Marcelo Felipe Nunes

Utilização de serviços de saúde pela população adulta de São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil: resultados de um estudo transversal

The aim was to describe healthcare utilization by adults in a Brazilian city. The outcomes were medical appointments in the previous month and use of public (Unified National Health System - SUS) versus private healthcare services. A population-based cross-sectional study with 1,098 adults aged 20 years or over was carried out. No medical appointment in the previous month was reported by 623 persons (56.7%, 95%CI: 53.8-59.7). Of the 487 individuals who had consulted a physician, 51.2% used the public healthcare system, 26.9% private care, and 22% other services. Consultation was associated with female gender and older age. Individuals in the intermediate categories for income, schooling, and socioeconomic status consulted less than the corresponding high and low categories. The results suggest that the middle class in this city lacks the purchasing power to seek care in the private sector while also using public services less, thus generally seeking healthcare less frequently.

Avaliação do programa de tuberculose em Sapucaia do Sul (RS): indicadores, 2000-2008

This article seeks to evaluate knowledge, practices and attitudes of health care workers (HCW) involved in antenatal care in the Unified Health System (SUS) in Rio de Janeiro City (RJC) and to identify major barriers to the implementation of treatment for syphilis in pregnancy care protocols. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 102 HCW in antenatal care at SUS, corresponding to 70% of the eligible pool. Univariate and bivariate analysis were performed using SPSS version 16.0. A number of barriers were identified with respect to knowledge of and familiarity with the current protocols, difficulties related to DST management, relationship with patients and clinics organizational context, which were distinct according to the type of health unit. HCW who had greater access to training and technical manuals had a better performance, although the overall effect was discrete. Identifying barriers to adherence to health care protocols is essential to formulate intervention strategies. Access to protocols through training and technical manuals showed a discrete effect in the improvement of the care delivered to patients, pointing to the need of innovative ongoing education of HCW.OBJETIVO:descrever a tendencia dos indicadores da tuberculose em relacao a sua prevalencia e incidencia e os percentuais dos desfechos dos casos no encerramento (cura, abandono ao tratamento ou obito) dos pacientes que ingressaram no Programa em Sapucaia do Sul, RS, entre 2000 e 2008. METODOS: Foi realizada uma analise ecologica das taxas. Foram apresentadas as taxas brutas de frequencia e os respectivos intervalos de confianca a 95%. Verificaram-se as estimativas das taxas atraves das variacoes percentuais medias anuais. Foram realizadas medias moveis a cada tres anos. RESULTADOS: As taxas medias de prevalencia e incidencia foram de 64,3 e 58,0 por 100.000 habitantes respectivamente. As analises dos indicadores nao apresentaram diferencas estatisticamente significativas entre as taxas anuais ou nas medias moveis durante o periodo. DISCUSSAO: Os desfechos estavam abaixo das metas propostas pela Organizacao Mundial de Saude o que compromete o controle da doenca, ja que nao se consegue interromper a cadeia de transmissao.

Assistência à criança: preenchimento da caderneta de saúde em municípios do semiárido brasileiro

Objectives: to determine the proportion of children with adequately completed health records and to investigate associations with geographical, socioeconomic and the mother and childs biological characteristics, and with the percentage use of health services in two municipalities in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Methods: a population-based cross-sectional study was carried with children aged up to five years. Data were collected by way of a household questionnaire between July and September 2008. The presence of all records relating to identification, growth, development and vaccine status of the child was deemed to be adequate completion. The raw and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using the Poisson Regression, following a hierarchized model. Results: of the 342 children studied, 22.2% (CI95% 17.5 - 26.2) had adequately completed health records. A high level of education of the mother was associated with this, after adjusting for the effect of variables in the hierarchized model. Conclusions: the results show a low level of adequate completion of health records. The high prevalence of inadequately completed records in mothers with low levels of education may reflect inequalities in the local health system. Children have a right to adequate completion of health records and failure to do so suggests lack of training of health workers and parents in basic health care needs.

Evaluation of the tuberculosis program in Sapucaia do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul: indicators, 2000-2008

The scope of this study was to describe the trends of tuberculosis indicators in relation to their prevalence, incidence and the case outcome percentages (cure, abandonment of treatment or death) for the patients who entered in the Program in Sapucaia do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul, between 2000 and 2008. An ecological analysis of the incidence was conducted and the gross frequency rates and respective confidence intervals of 95% were presented. The rate estimates were verified by means of average annual percent change as well as the mobile averages every three years. The prevalence rate was 64.3 and the incidence rate was 58.0 per 100.000 inhabitants. Analysis of the indicators did not reveal statistically significant differences between the annual rates or in the mobile averages during the period. The outcomes were below the targets proposed by the World Health Organization, what compromises control of the disease, as it is not proving possible to interrupt the chain of transmission.

Use of medicines recommended for secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE : To analyze if the demographic and socioeconomic variables, as well as percutaneous coronary intervention are associated with the use of medicines for secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome. METHODS : In this cohort study, we included 138 patients with acute coronary syndrome, aged 30 years or more and of both sexes. The data were collected at the time of hospital discharge, and after six and twelve months. The outcome of the study was the simultaneous use of medicines recommended for secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome: platelet antiaggregant, beta-blockers, statins and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker. The independent variables were: sex, age, education in years of attending, monthly income in tertiles and percutaneous coronary intervention. We described the prevalence of use of each group of medicines with their 95% confidence intervals, as well as the simultaneous use of the four medicines, in all analyzed periods. In the crude analysis, we verified the outcome with the independent variables for each period through the Chi-square test. The adjusted analysis was carried out using Poisson Regression. RESULTS : More than a third of patients (36.2%; 95%CI 28.2;44.3) had the four medicines prescribed at the same time, at the moment of discharge. We did not observe any differences in the prevalence of use in comparison with the two follow-up periods. The most prescribed class of medicines during discharge was platelet antiaggregant (91.3%). In the crude analysis, the demographic and socioeconomic variables were not associated to the outcome in any of the three periods. CONCLUSIONS : The prevalence of simultaneous use of medicines at discharge and in the follow-ups pointed to the under-utilization of this therapy in clinical practice. Intervention strategies are needed to improve the quality of care given to patients that extend beyond the hospital discharge, a critical point of transition in care.

Complications of coronary syndrome and stroke in cohort study

Thrombus formation can cause acute events such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and angina or extend to peripheral artery disease or stroke. Patients with acute symptoms of a vascular bed, such as AMI, are at high risk of developing events in another vascular beds, such as ischemic cerebrovascular disease2. Understanding that Internacional Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 2015;28(5):377-384