Energy drinks and health - progress of the knowledge

For young people energy drinks have become the new fashion and also a quick way to increase the fitness of the body. Lack of legal regulations gives freedom in active ingredients concentration, based sometimes on the principle "the more the better". In the literature there are increasing data about adverse effects of energy drinks consumption. Children and adolescents are the risk group for negative health consequences. This article is a comprehensive literature review on the effects of energy drinks on the developing human body and its health safety.     

Jakość życia chorych z nagłym niedosłuchem czuciowo-nerwowym

Aim

The aim of this study was the assessment of the quality of life of patients suffering from SSNHL and treated in the Otolaryngology Ward of Regional Specialized Hospital in S?upsk between 2001 and 2010, who were interviewed at least one year after the end of treatment.

Material and methods

A test examination was carried out in the period between 1 September 2011 and 31 March 2012 in the group of patients previously treated for SSNHL in the Otolaryngology Ward of Regional Specialized Hospital in S?upsk. Sixty-one patients responded to an invitation in writing. Quality of life was measured using following questionnaires: WHOQOL-Bref and Cantril's ladder (questionnaire).

Results

A test carried out using a Cantril's questionnaire showed that the respondents assessed their quality of life as higher before they fell ill, compared to the period directly after they fell ill, in hope of improvement of their well being, although this hope was not as high as it was before they fell ill. These differences were statistically significant. As it was indicated by WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire, the condition did not influence the quality of life of the patients, however the patients reported a higher quality of life, when compared to the patients who did not observe hearing improvement (these differences were noticeable but considered statistically insignificant).

Conclusions

The indicated ambiguous influence of the treatment of patients suffering from SSNHL on their quality of life demonstrates the need to continue such research.     

Giant ovarian tumor--case report and proposal for clinical management

A case report of a woman with 90 kg ovarian tumor is presented. Paracentesis and intravenous alimentation was performed before operation. During the surgery the ovarian tumor was excised and abdominal cavity packing, followed by slow pressure decreasing, was done. Intravenous together with oral alimentation was continued after the operation. The patient was discharged on the 10th postoperative day without any complications, in a good overall condition.     

First trimester diagnosis of encephalocele--report of two cases and review of the literature

The authors present two cases of encephalocele, diagnosed at 11(+0)-13(+6) wks scan. Case 1: Occipital encephalocele (max diameter 14 mm) without brain tissue was diagnosed at 12 wks. At 35 wks bilateral ventriculomegaly was additionally found. The course of pregnancy was uneventful. Encephalocele was closed surgically soon after delivery Normal neonatal development at 6 months of age was confirmed. Case 2: Occipital encephalocele (max diameter 34 mm) containing brain tissue was diagnosed at 12 wks. Two weeks later fetal demise was confirmed during ultrasound examination. Uncomplicated induction of abortion was performed locally. The outcome and possible clinical scenarios in both cases, together with review of literature, are presented in the article.     

Pregnancy in patients with cancer

We analyzed 12 cases of pregnant women divided into two separate groups: tumor diagnosed and treated before pregnancy and tumor diagnosed during pregnancy. Increasing number of simultaneous incidence of cancer and pregnancy is probably related to higher childbearing age. Our results suggest that cancer diagnosed both during and before pregnancy does not necessarily result in poor maternal and neonatal outcome.     

A comparison of the perceptions and aspirations of third-year physiotherapy students trained in three educational settings in Poland

Objectives

In Poland, physiotherapy is offered at three types of school: medical universities, universities of physical education, and schools that do not specialise in either the medical sciences or physical education. This study explored the knowledge of students who were completing their physiotherapy studies about working in Poland and other countries of the European Union (EU), and about their vocational plans. Students were asked, through self-assessment, about aspects of the professional skills they had gained.

Design

Quantitative questionnaire-based study of students in three university settings.

Setting

Eleven university-level schools in Poland offering studies in physiotherapy and representing three orientations: medical sciences (MS), physical education (PE) and other universities (OU).

Participants

The study sample comprised of 954 third-year Bachelor programme students.

Results

The differences in university profiles did not influence the vocational plans of the students, with more than 70% (668/954) declaring that they would look for work outside Poland: 76% (725/954) in the UK and 69% (658/954) in Germany. Most students stated that finding work as a physiotherapist is difficult in Poland (686/954,72%) and easy in other EU countries (763/954, 80%). Differences in university profiles had an effect on the students’ assessments of their professional skills, as students from universities without a long-standing tradition of training in physiotherapy declared that they were less well prepared to work as physiotherapists; the difference was statistically significant for 12 of the 16 domains examined (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In the light of these results, an increased influx of Polish physiotherapists, trained according to European standards, into EU countries, especially the UK and Germany, is to be expected in the near future. The physiotherapists will predominantly be graduates of medical and sports-oriented state universities. It appears advisable to launch, under the auspices of an EU programme, an integrated employment information system for physiotherapists that would offer updated information on current demand in individual EU countries.