RESUMO
This study compared structured observation with a 24 h pictorial recall of household activities ('sticker diary') to measure the prevalence of handwashing with soap (HWWS) in the community. The study was done within a cluster-randomised trial evaluating a handwashing promotion programme in Bihar, India. HWWS at key occasions in mothers and school children was measured by structured observation in 299 households from 32 villages. Sticker diaries recalling common activities, including personal hygiene, were used to measure HWWS in 299 households from a further 20 villages. Sticker diary HWWS prevalence estimates were about 13% points higher than structured observation estimates, but the differences varied by the type of handwashing occasion. This study confirms structured observation as the method of choice for the study of handwashing behaviours. The sticker diary method may be useful in large-scale surveys. Sticker diaries may overestimate HWWS at important occasions, but probably less so than conventional questionnaire tools.
Assuntos
Desinfecção das Mãos , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde , Sabões , Pré-Escolar , Características da Família , Humanos , Prontuários Médicos , MãesRESUMO
Exposure to animal livestock has been linked to zoonotic transmission, especially of gastrointestinal pathogens. Exposure to animals may contribute to chronic asymptomatic intestinal infection, environmental enteropathy and child under-nutrition in low-income settings. We conducted a cohort study to explore the effect of exposure to cows on growth and endemic diarrhoea in children aged <5 years in a rural, low-income setting in the Indian state of Odisha. The study enrolled 1992 households with 2739 children. Height measurements were available for 824 children. Exposure to cows was measured as (1) the presence of a cowshed within or outside the compound, (2) the number of cows owned by a household, and (3) the number of cowsheds located within 50 m of a household. In a sub-study of 518 households, fly traps were used to count the number of synanthropic flies that may act as vectors for gastrointestinal pathogens. We found no evidence that environmental exposure to cows contributes to growth deficiency in children in rural India, neither directly by affecting growth, nor indirectly by increasing the risk of diarrhoea. We found no strong evidence that the presence of a cowshed increased the number synanthropic flies in households.
Assuntos
Diarreia/epidemiologia , Dípteros/fisiologia , Transtornos do Crescimento/epidemiologia , Insetos Vetores/fisiologia , Animais , Bovinos , Pré-Escolar , Estudos de Coortes , Diarreia/microbiologia , Feminino , Transtornos do Crescimento/etiologia , Humanos , Índia/epidemiologia , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Propriedade , Densidade Demográfica , Fatores de Risco , População RuralRESUMO
School-age children are at a high risk of acute respiratory virus infections including the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1). School absence records have been suggested as a tool for influenza surveillance. We analysed absence records from six primary schools (children aged from around five to 11 years) in London during the years 2005 to 2007 in order to provide baseline epidemiological characteristics of illness-related school absence, and to correlate school absence with seasonal influenza. The daily average prevalence of absence due to illness was 2.9%. The incidence was 1.3% per person-day. The mean duration of absence was 1.8 days (SD 1.8). Over 60% of absence episodes lasted for one day. Absence prevalence did not differ by sex. Prevalence was highest in the youngest children and then declined slightly, but was again high again in the oldest. Absence was slightly higher on Mondays and Fridays. In general, peaks of absenteeism coincided with peaks of influenza A and B (laboratory reports) but several high peaks were not associated with influenza. There was a better correlation between absence and laboratory reports and prevalence compared to incidence. School absence data may be useful for the detection of localised school outbreaks and as an additional surveillance tool but are limited by lack of data on weekends and during holidays.
Assuntos
Vírus da Influenza A Subtipo H1N1 , Influenza Humana/epidemiologia , Serviços de Saúde Escolar/tendências , Estudantes , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Humanos , Influenza Humana/prevenção & controle , Projetos Piloto , Vigilância da População/métodos , Estudantes/estatística & dados numéricos , Reino Unido/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Sustainable development requires methods and tools to measure and compare the environmental impacts of human activities for the provision of goods and services (both of which are summarized under the term "products"). Environmental impacts include those from emissions into the environment and through the consumption of resources, as well as other interventions (e.g., land use) associated with providing products that occur when extracting resources, producing materials, manufacturing the products, during consumption/use, and at the products' end-of-life (collection/sorting, reuse, recycling, waste disposal). These emissions and consumptions contribute to a wide range of impacts, such as climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone (smog) creation, eutrophication, acidification, toxicological stress on human health and ecosystems, the depletion of resources, water use, land use, and noise-among others. A clear need, therefore, exists to be proactive and to provide complimentary insights, apart from current regulatory practices, to help reduce such impacts. Practitioners and researchers from many domains come together in life cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate indicators of the aforementioned potential environmental impacts that are linked to products-supporting the identification of opportunities for pollution prevention and reductions in resource consumption while taking the entire product life cycle into consideration. This paper, part 1 in a series of two, introduces the LCA framework and procedure, outlines how to define and model a product's life cycle, and provides an overview of available methods and tools for tabulating and compiling associated emissions and resource consumption data in a life cycle inventory (LCI). It also discusses the application of LCA in industry and policy making. The second paper, by Pennington et al. (Environ. Int. 2003, in press), highlights the key features, summarises available approaches, and outlines the key challenges of assessing the aforementioned inventory data in terms of contributions to environmental impacts (life cycle impact assessment, LCIA).
