Acupuncture in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized sham-controlled trial.

The purpose of the present trial was to evaluate semi-standardized acupuncture efficacy in migraine prophylaxis. Twenty-eight subjects with migraine were randomized to the real or sham acupuncture groups. Semi-standardized and standardized minimal acupuncture were used, respectively, in the two groups of patients. They were all treated with 16 acupuncture sessions in 12 weeks. Both groups exhibited similar reductions in: percentage of patients with reduction of migraine>or=40% and >or=50% regarding frequency of migraine attacks, days with migraine, frequency of migraine attacks, average duration of a migraine attack, rate of rescue medication used, average headache severity rate and other parameters compared with the baseline period. Associated symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, also showed equal estimates in both groups. These findings showed that semi-standardized acupuncture shows no difference from sham acupuncture in preventing migraine attacks.

Evaluation of a program to reduce back pain in nursing personnel.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a program designed to reduce back pain in nursing aides. METHODS: Female nursing aides from a university hospital who had suffered episodes of back pain for at least six months were included in the study. Participants were randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group. The intervention program involved a set of exercises and an educational component stressing the ergonomic aspect, administered twice a week during working hours for four months. All subjects answered a structured questionnaire and the intensity of pain was assessed before and after the program using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Student's t-test or the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test for independent samples, and Chi-square test or the Exact Fisher test for categorical analysis, were used. The McNemar test and the Wilcoxon matched pairs test were used to compare the periods before and after the program. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in the frequency of cervical pain in the last two months and in the last seven days in the intervention group. There was also a reduction in cervical pain intensity in the two periods (2 months, 7 days) and lumbar pain intensity in the last 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a program of regular exercise with an emphasis on ergonomics can reduce musculoskeletal symptoms in nursing personnel.

[Prevalence of reported child abuse by parents in a pediatric out-patient population]. / Prevalência de violência física relatada contra crianças em uma população de ambulatório pediátrico.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate prevalence of child abuse with battering among patients under age 14 for alleged disciplinary purposes. The reference population were children attending pediatric out-patient services at the University Hospital in Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil, a city of one million inhabitants with universal coverage in terms of accessing health care in the unit under study. Interviews were carried out with 130 parents or guardians in a randomly selected group according to order of attendance, and the prevalence of child abuse was estimated at 10.8%, considering as positive cases those where parents referred child battering under age one year or where there was evidence of bodily lesion over age one year. A validation study for the experimental questionnaire is proposed in order to allow for future estimation of population prevalence or incidence. The use of qualitative methods is also recommended as a means of gathering detailed data on socio-psychological determination for the supposedly disciplinary aggression with child abuse.