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Primary Health Care Centres (primary + health_care_centre)
Selected AbstractsAtypical attack of acute intermittent porphyria , paresis but no abdominal painJOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2002C. Andersson Abstract.,Andersson C, Nilsson A, Bäckström T (University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden; and Primary Health Care Centre, Arvidsjaur). Atypical attack of acute intermittent porphyria , paresis but no abdominal pain (Case report). J Intern Med 2002; 252: 265,270. We report a case of acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) in a 45-year-old woman. Her first attack occurred at the age of 38. Because of escalating cyclical premenstrual attacks, the following 2 years, depletion of the endogenous sex hormone was considered as haeme arginate treatment proved insufficient. Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist treatment with low-dose oestradiol add back was quite successful initially but was abandoned after 18 months when progesterone add back precipitated a severe attack. Following hysterectomy and oophorectomy at age 42 and oestradiol add back, a remarkable monthly regularity of attacks ensured periodically but with milder symptoms. Two years after surgery, preceded by six attack-free months, a puzzling symptom-shift occurred, from abdominal pain, back and thigh pain during the attacks, to solely severe distal extensor paresis in the arms. Haeme arginate treatment interrupted the progress of the paresis almost immediately and motor function improved considerably up to the 9-month follow-up. Electrophysiological examination revealed only motor neuropathy, consistent with axonal degeneration. Subsequently the symptoms changed yet again, to sensory disturbances with numbness and dysesthesia as the primary expression followed by rather mild abdominal pain. However, cyclical attacks occurred, despite absence of endogenous ovarial hormone production, possibly attributable to impaired oestrogen metabolism in the liver, or adrenal oestrogen production. Treatment comprising oophorectomy, low-dose oestradiol add back and haeme arginate infusion for 2 days on the appearance of early AIP symptoms is now quite successful affording improvement in life quality. [source] Risk factors for coronary heart disease in 55- and 35-year-old men and women in Sweden and EstoniaJOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002J. Johansson Abstract., Johansson J, Viigimaa M, Jensen-Urstad M, Krakau I I, Hansson L-O (Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia). Risk factors for coronary heart disease in 55- and 35-year-old men and women in Sweden and Estonia. J Intern Med 2002; 252:551,560. Objective., To illustrate the geographical West-to-East division of coronary heart disease (CHD) by comparing a population from Sweden, that represents a Western country to a population from Estonia, that represents an Eastern country. Estonia has an approximately 2,4-fold higher CHD prevalence for 55-year-old women and men, respectively, than Sweden. Design., Randomized screening of 35- and 55-year-old men and women in Sollentuna county, Sweden and Tartu county, Estonia. Eight hundred subjects, 100 from each cohort, were invited to participate in the study, 272 Swedes and 277 Estonians participated. Setting., Preventive cardiology, administered by a primary health care centre at the Karolinska Hospital, Sweden and a cardiology centre at Tartu University Hospital, Estonia. Main outcome measures., The CHD risk factors (smoking, blood pressure, concentrations of lipoproteins, fibrinogen, and glucose) and certain environmental factors and attitudes related to CHD risk by questionnaires (fat-type and alcohol ingestion, self-assessed rating of CHD susceptibility). Results., Of the 55-year-old men, 57% smoked in Estonia and 20% smoked in Sweden. Similar, although less pronounced differences showing higher smoking prevalence, were seen for 35-year-old Estonian men and women, whilst for 55-year-old women, less than 20% smoked in either country. Estonian 55-year-old women had lower HDL cholesterol and higher LDL cholesterol serum concentrations than Swedish 55-year-old women. Estonians reportedly ate food containing more saturated fats than Swedes, as indicated by the scale-score questionnaire. Estonians, relative to Swedes, rated their chance of developing CHD higher, and paradoxically, Estonians did to a much lesser degree believe that life style influences the risk of developing CHD. Conclusions., Elevated smoking prevalence is a striking difference between the Estonian and Swedish populations likely to explain the much higher CHD prevalence in Estonian men. The lower HDL cholesterol and higher LDL cholesterol in Estonian 55-year-old women may explain the higher CHD prevalence in Estonian women. Furthermore, the SWESTONIA CHD study (i.e. comparison between Sweden and Estonia) shows several environmental differences between the countries populations related to fat content in food, alcohol drinking patterns, and views on CHD risk and the importance of lifestyle intervention, that could contribute to the higher CHD prevalence in Estonia. [source] Maternal factors associated with the duration of breast feeding in Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaPAEDIATRIC & PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Sherine Shawky Summary Recently, there has been increasing concern about the decline in breast-feeding pattern in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to document the recent breast-feeding trends in Jeddah during the first year of an infant's life and identify the probable maternal risk factors implicated in breast-feeding cessation. Data were collected from six randomly selected primary health care centres in Jeddah City. All married women with an infant , 12 completed months of age were interviewed, and information on socio-demographic characteristics, breast feeding and contraceptive use were collected. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios for the various maternal risk factors related to breast-feeding cessation. A total of 400 women were enrolled in the study. Their mean age at delivery was 28.0 years (SD = 4.1 years). Approximately 40.0% had never attended school, 43.0% had at least five children and 13.8% were smokers. Deliveries by caesarean section were reported by 13.0% of women and contraceptive use by 44.7%, among whom oral contraceptives were the commonest method. Around 94.0% of women ever initially breast fed their infants, and this proportion dropped to 40.0% by the infant's 12th month. Women who delivered by caesarean section (OR = 1.9 [95% CI 1.3, 2.8]P = 0.001) and those who used oral contraceptives (OR = 1.5 [95% CI 1.1, 2.2]P = 0.031) were at higher risk of stopping breast feeding and lower probability of maintaining breast feeding to the 12th month post partum than those who delivered vaginally and did not use oral contraceptives. Breast-feeding practice seems to decline rapidly during the first year of the infant's life. Health care professionals should promote breast-feeding practice as early as the antenatal period. They should also take into consideration the impact of caesarean section deliveries and early oral contraceptive use to avoid their negative impact on breast-feeding practice. [source] What stresses remote area nurses?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2009Current knowledge, future action Abstract Objective:,Review and synthesise the literature identifying the stresses experienced by remote area nurses (RANs). Identify interventions implemented to address identified stresses. Explore the use of the job demands,resources (JD-R) model. Methods:,A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the meta-databases Ovid and Informit. Setting:,Remote Australian primary health care centres. Results:,The reported demands experienced by RANs can be grouped into four themes: (i) the remote context; (ii) workload and extended scope of practice; (iii) poor management; and (iv) violence in the workplace and community. In this high-demand, low-resource context, the JD-R model of occupational stress is particularly pertinent to examining occupational stress among RANs. The demands on RANs, such as the isolated geographical context, are immutable. However, there are key areas where resources can be enhanced to better meet the high level of need. These are: (i) adequate and appropriate education, training and orientation; (ii) appropriate funding of remote health services; and (iii) improved management practices and systems. Conclusion:,There is a lack of empirical evidence relating to stresses experienced by RANs. The literature identifies some of the stresses experienced by RANs as unique to the remote context, while some are related to high demands coupled with a deficit of appropriate resources. Use of models, such as the JD-R model of occupational stress, might assist in identifying key areas where resources can be enhanced to better meet the high level of need and reduce RANs' levels of stress. [source] | ||||||||||