Qualidade de vida de cuidadores de pessoas com necessidades especiais

A qualidade de vida de cuidadores é algo que preocupa, pois afeta diretamente a qualidade de vida do indivíduo dependente desses cuidados. Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar e comparar a qualidade de vida em saúde de cuidadores de pessoas com necessidades especiais em atendimento em uma instituição de reabilitação. Participaram 90 cuidadores principais de pessoas com necessidades especiais em atendimento em uma instituição de reabilitação. Foram utilizados para a coleta de dados dois instrumentos: um questionário para verificar o perfil do cuidador e da pessoa com necessidades especiais e o questionário de medida de qualidade de vida WHOQOL-Bref. Os resultados demonstraram que houve significância, apenas, entre a qualidade de vida do cuidador no domínio físico e a idade da pessoa com necessidade especial, indicando que quanto mais velha a pessoa com necessidades especiais, mais difícil e penoso é o ato de cuidar. Os resultados podem indicar formas de orientação à família de pessoas com deficiência.The quality of life of caregivers is a concern because it directly affects the quality of life of individuals dependent on such care. This study aimed to analyze and compare the quality of life in health of caregivers of people with special needs who attend a rehabilitation facility. Ninety caregivers of people with special needs who attend a rehabilitation facility participated in this study. For data collection two instruments were used: a questionnaire to determine the profile of the caregiver and the person with special needs and the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire to measure quality of life. The results were significant only between the caregiver's quality of life in the physical domain and age of the person with special needs, indicating that the older a person with special needs, the more difficult and arduous is the act of caring. The result can indicate guidelines for caring for families of people with disabilities

The relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and acute coronary syndrome severity: is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease a risk marker of coronary atherosclerotic disease?

Abstract Background/Introduction Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been significantly associated with atherosclerotic disease independent of classical risk factors. However, the role of NAFLD in this context remains unclear. The systemic inflammation described in NAFLD related to liver disease progression may be one factor that can influence the progression and instability of atherosclerotic disease and, consequently, in the clinical characteristics of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Purpose To assess the potential relationship between NAFLD and ACS severity. Methods We performed a retrospective study in adult patients with ACS who presented to the emergency room of a quaternary care medical centre between March 2015 and March 2016 and selected 99 patients without previously known coronary artery disease or liver disease, without a history of significant alcohol consumption, terminal disease, other acute illness, use of statins, amiodarone, or other steatogenic drugs. The diagnostic criteria for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with ST-segment elevation (STEMI) were ST elevation ≥1mm in ≥2 contiguous leads (2mm for leads V1 to V3). The acute myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation (NSTEMI) diagnostic was established in patients who did not meet the criteria for STEMI and who had elevated necrosis markers (creatine kinase-MB isoform and troponin I). Unstable angina (UA) diagnostic was established in patients who did not meet the criteria for STEMI and NSTEMI but had more than three cardiovascular risk factors and typical thoracic pain. The presence of steatosis and its degrees was assessed using ultrasound, and the diagnosis of NAFLD was based on the presence of steatosis and clinical history. Results The diagnosis of UA, NSTEMI and STEMI was established in 40, 33 and 26 patients, respectively, and NAFLD was observed in 30%, 66.6% and 76.9% of these patients. NAFLD patients were 5.8 times more likely to have a diagnosis of AMI than UA (p&amp;lt;0.001), were 7.88 times more likely to have a diagnosis of STEMI than UA (p&amp;lt;0.001) and were 4.7 times more likely to have a diagnosis of NSTEMI than UA (p&amp;lt;0.01). Patients with grades 2 and 3 liver steatosis were 4.2 times more likely to have a diagnosis of AMI than UA (p&amp;lt;0.01) and were 8.2 times more likely to have a diagnosis of STEMI than UA (p&amp;lt;0.01). There was no significant relationship between other variables evaluated and the clinical presentation of ACS. Conclusion(s) In this study, the frequency of AMI presentation in NAFLD patients with ACS was significantly higher than the frequency of UA, suggesting a significant relationship between NAFLD and the severity of ACS, independent of the classic risk factors assessed. The results also suggest that the steatosis degree can proportionally influence this context. Therefore, NAFLD could be considered a potential risk marker for coronary atherosclerotic disease progression and instability. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. </jats:sec

O agente comunitário de saúde no controle da tuberculose: conhecimentos e percepções Community health workers and tuberculosis control: knowledge and perceptions

Este estudo analisa o conhecimento dos agentes comunitários de saúde no controle da tuberculose e a autopercepção do seu nível de conhecimento e de sua importância no enfrentamento da doença, no Município de Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil. Tratou-se de um estudo de corte transversal. Um questionário semi-estruturado, auto-aplicável e pré-testado foi preenchido por 105 agentes comunitários de saúde randomicamente selecionados. A comparação das proporções entre os grupos formados pela estratificação por tempo de serviço foi realizada usando-se o teste qui-quadrado com nível de significância de 5%. A idade média foi de 34,5 (± 9,7) anos. Atuavam há três anos ou menos 66 agentes comunitários de saúde (62,9%). Observou-se que um maior tempo de atividade está relacionado com um aumento do nível de compreensão em torno da doença, bem como das atividades efetivamente realizadas no controle da tuberculose. Contudo, de maneira geral, os conhecimentos e as ações do agente comunitário de saúde mostraram-se muito falhos. Entende-se que com melhorias na educação permanente desses profissionais seria possível uma maior contribuição deles para o aumento da detecção de novos casos na comunidade e para maior adesão dos pacientes ao tratamento.<br>This study analyzes the knowledge of community health workers in tuberculosis control and their self-perceived knowledge and the importance they ascribe to their role in fighting the disease, in Vitória, Espírito Santo State, Brasil. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, with a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire completed by 105 randomly selected health workers. The comparison of proportions between the groups formed by stratification according to time-on-the-job used the chi-squared test with 5% significance. Mean age was 34.5 (±9.7) years. Sixty-six community health workers (62.9%) had worked on the job for three years or less. Longer time on the job was positively associated with increased understanding of the disease and activities actually performed in TB control. Still, numerous flaws were observed in TB knowledge and control measures among community health workers. Improvements in continuing education for these workers could foster a more effective contribution to detecting new TB cases in the community and improved treatment adherence by patients