RESUMEN
The World Health Organization strategies, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness and Practical Approach to Lung health provide assessment and management guidelines for health workers in developing countries. We reviewed issues important to lung health in adolescents to highlight whether differences in factors such as adolescent behaviour have consequences for the development of case management guidelines, to form a bridge between guidelines for younger children and for adults and to make suggestions for further study. Pneumonia, asthma and tuberculosis are the leading lung health problems in adolescents. As countries industrialise, the importance of asthma mortality and morbidity increases as that of pneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis decreases. Guidelines for managing pneumonia and asthma in children and adults in developing and developed countries should be adaptable for use in adolescents in developing countries, although more information is needed on predictors of severity such as respiratory rate cut-offs, level of fever, hypotension, malnutrition and level of consciousness. The effectiveness of low-cost treatment for asthma should be explored further. HIV and the global resurgence of tuberculosis pose significant challenges for improving adolescent lung health, and prevention of smoking initiation during adolescence is a priority goal of any integrated approach to improving lung health.
Asunto(s)
Servicios de Salud del Adolescente/organización & administración , Prestación Integrada de Atención de Salud/organización & administración , Países en Desarrollo , Enfermedades Pulmonares/terapia , Adolescente , Conducta del Adolescente , Adulto , Asma/epidemiología , Asma/mortalidad , Asma/terapia , Niño , Prestación Integrada de Atención de Salud/métodos , Países en Desarrollo/estadística & datos numéricos , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/terapia , Humanos , Inmunización , Enfermedades Pulmonares/epidemiología , Enfermedades Pulmonares/mortalidad , Morbilidad , Neumonía/epidemiología , Neumonía/mortalidad , Neumonía/terapia , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/epidemiología , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/mortalidad , Tuberculosis Pulmonar/terapiaRESUMEN
A survey in Nigeria showed strong correlation between the arm circumference of women and their weight. This may be useful in assessing the nutritional status of women. The sensitivity and positive predictive values of mid-arm circumference less than 23 cm for maternal weight less than 45 kg was 62.3%, and 44.2%, respectively. Strips based on this principle can be used by lower cadres of health workers such as Traditional Birth Attendants, as a screening tool for women nutritionally at risk.