Assessment of caffeine intake in groups of pregnant and breastfeeding women: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Caffeine is commonly consumed by pregnant and breastfeeding women. The maximum safe dose of caffeine in their diet is 200 mg per day, according to the European Food Safety Authority. The purpose of this study was to assess the consumption of caffeinated products by pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as to estimate their caffeine intake. METHODS: The number of subjects who qualified for the study was 1112 women, of whom 401 were pregnant and 711 were breastfeeding. The research was conducted with the use of a questionnaire, which included information about food frequency and history of consumption of caffeinated products during the past 3 days. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range) daily caffeine intake among pregnant women was 114.5 (57.6-202.8) mg, and the level of caffeine intake increased with the duration of pregnancy (p < 0.001). For breastfeeding women it was 193.7 (100.5-324.8) mg/d. The majority of participants (58.9%) were not able to correctly identify the safe amount of caffeine in their diets. It was observed that the intake of 73.8% of pregnant women and 51.9% of breastfeeding women fit within the safe range (0-200 mg/d). The main sources of caffeine were ground coffee, black tea, and instant coffee. For 63,6% of women knowledge about nutrition and supplementation came most often from blogs and social media run by medical professionals. Pleasure was the main reason for drinking coffee and tea. CONCLUSION: Most pregnant women did not exceed the recommended maximum daily dose of caffeine, while breastfeeding women often did.

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in ticks removed from skin of people and circumstances of being bitten - research from the area of Poland, 2012-2014.

INTRODUCTION: During feeding, the tick sucks blood from the host along with the pathogens that are in the blood, simultaneously exchanging its own pathogens with the host. Humans can also be a host. It is important to understand the most typical circumstances in which people might become infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. This knowledge will help to prepare health education programmes aimed at the prevention of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, depending on the circumstances of getting bitten. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research material consisted of ticks acquired from people who had been bitten, and questionnaires completed by these people. 510 ticks were acquired from 257 females and 253 males. Following delivery of a tick for testing, the stage of its development was determined and a molecular assay of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA performed. RESULTS: A positive result of the nested-PCR test was obtained in 78 ticks, which represents 15.30% of all ticks. The infected ticks were collected from male (41 ticks - 52.56%) and female subjects (37 ticks - 47.44%). The biggest number of infected ticks were collected in autumn (54 ticks - 69.23%) and from people who had been into forests (44 ticks - 56.41%). Among the people from whom the infected ticks were acquired, the dominating group included persons over 16 years of age (53 persons - 67.95%) and children aged 0-5 years (16 persons - 20.51%). One in four infected ticks were acquired from the southwestern (20 ticks - 25.64%) and eastern regions of Poland (21 ticks - 26.92%). CONCLUSIONS: Infestation of ticks infected with Lyme disease spirochete in this study proved to be variable and depend on the season, the area of tick attack and the region in Poland. The results of the study clearly show that ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi inhabit all regions of Poland. The results are consistent with National Institute of Hygiene data which indicates that Lyme disease cases are recorded in all regions of Poland.

The effect of pre-emptive analgesia on the level of postoperative pain in women undergoing surgery for breast neoplasm.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Dynamic development of research on pain has resulted in the formulation of the concept of pre-emptive analgesia, which involves administration of analgesics before the first pain-producing stimulus appears. It is meant to prevent increased sensitivity to pain in the postoperative period. The aim of this study was to assess the possibilities of modifying the intensity of postoperative pain evaluated with the visual analogue scale (VAS) in patients after surgical treatment for breast neoplasm offered by pre-emptive analgesia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The intensity of postoperative pain was measured immediately after the surgery as well as 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours later in 100 women who had undergone surgery for breast tumour. The correlation between experienced pain and the type of analgesic administered pre-emptively, including metamizole, tramadol, ketoprofen, and placebo was examined. The effect of other correlates such as the extensiveness of surgery, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate on the level of experienced pain as well as the usefulness of physiological parameters for its assessment were also analysed. RESULTS: The conducted study demonstrated the effectiveness of tramadol (p = 0.004) and ketoprofen (p = 0.039) administered half an hour before the beginning of surgery, but there was no similar effect in the case of metamizole (p = 1.0). A positive correlation was observed between the level of experienced pain and blood pressure values (p < 0.001). Heart rate does not seem to be significantly linked with the intensity of experienced pain (p = 0.157).

Retrospective study of injury rates among children and adults in the Lublin Region of Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: In Poland and worldwide, injury rates, as well as accident rates among children and adolescents still remain a social, health and economic problem, despite an attempt to inhibit the growing tendency of this phenomenon. OBJECTIVE: An attempt to evaluate current trends in injury rates among children and adolescents based on the example of two provinces in the Lublin Region of Poland during the period 2006-2010. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The retrospective study was conducted by the method of examination of documents, using the technique of content analysis. The research material was data from the Emergency Procedures Charts and Medical Emergency Team Response Charts, while the study group were children and adolescents aged from 6 weeks - 19 years, from the counties of Krasnik and Swidnik in the Lublin Region. RESULTS: Analysis of the research material showed that during the period examined the number of injuries and accidents in the study group remained on a constant level, with a slight decrease in the number of events at home, accompanied by an increase in the number of road accidents and events which occurred in the school environment and in a public place. It was also found that the spring-autumn season, and in particular the summer months, the age group 7-13 and male gender exerted an effect on the number of injuries and accidents. The analysis did not confirm that injuries related with employment of children and adolescents in agriculture and deaths due to external causes constituted a considerable percentage of the events registered. CONCLUSION: Analysis of trends should be a basis for the planning of prophylactic actions and the promotion of safety in all environments in which the study population functions.