Attire and appearance of pediatrician: Parents’/guardians’ opinion

Professional appearance of a pediatrician is an important element affecting the perception of competence of the doctor among patients and their parents/ guardians, thus influencing their compliance. As there is no study on this issue addressing the Indian scene, we requested responses to a questionnaire containing 15 questions from the parents/ guardians of the children. The purpose of the study was to assess their opinion regarding attire and appearance of pediatricians. Five each of the questions were related to common aspects of appearance and attire of the pediatrician in general and that of the male and the female pediatrician in particular. A total of 210 parents/ guardians responded to see the question listed in the questionnaire. Assertive responses to each question were analysed for any association with the following categories — Urban, Rural, Males, Females, Urban Males, Rural Males, Urban Females, Rural Females, age below 40 years and age 40 years or more. Majority of the total assertive respondents preferred a formal/ traditional attire and appearance for the pediatrician. Although most of the above categories concurred with this general opinion, some categories showed statistically significant, but practically unimportant, differences in the extent of agreement. The respondents generally favoured a white coat and nameplate on the pediatrician, shoes and a necktie for the male pediatrician andsaree for the female pediatrician. They did not approve clothes with bizarre designs, use of perfumes by the pediatrician, long hair, Tshirts and jeans pant for the male pediatrician,chudidar, lipstick and other make-ups, costly jewellery and short hair for the female pediatrician.     

Asthma in children: Management practices among paediatricians and family physicians

OBJECTIVE:

To ascertain the variation in asthma management practices among paediatricians and family physicians to determine how to improve care.

DESIGN:

Questionnaire study of paediatricians and family physicians that focused on the use of beta₂-agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, patient asthma education, quantitative measurements of airflow and diagnostic investigations for asthma. Case scenarios were used in the questionnaire.

RESULTS:

The response rate was 66% (415 of 632) among paediatricians and 42% (1156 of 2750) among family physicians. In general, both groups followed consensus guidelines. There were some differences in management practices among paediatricians and family physicians. Paediatricians were more likely to develop an action plan and less likely to use xanthines or inhaled anticholinergic agents. However, family physicians were more likely to use spirometry or home peak expiratory flow rates to make a diagnosis of asthma.

CONCLUSION:

Family physicians and paediatricians require a different focus on educational interventions to improve the care of children with asthma.     

Continuing education in the child health handbook: an educational software for primary care1

ObjectiveTo present, the process of development and evaluation of an educational software on the Child Health Handbook proposed for the continuing education of primary care nurses and physicians.MethodsQuantitative study of methodological development. For software development, the following steps were followed: definition of objectives; determination of the target audience; choice of pedagogical and theoretical reference for content; content selection and structuring; software development and evaluation by experts (five nurses and four physicians). All responded to an instrument that included four domains: pedagogical; content; functionality; system presentation and usability. The evaluation criteria were arranged on a Likert-type scale. The percentage of agreement and Content Validity Index were used for the quantitative analysis of the degree of agreement, considering a Content Validity Index cutoff point equal to 0.80.ResultsThe overall agreement index, calculated by the arithmetic mean of the Contents Validity Index of the evaluated domains, was 0.96, with scores ranging from 0.90 to 1.00. The average percentage of agreement of the experts per domain was 92.86%, with lower agreement in the content (80.95%), presentation, and usability (90.48%) domains. 100% of percentage of agreement was observed in the pedagogical and functionality domains among the evaluated specialists.ConclusionThe percentage of agreement, Content Validity Index and overall agreement index of the Child Health Handbook educational software in the context of primary care disclosed the software adequacy as an educational resource for continuing education of primary care nurses and physicians. Considering the assessed dimensions, it can also be used by other health professionals and undergraduate students.     

Las responsabilidades derivadas del uso de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación en el ejercicio de las profesiones sanitarias

The increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the health setting has given rise to the current phenomenon of eHealth or eMedicine, terms equivalent to the cyberspace concept, but refer exclusively to health. Due to the appearance of Web 2.0 it can be stated that we are dealing with a phenomenon much greater than just using the technologies: we are facing a real social change, giving rise to that called Health 2.0.The legal regulation of this cyberspace requires two different types of rules. Some that regulate cyberspace itself, and others, the actions performed with its use and to those that appear applicable to conventional law. In this latter case, we are referring to the applying of already existing laws to actions performed using ICT, as is the case of medical actions.Within these latter situations, two clearly different ones have to be distinguished: the professional responsibilities arising from medical actions carried out within health organisation settings when the use of ICT is introduced, and those other actions carried out voluntarily, individually and privately, using personal media and devices. It is in these types of actions where the legality, as regards data protection and privacy of the patient, appears to be violated, and at the same time the professional may be held responsible.     

