement (p-value 0.0361), and increase in age (p-value 0.0117). Model 2 showed significant statistical association between personal achievement (dependent variable) and emotional exhaustion (p=value 0.0361) and years of service nursing in prisons (p-value 0.0238). Model 3 showed no statistical association between depersonalization (dependent variable) and the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: While twelve nurses formed this small sample, the study nonetheless indicated how the variables examined can influence the levels of burnout. Given that thorough inquiries into the levels of burnout among nurses who work in Italian prisons, specifically in the Marche Region, have yet to be conducted, this pilot study can serve as a point of reference for future research to improve evidence-based medicine.

Thyroid status and the levels of thyroid auto-antibodies in the sera of hyperthyroid and goitrous subjects.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of thyroid auto-antibodies in specimens sent to Parirenyatwa hospital laboratory for thyroid function testing and to compare the thyroid status of these patients with that of apparently healthy subjects. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SETTING: Immunology and radio-immunoassay laboratories, Parirenyatwa hospital, Department of Chemical Pathology, and Blood Transfusion Services, Harare. SUBJECTS: 212 blood samples submitted for thyroid function testing and 230 blood samples from apparently healthy blood donors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum concentrations of free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH), and thyroid auto-antibodies; anti microsomal (M Ab) and antithyroglobulin (Ag Ab) antibodies. RESULTS: The hyperthyroid subjects had median serum TSH level of 0.027 mIU/L (Q1 = 0.006, Q3 = 0.052), median serum FT3 level of 15.895 pmol/L (Q1 = 10.563; Q3 = 30.111), and a median serum FT4 level of 45.513 pmol/L (Q1 = 30.256; Q3 = 63.910). The goitrous subjects had median serum TSH level of 0.390 mIU/L (Q1 = 0.157; Q3 = 0.745). The blood donor group had median TSH value of 0.724 mIU/L (Q1 = 0.471; Q3 = 1.170). (Normal ranges: TSH = 0.167 to 2.80) Amerlite TSH-30 diagnostic kit; FT3 = 3.4 to 7.2 pmol/L; FT4 = 11 to 24 pmol/L) Amelex-MAB diagnostic kits) Thirty nine percent of the hyperthyroid subjects had either positive M Ab or Tg Ab or both. None of the goitrous subjects and the blood donors tested positive for neither M Ab, nor Tg Ab. No significant difference was found between the blood donors and the goitrous subjects for serum FT4 (P = 0.51). However, significant differences were found between the goitrous, the blood donor and the hyperthyroid groups with regards to serum TSH, serum FT4, and serum FT3 levels (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the occurrence of thyroid auto-antibodies among the blood donors and the goitrous population was uncommon, but high in the hyperthyroid subjects. The increase of iodine intake through iodine prophylaxis could have had the side effects of iodine induced hyperthyroidism.