Monitoring adherence to cold chain storage of vaccines in 2014 in the Malopolska province

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: The principles of "cold chain" have been developed for the safe transport and storage of vaccines because of their sensitivity to temperature and are guidelines for use in all countries. Available information on adherence to the principles of the "cold chain" by healthcare providers in Poland is insufficient. The aim of the study was to assess compliance with these rules in storing vaccines by vaccination centers implementing an immunization program in 2014 in the Malopolska province MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 111 vaccination centers in 19 districts of Malopolska, which represents 12% of all vaccination centers in the Malopolska province in 2014. The selection of vaccination centers for the study was not random. During a routine inspection of vaccination centers, an employee of the District Sanitary-Epidemiological Station conducted a study using a specially-prepared questionnaire. Inspections in vaccination centers which qualified for the study were conducted from March to September 2015. RESULTS: Among the analyzed vaccinations centers 90% had a refrigerator or refrigerator-freezer, and 10% a pharmaceutical refrigerator. 3.6% of refrigerators were produced before 2000. A 24-hour recording of the temperature was conducted in 67.6% vaccination centers. 40.5% of vaccination centers had a 24-hour system of recording and notification when temperature parameters had been exceeded in refrigeration devices. 22.5% of vaccination centers had emergency power supply. 13.5% of vaccination centers a power failure occurred in refrigerators, including 40% of the vaccination centers which had a text message notification system.. Total cost of destroyed vaccines amounted to over 20 thousand zl. SUMMARY: Correct storage conditions are needed for vaccines to maintain their full effectiveness, which is why it is necessary to intensify efforts to ensure compliance with the principles of the cold chain in the storage of vaccines by healthcare providers.

Assessment of knowledge on cardiovascular disease risk factors by postal survey in residents of Malopolska Voivodeship. Malopolska CArdiovascular PReventive Intervention Study (M-CAPRI).

[b]Introduction.[/b] Education is a key tool in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Education programmes require monitoring of their effectiveness. [b]Objectives. [/b]1) to introduce postal screening for the assessment of knowledge on CVD risk factors (RFs) for the Polish population, 2) to assess this knowledge in adult residents of Malopolska Voivodeship, and 3) to assess whether knowledge on RFs is related to age, gender, place of residence, level of education and family history of CVD. [b]Materials and method.[/b] Anonymous questionnaires were posted to a random sample of 5,000 residents of Malopolska Voivodeship in Poland. Results were presented as proportions of participants who listed RFs correctly. A series of multiple logistic regression models was used to assess the associations of knowledge on RFs with the potential determinants. [b]Results.[/b] 1,126 completed questionnaires were returned. Over 35% of respondents could not list a single RF and 14 % listed only 1-2 RFs. About 40% named 3-5 and only 12% listed 6 or more RFs. About a half of the respondents listed incorrectly from 1-8 characteristics as being associated with higher risk of CVD. In the multivariate analysis, knowledge on RFs was not significantly associated with age. Level of education was the strongest determinant of knowledge. Male rural and small town residents had less knowledge, whereas women with a family history of CVD had more knowledge on some CVD RFs. [b]Conclusions.[/b] Using a postal questionnaire for the assessment of knowledge of CVD RFs in the population of Malopolska Voivodeship appeared to have serious limitations due to low participation in the study. Despite this, the results of the study indicate that knowledge on CVD RFs is insufficient. Female gender and higher education were related to more prevalent knowledge on RFs. Family history of CVD was related to better knowledge in women only. Male residents of rural areas and small towns had slightly less knowledge on CVD RFs.

Ludwik Rydygier--contributor to modern surgery.

Modern surgery is usually considered to have begun in nineteenth century Europe. One of the most famous contributors to gastric cancer surgery was the Polish surgeon Ludwik Rydygier, born in 1850. He initiated new methods in several fields, such as gastrointestinal surgery, orthopedics, gynecology, and urology. He was the second surgeon in the world to perform an antral resection, which he carried out on November 16, 1880. The patient, a 64-year-old man, suffered from pyloric cancer and died 12 hours after the procedure as a result of postoperative shock. The next pyloric resection was performed by Billroth in Vienna in 1881. In the nineteenth century few gastric resections were performed for peptic ulcer. The first successful antral resection for gastric ulcer penetrating to the pancreas was also performed by Ludwik Rydygier, in 1881. For many years Rydygier advocated resection in the treatment of gastric ulcers, although it was considered too dangerous for benign disease. He eventually proposed four indications for gastric resection: antral cancer, gastric ulcer, perforated gastric ulcer, and bleeding ulcers. Another operation performed for the first time by Ludwik Rydygier was gastroenterostomy, in a patient with a duodenal ulcer. In the following years other types of partial gastric resection and total gastrectomy were introduced. In 1992 the Ludwik Rydygier Association was founded in Krakow to commemorate the achievements of and pay tribute to this great surgeon. The Eighth International Gastric Cancer Congress will take place in 2009 in Krakow, where Ludwik Rydygier built a new surgical clinic in 1889.