Pain assessment and management in the NICU: analysis of an educational intervention for health professionals

Objectiveto study the perception of a Neonatal Intensive Care team on pain assessment and management before and after an educational intervention created and implemented in the unit.Methodsintervention study developed as action research, in three phases. In Phase 1, a quantitative study was performed to identify how professionals perceive pain management in the unit. In Phase 2, an educational intervention was carried out, using the Operational Group (OG), which defined strategies to be adopted to seek improvements in pain assessment and management. In Phase 3, the initial questionnaire was reapplied to assess professionals’ perceptions about the subject after the intervention. All professionals directly working in newborn care were included.Resultsthe perception of professionals about pain management and assessment in the unit showed a statistically significant difference between the two phases of research, highlighting the increase in frequency of reference for evaluation and use of some method of pain relief procedures for most analyzed procedures. Participation in training (one of the strategies defined by the operational group) was reported by 86.4% of the professionals. They reported the use of scales for pain assessment, established by the protocol adopted in the service after the intervention, with a frequency of 94.4%. Changes in pain assessment and management were perceived by 79.6% of the participants.Conclusionthe professionals involved in the educational intervention observed changes in pain management in the unit and related them to the strategies defined and implemented by the OG.     

Creation and Validation of Tool to Assess Resident Competence in Neonatal Resuscitation

BackgroundThe American Board of Pediatrics requires that pediatricians be able to initiate stabilization of a newborn. After residency, 45% of general pediatricians routinely attend deliveries. However, there is no standard approach or tool to measure resident proficiency in newborn resuscitation across training programs. In a national survey, we found a large variability in faculty assessment of the amount of supervision trainees need for various resuscitation scenarios. Objective documentation of trainee performance would permit competency-based decisions on the level of supervision required and facilitate feedback on trainee performance.MethodsA simplified tool was created following the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) algorithm, with emphasis on communication, leadership, knowledge of equipment, and initial stabilization. To achieve content validity, the tool was evaluated by the NRP steering committee. To assess internal structure of the tool, we filmed 10 simulated resuscitation scenarios, 9 of which contained errors. Experienced resuscitation team members used the tool to assess performance of the team leader in the videos. To evaluate the response process, the tool was used to assess experienced resuscitators in real time at academic and non-academic sites.ResultsThe NRP steering committee approved the tool, providing evidence of content validity. Performance of the team leader in the simulated videos was assessed by 16 evaluators using the tool. There was an intraclass coefficient of 0.86, showing excellent agreement. There was no statistical difference in scores between 102 resuscitations led by experienced resuscitators at academic and nonacademic hospitals (P = .98), which demonstrates generalizability.ConclusionsThe tool we have developed to assess performance in initiating newborn resuscitation shows evidence of construct validity based on assessment of content and internal structure (interobserver agreement, response processes, and generalizability).     

早产儿视网膜病的危险因素分析及随访调查

研究早产儿视网膜病(retinopathy of prematurity,ROP)的发生率、高危因素、治疗与随访情况。方法对2005年7月-2007年12月温州医学院附属第一医院NICU收治的符合ROP筛查标准的早产儿,于生后2周开始由资深眼科医师开始行间接眼底镜检查眼底,并进行随访。结果434例早产儿中ROP的发生率为5.5%(24/434例),24例ROP中Ⅰ期19例,Ⅱ期3例,Ⅲ期2例。Ⅲ期阈值病变者行激光光凝治疗,全部患儿均恢复正常。对434例早产儿行单因素分析得出,胎龄、出生体重、住院时间、吸氧、吸氧浓度、吸氧时间、呼吸暂停、新生儿肺透明膜病(RDS)、肺表面活性剂(PS)的应用、机械通气、输血、光疗时间、感染与ROP的发生有相关性(P<0.05)。Logistic回归分析显示胎龄、出生体重、胎数、吸氧时间、光疗时间、代谢性酸中毒、母亲妊高症、颅内出血是影响ROP发生的主要因素。结论早产是ROP的根本原因,防治各种并发症、合理的氧疗是预防ROP的关键。建立完善有效的ROP筛查制度,早期发现、早期治疗ROP,可改善ROP的预后。     