Assuntos
Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Poluição Ambiental/prevenção & controle , Manufaturas , Modelos Teóricos , Ecossistema , Meio Ambiente , Indústrias , Formulação de PolíticasRESUMO
The authors report a case of "hot spot" localization on SPECT hepatic scintigraphy secondary to IVC obstruction. The tomographic slices demonstrated the location of the focal increase in radiotracer activity as anterior, within the medial segment of the left lobe of the liver. Radionuclide angiography confirmed the extensive collateral vasculature of IVC obstruction.
Assuntos
Fígado/diagnóstico por imagem , Tomografia Computadorizada de Emissão , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Coloide de Enxofre Marcado com Tecnécio Tc 99m , Trombose/diagnóstico por imagem , Veia Cava InferiorRESUMO
The measurement and analysis of common recurrent conditions such as diarrhoea, respiratory infections or fever pose methodological challenges with regard to case definition, disease surveillance and statistical analysis. In this paper we describe a flexible and robust model that can generate simulated longitudinal datasets for a range of recurrent infections, reflecting the stochastic processes that underpin the data collected in the field. It can be used to evaluate and compare alternative disease definitions, surveillance strategies and statistical methods under 'controlled conditions'. Parameters in the model include: characterizing the distributions of the individual disease incidence and the duration of disease episodes; allowing the average disease duration to depend on an individual's number of episodes (simulating a correlation between incidence and duration); making the individual risk of disease depend on the occurrence of previous episodes (simulating autocorrelation of successive episodes); finally, incorporating seasonal variation of disease.
Assuntos
Disenteria/epidemiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Humanos , Incidência , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Modelos Estatísticos , Recidiva , Estações do Ano , Fatores de Tempo , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The aim of this study was to determine whether a temporary rise in sexual risk behaviour during war in Guinea-Bissau could explain the observed trends in HIV-1 and HIV-2 prevalence, and to explore the possible contribution of competitive elimination of HIV-2 by HIV-1. A simulation model of the heterosexual transmission of sexually transmitted infections was parameterized using demographic, behavioural and epidemiological data from rural Guinea-Bissau, and fitted to the observed HIV-1 and HIV-2 trends with and without a historic rise in risk behaviour. The observed trends could only be simulated by assuming a temporary rise in risk behaviour. Around 30% of the projected decline in HIV-2 prevalence from a peak of 8.7% to 4.3% in 2010 was due to competitive elimination by HIV-1. Importantly for public health, HIV-1 prevalence was predicted to continue increasing and to become the dominant HIV type by 2010. Data collection is required to validate this prediction.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV/epidemiologia , Infecções por HIV/prevenção & controle , HIV-1/isolamento & purificação , HIV-2/isolamento & purificação , Assunção de Riscos , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribuição por Idade , Feminino , Guiné-Bissau/epidemiologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Modelos Estatísticos , Prevalência , População Rural , Distribuição por Sexo , Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis/epidemiologia , Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis/etiologia , Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis/prevenção & controleRESUMO
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In Germany, data about variations in acute stroke treatment between different facilities are lacking. The aim of the present study was to compare the extent of diagnostic procedures for acute stroke between departments of neurology, internal medicine, and geriatric medicine. METHODS: Stroke patients admitted to hospitals cooperating within the Westphalian Stroke Register between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2001 were analyzed. Forty-two hospitals participated in the study including 24 departments of neurology, 13 of internal medicine, and 5 of geriatric medicine. The register is based on a standardized data assessment including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patient, in the acute phase, as well as diagnostic and treatment procedures, complications, and status at discharge. The performance of brain imaging, Doppler, and echocardiography was defined as diagnostic standard for diagnosis and etiological classification of ischemic stroke. RESULTS: A total of 12,232 stroke patients were included. Mean age was 72 years, 49 % were men. In general, diagnostic procedures were administered more often in neurological departments compared to departments of internal or geriatric medicine. In all participating hospitals, the application of diagnostic techniques was less frequent in older patients. The defined diagnostic standard was performed more often in those neurological departments providing acute stroke unit services compared to neurological departments without stroke unit services. CONCLUSION: Our study detected variations in the extent of diagnostic procedures in acute stroke between different medical disciplines. However, further studies are required to clarify whether a more frequent performance of diagnostic techniques yields relevant therapeutic consequences.
