The conceptions of health services managers about the network of psychosocial care for crack users

OBJETIVO: El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer las concepciones de los gerentes de servicios de salud sobre la red de atención psicosocial para usuarios de crack. MÉTODOS: encuesta cualitativa y evaluativa utilizando el marco de evaluación de cuarta generación. La encuesta se realizó en un centro de atención psicosocial para los consumidores de alcohol y drogas en un municipio del estado de Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Los datos se recopilaron de enero a mayo de 2013, a través de entrevistas guiadas utilizando el círculo dialéctico hermenéutico. RESULTADOS Y DISCUSIÓN: los gerentes revelaron sus concepciones sobre la colaboración entre sectores en la red de atención, reconociendo los servicios prestados por la red de atención psicosocial y la coordinación de esos servicios. También mostraron comprensión de la importancia de asociarse con mecanismos de otros sectores de la sociedad. CONCLUSIONES: los administradores municipales se han esforzado por construir una política de salud mental centrada en el usuario con coordinación entre sectores, abogando por los principios de la reforma psiquiátrica y la atención psicosocial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to learn the conceptions of health services managers about the network of psychosocial care for crack users. METHODS: Qualitative and evaluative survey using the Fourth Generation Evaluation framework. The survey was performed at a center for psychosocial care for alcohol and drug abusers in a municipality of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data were collected from January to May 2013, through guided interviews using the hermeneutic dialectical circle. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Managers revealed their conceptions about collaboration between sectors in the care network, recognizing the services provided by the psychosocial care network and the coordination of those services. They also displayed understanding of the importance of partnering with mechanisms from other sectors of society. CONCLUSIONS: Municipal managers have endeavored to build a user-focused mental health policy with coordination between sectors, advocating for the principles of psychiatric reform and psychosocial care.

Development and practical application of accelerated solvent extraction for the isolation of cocaine/crack biomarkers in meconium samples.

A method using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for the isolation of cocaine/crack biomarkers in meconium samples, followed by solid phase extraction (SPE) and the simultaneous quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed and validated. Initially, meconium samples were submitted to an ASE procedure, which was followed by SPE with Bond Elut Certify I cartridges. The analytes were derivatizated with PFP/PFPA and analyzed by GC-MS. The limits of detection (LOD) were between 11 and 17ng/g for all analytes. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were 30ng/g for anhydroecgonine methyl ester, and 20ng/g for cocaine, benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester and cocaethylene. Linearity ranged from the LOQ to 1500ng/g for all analytes, with a coefficients of determination greater than 0.991, except for m-hydroxybenzoylecgonine, which was only qualitatively detected. Precision and accuracy were evaluated at three concentration levels. For all analytes, inter-assay precision ranged from 3.2 to 18.1%, and intra-assay precision did not exceed 12.7%. The accuracy results were between 84.5 and 114.2% and the average recovery ranged from 17 to 84%. The method was applied to 342 meconium samples randomly collected in the University Hospital-University of São Paulo (HU-USP), Brazil. Cocaine biomarkers were detected in 19 samples, which represent 5.6% of exposure prevalence. Significantly lower birth weight, length and head circumference were found for the exposed newborns compared with the non-exposed group. This is the first report in which ASE was used as a sample preparation technique to extract cocaine biomarkers from a complex biological matrix such as meconium samples. The advantages of the developed method are the smaller demand for organic solvents and the minor sample handling, which allows a faster and accurate procedure, appropriate to confirm fetal exposure to cocaine/crack.