Characteristics and impacts of itch in children with inflammatory skin disorders.

BACKGROUND: Itch is a cardinal feature of paediatric disorders and can impair quality of life. However, few studies have addressed symptoms and impacts of itch in paediatric patients. OBJECTIVES: We focused on understanding the child's experience of itch and the impact of itch specifically on affected children, including comparison with the adult experience. METHODS: Semistructured interviews (nine parents, 15 children with itch) explored concerns related to paediatric itch experiences and effects. Themes were compared with those of previous adult interviews. Literature was reviewed to identify the need for a more comprehensive measure of paediatric itch. RESULTS: Itch quality, intensity, duration and environmental triggers (sweating, climate change, stress and certain fabrics) are important aspects of the child's itch experience. Skin disruption, physical function, concentration, emotional reactions, stigma and relationships/social effects are itch impact themes that emerged. No paediatric-specific scale comprehensively captures the paediatric patient itch experience. However, differences between child and adult reports of itch-related pain, functional limitations, fatigue and restlessness, emotional reactions to itch, and treatment effects emphasize the need for a paediatric-specific measurement tool. CONCLUSIONS: Children and parents endorse the importance of capturing the paediatric-focused characteristics and impacts of itch in measuring disease severity and response to intervention.

Detecting population structure of Paleosuchus trigonatus (Alligatoridae: Caimaninae) through microsatellites markers developed by next generation sequencing.

We isolated and characterized 10 new microsatellites loci for Paleosuchus trigonatus using ION TORRENT Sequencing Technology. We tested the transferability of these loci to three related species of the subfamily Caimaninae, and used these bi-parental markers to test population structure and genetic diversity of two populations of P. trigonatus impacted by hydroelectric dam construction on the Madeira (N = 16) and Xingu (N = 16) rivers. We also investigated the transferability of these markers to three related species: Paleosuchus palpebrosus (N = 5), Caiman crocodilus (N = 6) and Melanosuchus niger (N = 6). The genetic diversity of P. trigonatus was low in both the Madeira (He: 0.535 ± 0.148) and Xingu (He: 0.381 ± 0.222) populations, but the loci were sufficiently polymorphic to be used in system of mating and kinship studies in P. trigonatus. DAPC analysis with our set of microsatellites loci was able to separate the four species of Caimaninae studied and to detect a shallow genetic structure between Madeira and Xingu populations of P. trigonatus. AMOVA and STRUCTURE analyses using locprior model corroborate this shallow genetic structure. These novel molecular markers will be also useful in conservation genetics and phylogeographic studies of P. trigonatus, since they improve our ability to monitor the putative effects of dams on the loss of genetic diversity and allow us to investigate population dynamics and microevolutionary processes that occurred in the species.

[Intramuscular administration of drugs: skills of pharmacy personnel]. / Administração de medicamentos injetáveis por via intramuscular: conhecimento dos ocupacionais de farmácias.

Complications from the incorrect administration of intramuscular injections can cause serious organic damages, infections and increase the patient's permanence in health institution or to harm the functions in the work. The previous study detected several cases of patients with local complications after administration of diclofenac in pharmacies and it concluded that the lack of knowledge of this technique can be the causes of these complications. This current study objectives to identify and evaluate the level of knowledge of the professional that administer medications in pharmacies of Ribeirão Preto--SP. The study constituted in a survey, from a questionnaire with 20 open and closed questions, applied to a population constituted for occupational working in pharmacies, selected through the method of the sampling, resulting in a total of 41 pharmacies. It was concluded that the population is receiving medications from occupationals, without a specific formation and with deficit of knowledge regarding the technique. The subjects referred not to receive training to exercise that procedure, learning it with other employee or observing somebody that accomplishes it. It results knowledge gaps that can cause complications in the population that uses the services of those institutions.