Descriptive epidemiological study on patients with movement disorders, with emphasis on Parkinson's disease

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Knowing the epidemiological profile is relevant for improving healthcare practices. Movement disorders are neurological disorders characterized by the presence of involuntary movements. They have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To outline the frequencies of the different diagnoses seen among patients, along with their demographic characteristics, at a hospital in São Paulo (SP), Brazil, and to highlight the clinical aspects of those with Parkinson's disease. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective descriptive epidemiological analysis at a specialized outpatient clinic in a state public hospital in São Paulo. METHODS: Patients treated at this clinic over a four-year period were analyzed. Diagnoses, demographic variables and associations with clinical aspects of Parkinson's disease were evaluated. RESULTS: Out of the 680 medical records analyzed, 58.4% related to females. Most patients were over 60 years of age, white, married and teachers. The most frequent diagnosis was Parkinson's disease, followed by essential tremor and dystonia. Parkinson's disease presented in the mixed clinical form; the most common initial symptom was tremor. The akinetic-rigid clinical form occurred in younger individuals and mostly presented with postural instability and freezing of gait in the early years of disease. CONCLUSIONS: Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia were the most frequent diagnoses. Characteristics like sex, frequency of other pathological conditions and the clinical and demographic aspects of Parkinson's disease were consistent with the data in the relevant literature.

Care interventions in the elderly with stasis syndrome: a clinical essay

Object: Losses in functional capacity of upper limbs of elders confined to bed may be due to the fracture of the femur. Aims: To perform a systematic review of the literature regarding the Stasis Syndrome; to elaborate, according to a previous analysis, an intervention proposal involving multidisciplinary care, to alleviate the effects of the Stasis Syndrome; to verify the effect of this multidisciplinary protocol of intervention according to the biological variables of elders with Stasis Syndrome through the use of an instrument created for this purpose. Method: This is controlled clinical research, with a quantitative approach. It involves the use of quantification during and treatment of patients and the associated data collection, through statistical techniques and the use of specific software...