Assessment of medical students' knowledge of primary limb sarcomas.

INTRODUCTION: Typically, oncology is not a structured part of the curriculum in Brazilian medical schools. Furthermore, sarcomas, which are uncommon tumors, are seldom covered in depth. A lack of comprehensive education on sarcomas might result in medical professionals being ill-equipped to care for patients with this condition. OBJECTIVES: To assess medical students' understanding and awareness of sarcomas and the specific principles related to these tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire, applied to medical students, focusing on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatments of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. In all tests, the significance level adopted was 5%. The SPSS version 25.0 software was used. RESULTS: Of the 825 questionnaires distributed, 325 were returned. Educational sessions on sarcomas did not appear to significantly improve the student's knowledge. Only 29.5% of students identified the lack of pain as an indicator of potential malignancy in soft tissue sarcomas, while 73.8% correctly recognized pain as a symptom of bone sarcomas. Limb amputation as the optimal surgical method for patient recovery was incorrectly reported by 39.1% of the sample. CONCLUSION: A great part of the surveyed population does not have adequate knowledge about the basic concepts associated with limb sarcomas. The minority of them are satisfied with the knowledge gained during their medical education about these tumors. Inadequate medical academic training may initially lead to the wrong clinical management of patients with bone and soft tissue tumor lesions. An educational effort is needed to enhance oncology education for medical students, especially concerning sarcomas.

Assessment of Medical Students' Knowledge of Imaging Methods for Bone Sarcomas.

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Brazil and worldwide. However, Brazilian medical education fails to include oncology as an essential topic. This creates a gap between the health status of the population and medical education. Bone sarcomas fall into both the group of malignant neoplasms and rare diseases and are thus doubly influenced by misinformation. To assess medical students' knowledge of imaging diagnostic methods for bone sarcomas. A cross-sectional, quantitative study was undertaken by obtaining the responses of medical students to a questionnaire containing radiographic images and questions about the radiological aspects of bone sarcomas. The categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test. The level of significance was 5% for all the tests. SPSS software version 25.0 was used for the analysis. A total of 325 responses were collected, with 72% of the participants having no interest in oncology and 55.6-63.9% not knowing how to diagnose a periosteal reaction on bone radiography. Only 11.1-17.1% of the students correctly interpreted the radiographic image of osteosarcoma. Medical students fail to correctly interpret images of bone sarcomas. It is important to promote oncology undergraduate education in general and to include the approach to bone sarcomas in this context.

Doença inflamatória pélvica: atualização / Inflammatory pelvic disease: updating

A doença inflamatória pélvica (DIP) consiste em espectro de infecções do trato genital superior que inclui: endometrite, salpingite, abscesso tubo-ovariano e/ou peritonite pélvica. Constitui-se em infecção polimicrobiana do trato genital superior feminino devido à sua contaminação pelos microrganismos do endocérvice e da vagina. São fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento de DIP: idade entre 15-24 anos, vida sexual ativa, múltiplos parceiros, inserção de dispositivo intra-uterino (DIU) há menos de 20 dias e história pregressa de DIP. Procedimentos e cirurgias pélvicos com manipulação de canal cervical podem predispor à infecção por alterarem a barreira cervical protetora. A DIP é um dos processos infecciosos mais frequentes nas mulheres em idade reprodutiva e é entidade de difícil diagnóstico devido às manifestações clínicas diversas. O diagnóstico é muito provável diante de dor à palpação cervical, uterina e/ou de anexos, acompanhados de febre, corrimento vaginal mucopurulento ou leucorreia, sangramento intermenstrual e pós-coito, dispareunia, disúria e polaciúria. O tratamento da DIP deve prover antibioticoterapia empírica de amplo espectro para os patógenos mais prováveis: N. gonorrhoeae e C. trachomatis, pois o rastreamento negativo para esses organismos não exclui infecção do trato reprodutivo superior. A precocidade das medidas terapêuticas é importante na prevenção de sequelas de longo prazo e a opção por tratamento ambulatorial ou hospitalar deve ser baseada no julgamento médico. Parceiros sexuais de mulheres com DIP devem ser examinados e tratados caso tenham tido relação sexual com a paciente nos 60 dias anteriores ao aparecimento dos sintomas. O rastreamento e tratamento da infecção por clamídia em mulheres sexualmente ativas diminui o risco de elas contraírem DIP. Grávidas com suspeita de DIP devem ser internadas para receber tratamento parenteral. Não foram estabelecidas diferenças nas manifestações clínicas da DIP em mulheres soropositivas e negativas para o HIV. Ambos os grupos respondem igualmente bem aos tratamentos parenteral e oral. (AU)

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) consists in a spectrum of upper genital tract infections including: endometritis, salpingitis, tube-ovarian abscess and / or pelvic peritonitis. It constitutes polymicrobial infection of upper female genital tract because of its contamination by microrganisms from the vagina and endocervix. Risk factors for the development of PID are: aged 15-24 years, sexual activity, multiple partners, insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) for less than 20 days and a history of PID. Procedures and pelvic surgery with manipulation of the cervical canal may predispose to infection by altering the cervical protective barrier. PID is one of the most common infectious processes in women in reproductive age and it is an entity of difficult diagnosis due to the diverse clinical manifestations. The diagnosis is most likely on painful palpation of the cervix, uterus or attachments, accompanied by fever, depurulent vaginal discharge or leukorrhea, intermenstrual and postcoital bleeding, dyspareunia, dysuria and pollakiuria. The treatment of PID should provide broad-spectrum empiric antibiotic therapy for the most likely pathogens: N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis, because negative screening for these organisms does not exclude infection of the upper reproductive tract. The early therapeutic measures are important in preventing long-term sequelae and the option for outpatient or hospital treatment should be based on medical judgment. Sexual partners of women with PID should be examined and treated if they had sexual relations with the patient 60 days prior to the onset of symptoms. Screening and treatment of chlamydial infection in sexually active women decreases the risk of them contracting PID. Pregnant women with suspected PID should be hospitalized to receive parenteral treatment. No differences were found in clinical manifestations of PID in women seropositive and negative for HIV. Both groups respond equally well to parenteral and oral treatments. (AU)