Mortalidade por tuberculose no interior de São Paulo ­ Brasil (2006-2008) / Mortality from tuberculosis in the countryside of São Paulo - Brazil (2006-2008)

Estudo epidemiológico, descritivo, com objetivo de caracterizar o perfil epidemiológico dos óbitos por tuberculose no período de 2006 a 2008 do Departamento Regional de Saúde III do Estado de São Paulo ­Brasil. A população foi constituída pelas notificações de casos de tuberculose registradas no Sistema de Controle de Pacientes com Tuberculose e de declarações de óbito com causa básica de tuberculose, registradas no Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade, de residentes da região de abrangência do Departamento. Foram notificados no Sistema de Tuberculose 640 casos e no Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade 34 óbitos. Confrontando-se os dados foram identificados 22 óbitos coincidentes em ambos os bancos, perfazendo, portanto, um total de 45 óbitos por tuberculose, que ocorreram principalmente em homens, na faixa etária de 30-59 anos e com a forma pulmonar da doença, 45% das notificações ocorreram fora da atenção primária e o intervalo médio entre a notificação e o óbito indicou diagnóstico tardio da doença em 77% dos casos. Conclui-se que a região necessita de uma revisão na inserção de dados em ambos os sistemas de informações, além de estudos que analise as estratégias utilizadas nas ações de controle da doença e da atuação da atenção primária neste contexto.

This is an epidemiological and descriptive study aiming to characterize the epidemiological profile of deathsdue to tuberculosisin the period from 2006 to 2008 of the Regional Health Department III of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The population was selected through reports of tuberculosis cases recorded in the Tuberculosis Patient Control Registers and death certificates with underlying cause of tuberculosis of the residents of the region covered, registered in the Mortality Information System Department. It was observed 640 reported cases in the Tuberculosis System and 34 deaths in the Information System of Mortality. It was possible to identify 22 deaths when both databases were crossed each other. Thus, there were a total of 45 deaths due to tuberculosis, which occurred mostly in male, with a mean age of 30-59 years and the pulmonary form of the disease. Forty-five percent (45%) of the reported cases occurred outside the primary health care, and the mean interval between notification and death indicated a delayed diagnosisin 77% of the cases. In conclusion, the results showed the importance of data entry reviewing in both information systems, beyond of studies to analyze strategies considered for disease control and also to measure the performance of the primary health care in this context.

Patient perspectives of barriers and facilitators of treatment-seeking behaviors for stroke care.

OBJECTIVE: Delays in seeking treatment for stroke care are associated with greater disability and reductions in stroke outcomes. The objective of this study was to qualitatively examine facilitators and barriers to urgently seeking stroke-related care. METHODS: A qualitative analytic approach was used to explore facilitators and barriers to seeking stroke care in an urgent manner. Sixty-four stroke survivors offered information related to facilitators and barriers to stroke care via a structured survey as part of a larger mixed-methods study designed to measure stroke outcomes. RESULTS: Three themes emerged related to facilitators and barriers: (a) recognition of symptoms, (b) social support, and (c) knowledge and ability to call emergency medical services as a first response. Facilitators to urgent care-seeking behaviors included classic stroke symptoms, severe symptoms, sudden symptom onset, and high perceived level of emergency. Social support and knowledge/ability to call emergency medical services also emerged as facilitators of urgent care. Barriers to urgent care-seeking behaviors included atypical symptoms, mild symptoms, gradual symptom onset, and low perceived level of emergency. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals who experience strokes face a number of facilitators and barriers to seeking urgent care for their condition. Facilitators and barriers are associated with stroke symptoms and their personal environments. Additional study of barriers to stroke care is needed to adequately design interventions to reduce delays in seeking treatment.

Identifying sepsis too late.

Sepsis campaign awareness and adherence to the SSC bundles remain a challenge for many healthcare providers causing wide-ranging results, but hospitals are consistently reporting reduced sepsis-related mortality associated with adherence to the SSC guidelines. This case study is likely very similar to many of the other hundreds of thousands of people who died of sepsis in 2010. Would following the SSC guidelines have made a difference for this patient? It's difficult to know for sure, but this case illustrates the importance of remaining in formed about the latest research and guidelines in healthcare. Visit www.surviving sepsis.org to learn more about the guidelines for treating sepsis.

Older adults and new-onset epilepsy: experiences with diagnosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The incidence of new-onset epilepsy is highest in older adults. Research has revealed that epilepsy diagnosis in older adults is difficult and often delayed. However, in-depth qualitative inquiry is needed to more richly describe older adults' experiences with being diagnosed with epilepsy to reveal the context in which these delays occur and the effects on older adults. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach was used to describe the diagnosis experiences of 20 older adults with new-onset epilepsy. Semistructured interviews were used to generate data. All data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed via conventional content analysis. RESULTS: A delayed diagnosis of epilepsy was pervasive in the sample, and participants attributed delays to both their actions and their care providers' actions. Women experienced delays more often than men. Experiences of those whose diagnoses were not delayed are also discussed. Research using larger and more diverse samples is needed to investigate the scope of diagnosis delays in this population as well as to design interventions to improve the diagnosis process for older adults with new-onset epilepsy.

Barriers to screening and intervention for ED patients at risk for undiagnosed or uncontrolled hypertension.

OBJECTIVES: We describe clinician-reported knowledge of the Joint National Committee (JNC7) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure definitions of Stage I hypertension; perceived causes of elevated blood pressure; barriers to blood pressure re-assessment; risk of adverse events associated with the elevated blood pressure. METHODS: Health care providers from five emergency departments completed a questionnaire assessing knowledge of blood pressure criteria for hypertension, perceived causes of elevated blood pressures, barriers to re-assessment, and perceived risk of an adverse event at one year in a patient within three defined systolic and diastolic blood pressure ranges. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Seventy-two percent (379/524) of providers (68 attending physicians, 87 residents, 209 nurses, and 15 nurse practitioners) completed questionnaires. One hundred and four providers (27%) correctly listed the systolic and diastolic criteria for Stage 1 hypertension. Nurses and physicians rated uncontrolled, known hypertension [mean (standard deviation)] [8.7 (2.1), 8.9 (1.9)] the highest and pain [8.3 (2.3), 8.3 (2.1)] as the second highest cause of elevated BP. Nurses and physicians rated the lack of time to perform a reassessment [5.2 (3.4), 4.7 (2.8)] and a lack of adequate staffing [4.7 (3.4), 4.6 (2.9)] the highest as barriers to re-assessment. Nurses' mean adverse risk assessment twice that of physicians. DISCUSSION: Twenty seven percent of providers were aware of the JNC7 criteria and often attributed elevated blood pressures to chronic, uncontrolled hypertension, pain or anxiety. No single barrier to repeating elevated blood pressures was identified.