Assuntos
Geriatria , Departamentos Hospitalares , Medicina Interna , Neurologia , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/diagnóstico , Doença Aguda , Fatores Etários , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Encéfalo/patologia , Diagnóstico por Imagem , Feminino , Alemanha/epidemiologia , Pesquisas sobre Atenção à Saúde , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Sistema de Registros , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/epidemiologia , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/terapiaRESUMO
The successful application of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) techniques to radionuclide evaluation of the skeleton depends on strict quality control measures, recognition of potential artifacts, and the selection of appropriate cases for specific reprocessing techniques. The application of simple image-processing routines to problems of "hot spot" and bladder pixel overflows facilitated a reduction in the technical inadequacy rate from 19% to 2% for SPECT evaluation of 100 hips, as well as improvement in diagnostic image quality in a variety of additional cases.
Assuntos
Osso e Ossos/diagnóstico por imagem , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Tomografia Computadorizada de Emissão de Fóton Único , Adulto , Feminino , Quadril/diagnóstico por imagem , Humanos , Joelho/diagnóstico por imagem , Vértebras Lombares/diagnóstico por imagem , Masculino , Modelos Estruturais , Bexiga Urinária/diagnóstico por imagemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Length of hospital stay (LOS) is determined not only by medical procedures or complications but also by institutional factors. We examined the influence of various institutional factors in neurological, medical and geriatric departments on LOS in patients with ischemic stroke. METHODS: We used data of 12,410 patients from the Westphalian Stroke Register for the years 2000 and 2001. Forty-two centres including 24 neurological, 13 medical and five geriatric departments participated in the register. The register is based on a standardized data assessment, including patient-related sociodemographic and clinical items, diagnostic and treatment procedures, complications, and status at discharge. RESULTS: 7855 patients with ischemic stroke from 37 centres (median age: 73 years, 51 % female) were included in the analysis. In neurological departments, the LOS decreased with increasing numbers of stroke patients treated per centre and year, presence of a stroke unit or a rehabilitation unit. Conversely, the ratio beds to number of physicians was positively associated with LOS. In geriatric departments, a significant decrease in LOS with an increasing number of stroke cases and availability of a rehabilitation unit was also observed. In departments of medicine, no significant influence on LOS was found for the institutional factors analysed. CONCLUSIONS: Institutional factors have a significant influence on LOS in patients with stroke. In this analysis, the influence varied between the different medical specialties. Institutional factors gain importance in the management of stroke patients, when Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) are introduced.
Assuntos
Geriatria , Departamentos Hospitalares , Medicina Interna , Tempo de Internação , Neurologia , Sistema de Registros , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/terapia , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Interpretação Estatística de Dados , Feminino , Alemanha , Número de Leitos em Hospital , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Médicos/provisão & distribuição , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Reabilitação do Acidente Vascular Cerebral , Recursos HumanosRESUMO
Management of acute ischemic stroke with IV unfractionated heparin is subject to debate. The authors evaluated patient-related and institutional factors influencing its use in 42 hospitals. Cardioembolic stroke type, carotid stenosis, atrial fibrillation, and treatment in stroke units or intensive care units significantly increased the probability of use. However, there are large unexplained variations in IV heparin use among hospitals.
Assuntos
Anticoagulantes/uso terapêutico , Isquemia Encefálica/tratamento farmacológico , Fidelidade a Diretrizes/estatística & dados numéricos , Heparina/uso terapêutico , Doença Aguda , Idoso , Anticoagulantes/administração & dosagem , Fibrilação Atrial/complicações , Fibrilação Atrial/epidemiologia , Isquemia Encefálica/epidemiologia , Isquemia Encefálica/etiologia , Isquemia Encefálica/prevenção & controle , Estenose das Carótidas/complicações , Comorbidade , Complicações do Diabetes/tratamento farmacológico , Complicações do Diabetes/epidemiologia , Feminino , Alemanha/epidemiologia , Cardiopatias/complicações , Heparina/administração & dosagem , Unidades Hospitalares/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , Hipertensão/complicações , Hipertensão/epidemiologia , Infusões Intravenosas , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva/estatística & dados numéricos , Embolia Intracraniana/tratamento farmacológico , Embolia Intracraniana/epidemiologia , Embolia Intracraniana/etiologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Política Organizacional , Guias de Prática Clínica como Assunto , Recidiva , Sistema de RegistrosRESUMO
To compare the accuracy of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with that of contrast cineangiography in measuring left ventricular end-diastolic volume, 25 consecutive patients undergoing catheterization for coronary artery or valvular heart disease were first evaluated scintigraphically. A simple, count-corrected voxel counting technique was used to derive left ventricular end-diastolic volume from transaxial SPECT slices. SPECT volume values showed a high degree of correlation with those determined by angiography (r = 0.969), with a standard error of the estimate of 23 ml. SPECT offers a highly accurate and essentially noninvasive method for measuring chamber volumes that is independent of geometric assumptions about ventricular configuration and chest wall attenuation and does not require blood sample counting.