Ana Luisa Godoy Fernandes

Prospective assessment of the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients submitted to upper abdominal surgery.

OBJECTIVE To investigate associations between preoperative variables and postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) in elective upper abdominal surgery. DESIGN Prospective clinical trial. SETTING A tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS 408 patients were prospectively analyzed during the preoperative period and followed up postoperatively for pulmonary complications. MEASUREMENTS Patient characteristics, with clinical and physical evaluation, related diseases, smoking habits, and duration of surgery. Preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFT) were performed on 247 patients. RESULTS The postoperative pulmonary complication rate was 14 percent. The significant predictors in univariate analyses of postoperative pulmonary complications were: age >50, smoking habits, presence of chronic pulmonary disease or respiratory symptoms at the time of evaluation, duration of surgery >210 minutes and comorbidity (p <0.04). In a logistic regression analysis, the statistically significant predictors were: presence of chronic pulmonary disease, surgery lasting >210 and comorbidity (p <0.009). CONCLUSIONS There were three major clinical risk factors for pulmonary complications following upper abdominal surgery: chronic pulmonary disease, comorbidity, and surgery lasting more than 210 minutes. Those patients with three risk factors were three times more likely to develop a PPC compared to patients without any of these risk factors (p <0.001). PFT is indicated when there are uncertainties regarding the patients pulmonary status.

Evaluation of an Educational Program for Asthma Control in Adults

We have developed a 6-month educational plan associated with outpatient follow-up and special clinical care for asthmatic patients in a deprived population, with serious socioeconomic problems and a very low level of education. The objective was to determine the effects of the program on clinical asthma outcomes, lung function, and quality of life. Forty patients were enrolled in the program with a regular schedule of outpatient visits, and 31 finished the 6-month intervention, which included information about asthma, instruction in appropriate use of medication, training in metered-dose inhaler technique, how to identify and control asthma triggers, how to use symptom diary cards, and how to recognize early signs of deterioration. Patients included 8 males and 23 females, 47.8 +/- 16.5 years old, with 77.4% elementary school education and 22.6% illiterate, and an average monthly income of around

Validade de um índice prognóstico para ocorrência de complicações pulmonares no pós-operatório de cirurgia abdominal alta

450. After the 6-month program there was a significant change in asthma control with a reduction in asthma emergency visits and hospitalization, reduction of score symptoms, and improvement in quality of life. Based on the results, educational programs are recommended and should be adapted to the socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the target population.

Custo-efetividade de programa de educação para adultos asmáticos atendidos em hospital-escola de instituição pública

OBJCTIVE: To validate a previous prognostic index (Pereira et al.) to postoperative pulmonary complication in elective upper abdominal surgery, and observe the risk factor for mortality in this population. METHODS: 283 patients were followed from pre to postoperative period. They were followed in a protocol including a clinical questionnaire, physical examination, thoracic radiogram and spirometry at pre operative period. The main variables measured were: clinical and functional subjects characteristics at pre operative, type of surgery, duration of surgery, time spent in intensive care unit and hospitalization and the occurrence of pulmonary complication. RESULTS: 69 patients had pulmonary complications (24.4%), in 87 events registered. These occurred because some patients had more than one complication. Pneumonia was the most frequent event 34% (30/87) followed by atelectasis 24% (21/87), bronchoconstriction 17% (15/87), acute respiratory failure 13% (11/87), prolonged mechanical ventilation 9% (8/87) and bronchial infection 2% (2/87). The multiple logistic regression (MLR) showed the association between age above 56 years old (p = 0.0039); DS > 210 (p = 0.0044) and previous chronic pneumopathy (p = 0.0257) and postoperative pulmonary complication. The frequency of postoperative pulmonary complication observed in each categorical classis based on previous index (Pereira equation) did not differ statistically from the prognostic rate calculated, showing the validity of the prognostic index. When FEV1/FVC was included in MLR, the patients with VEF1/FVC 210 minutes showed a statistically lower number of pulmonary postoperative compared with estimated by the previous Pereira index. The mortality analyses showed significant association with comorbidity, number of days in care unit and postoperative pulmonary complication, however in the MLR only postoperative pulmonary complication had a significant association with death (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The index based on Pereira equation is valid to estimate the prognosis of postoperative pulmonary complication after elective upper abdominal surgery. Age higher 56 years old, duration of surgery more than 210 minutes and pneumopathy are important markers of postoperative pulmonary complication. The only significant marker for mortality was the post operative pulmonary complication.

Ansiedade e depressão em pacientes com asma: impacto no controle da asma

The direct costs incurred in managing patients with poorly controlled asthma are high and educational programs could decrease these costs. Aim: The objectives of this study were to compare the direct cost of the implementation of an educational program for adult asthmatic patients with the cost of the usual care delivered to asthmatics by specialists. Methods: Five years ago, a six-month study demonstrated that an educational program improved clinical outcomes (22 in educational program-E and 20 patients in control group-C). Throughout the educational intervention period all cases of hospitalization, emergency and regular calls involving patients from both groups were recorded. The basis for the values utilized in the calculation of costs was the healthcare database of the Brazilian government (DATASUS). The overall medication cost/patient in both groups was based on the amount of medication taken during the month preceding the last call. The final values were converted into US dollars. Results: The mean direct cost/patient in the educational (E) and control (C) groups and the difference (D) between groups were: hospitalizations (C = US

Reprodutibilidade da versão em português do Brasil do European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire em conjunto com seu módulo específico para câncer de pulmão

183, E = 0, D = US

Educacao de pacientes com asma: atuacao do enfermeiro

183); emergency calls (C = US

Nasal eosinophilia: an indicator of eosinophilic inflammation in asthma.

14,E = US

Direct costs of asthma in Brazil: a comparison between controlled and uncontrolled asthmatic patients

5, D = US

Non-small cell lung cancer in never smokers: a clinical entity to be identified

9); regular calls (C = US