The use of disulfiram for alcohol-dependent patients and duration of outpatient treatment.

Despite the fact that alcoholism is a severe public health problem of worldwide proportions, only a limited number of medications is used as coadjuvant treatment. The objectives of this study were to analyse the use of disulfiram for alcohol-dependent patients and the immediate interruption of treatment following medication prescription. This is a transversal study of 810 patients who attended the Alcohol and Drug Research Unit (UNIAD) during the 2000-2006 period. The study showed that both male and female patients who had remained under treatment during the first year used proportionally more disulfiram than those who remained for lesser time under treatment, and immediate treatment interruption was statistically more significant in this latter group of patients after prescription of this medication. Although disulfiram is an old medication, it seems that this drug can be useful for keeping alcohol-dependent patients under outpatient treatment.

[Anxiety generating situations among nurses and strategies to control it: preliminary study]. / Situações geradoras de ansiedade e estratégias para seu controle entre enfermeiras: estudo preliminar.

The purposes of this study were: to identify situations that are considered sources of anxiety in nurse's daily activities and to identify the conscious strategies these nurses use in order to lower the level of anxiety. The sample was composed of 54 nurses from a larger general teaching hospital that answered a questionnaire with open and closed questions. The answers pointed situations, both quotidian and unsuspected, that generate anxiety in the following areas: direct care, management and teaching. Nurses also pointed the activities they usually do in order to cope with stress, during the crisis or in their quotidian life. Findings demonstrate that even though the nurses are exposed to stressing situations that generate anxiety, they also use adequate coping strategies. We observe that more studies are needed, in order to propose new alternatives to improve nurses' quality of life.