术中判断肠活力三种方法的比较

术中准确地评价肠活力是外科医师面临的一个普遍问题。应用兔肠缺血模型，比较静脉荧光素、表面血氧测定和激光多普勒三种技术判断肠活力的精确性。结果：诊断效率静脉荧光素法为７８％，表面血氧测定为６８％，激光多普勒为９５％。后者精确度显著优于前二者，且操作简便、迅速，具有临床应用前景。     

Outcome of the Treatment of Inborn Errors of Metabolism

The use of specific dietary restrictions, cofactor administration, mobilisation of insoluble substances, environmental modifications, product replacement and selective enzyme inhibition are now established for the treatment of some inborn errors of metabolism. There is no generally accepted application for enzyme administration, cytopharmacology (manipulation of the cytoskeleton) or for cell transplantation except for bone marrow transplantation in disorders where the bone marrow is primarily at fault. The other uses of bone marrow transplantation which have been proposed require further evaluation. Results of recent research suggest that the scope of this approach is gradually being widened. There is also scope for development in the field of organ transplantation taking advantage of recent technical¹ and immunological progress. The treatment of inborn errors of metabolism by genetic modification is not yet on a practical clinical level; more laboratory and animal studies are needed before this can be attempted in man. Adenosine deaminase deficiency appears to be the disease in which this will be first attempted using a retroviral vector to insert the gene into the genome of pluripotential bone marrow cells.     

婴幼儿法乐四联症手术治疗近期疗效的影响因素

目的 探讨影响婴幼儿法乐四联症手术治疗近期疗效的各相关因素.方法 将2003年8月至2011年2月经作者一期手术纠治的117例年龄≤3岁的法乐四联症患儿分为疗效良好、疗效较差两组.分析手术时患儿年龄、体重、术前HCT值、McGoon指数、EDVI、主动脉阻断时间、转流时间、室间隔缺损大小、升主动脉与肺动脉干直径比、...     

Treatment of retinopathy of prematurity

Retinopathy of prematurity is a potentially blinding disorder of premature infants. Retinal ablation of the avascular retina originally described using cryotherapy but now most commonly undertaken with laser photocoagulation, reduces the unfavourable structural outcomes and improves the functional visual acuity outcome. The CRYO-ROP study showed the long-term benefit of treatment of threshold disease compared with no treatment, however even with cryoablation 44.4% of treated eyes had a visual acuity of 6/60 or worse at 10 year follow-up. The ETROP study of earlier treatment for high-risk pre-threshold disease, rather than treatment at threshold, has shown that pre-threshold treatment of type 1 disease produces a significantly improved outcome. Despite treatment some infants develop retinal detachment for which various surgical treatments have been described, although not always with a good functional outcome. Future treatment modalities may include the use of anti-VEGF therapies.     

主动脉缩窄的治疗研究进展

主动脉缩窄(coarctation of aorta,CoA)是主动脉的局限性狭窄,狭窄最常见于峡部,是一种常见的先天性心血管畸形,占所有先天性心脏病的5％ ～8％.缩窄导致上肢血压升高,下肢血压降低,并可引起心功能下降,未经治疗的CoA预后不佳.治疗方式包括外科治疗及经皮介入治疗,不同治疗方式的并发症发生率不同,术后长期监测其并发症、心功能是评估预后的重要指标.该文对主动脉缩窄的治疗方式及术后并发症、心功能情况的研究进展作一综述.     

Spectrum of clinical presentations of vein of Galen aneurysm

Aneurysm of the vein of Galen is a rare intracranial vascular malformation. It is known to have diverse manifestations and varying severity. Four cases with different modes of presentation and outcome are reported. A mortality of 50 per cent was encountered. Among the survivors, one had neurologic sequelae whereas the other had attained age-appropriate developmental milestones. The former was a rare case of spontaneous thrombosis of the aneurysm while the latter was a boy who underwent therapeutic embolization.