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Copyright of Polish Journal of Sports Medicine / Medycyna Sportowa is the property of Agencja Wydawnicza Medsportpress Sp. z o. o. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim. The purposes of our study were to determine the level of total social support, informational support, instrumental support, appraisal support and emotional support received by patients of primary care as well as factors related to this level with reference to health status and sociodemographic variables. Method. The sample for current analysis included 516 patients of primary care clinics in Poland cooperating with medical universities. Questionnaires: STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist-90), EPQ-R (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire -Revised), GHQ (General Health Questionnaire)and SSS (Social Support Scale)were used in the study. Results from last two questionnaires are presented in the paper. Results. The highest mean levels were obtained for instrumental support, while the lowest levels were observed for emotional support. The highest means were indicated in the GHQ-28 - social dysfunction, the lowest - GHQ-severe depression. Statistically significant relation was found between the level of social support and gender. Less subjectively evaluated total social support as well as instrumental and appraisal support were obtained by women. The highest Spearman score was found in the case of total GHQ-28 score, somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, severe depression and total support. Taking into account the ANOVA findings, it was observed that an increasing GHQ score was associated with intensively increasing emotional support, informative support, appraisal support and the most- instrumental support. Conclusions. The results display the underestimated role of emotional, informational and appraisal support and the overestimated role of instrumental support in primary care. The consequence may be a more frequent using health care accompanied by low level of patients' satisfaction, severity of social dysfunction disorders, particularly in patients with chronic diseases, who constitute an increasingly large group of primary health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central nervous system infections are significant causes of mortality and long-term neurologic complications in children. Survivors often require an extended period of rehabilitation. The authors carried out a retrospective analysis of 1158 children (aged 1 month to 16 years; 31 boys) treated in one pediatric intensive care unit in Warsaw between 2002 and 2010. Forty-three of 1158 (3.7%) children presented with neuroinfections. Nearly two-thirds of the children were younger than age 5 years. The majority of cases (62.8%) were vaccine-preventable bacterial infections. The most frequent complications were brain edema (30.2%), brain hemorrhage (27.9%), and secondary nosocomial pneumonia (25.6%). One-fifth of children developed late, long-term neurologic complications. The mortality rate was 20.9%. The study showed that central nervous system infections are significant causes of hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit and often result in death or long-term complications. These infections mainly affect children younger than age 5 years. The majority could be prevented with immunizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Whooping cough is an acute bacterial infection of the respiratory tract caused by Bordetella pertussis. After a significant decline in incidence among infants and young children, observed after the introduction of universal vaccinations against pertussis in the 60s of the twentieth century in Poland, increase in reported pertussis cases has been observed for more than ten years, with the shift to older age groups, which is explained by gradually waning of the acquired immunity with high infectivity of the disease and the constant presence of pathogenic micro-organism in the population. The clinical course can be significantly alleviated and highly nonspecific, without the typical coughing and vomiting in people vaccinated against whooping cough a few years ago. Each physician should consider pertussis in the differential diagnosis of cough lasting more than seven days. Control of pertussis requires regular universal dTpa booster vaccinations for adolescents and adults. With the rising incidence among adolescents and young adults, timely vaccination of infants who are at highest risk for severe pertussis and the development of complications are particularly important [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common forms of persistent arrhythmia in adults worldwide. The aim of this study was to present recent data on the epidemiology of patients hospitalized with AF in Poland. Methods: This is a retrospective, population-based study conducted using hospital discharge records. The data covered 1,225,424 cases of AF hospitalization reported in 2017–2021. Results: The study group consisted of 51.36% men and 48.64% women. The mean and median ages were 73.6 and 74 years, respectively. Women were older than men (77 vs. 70 years, p < 0.001). The mean and median lengths of hospitalization were 6.9 and 4 days. The mean annual hospitalization rate was 640.0 per 100,000 person-years. In the group of patients aged ≥65 years, the hospitalization rate was 2870.4 per 100,000 person-years. Men were hospitalized more frequently than women (p < 0.001). The total in-hospital mortality rate was 37.7 per 100,000 person-years, and it was higher in women than in men (p < 0.001). There was a significant downward trend in first-time hospitalizations during the analyzed period and a significant downward trend in mortality rates with a marked increase in the years 2020–2021. Conclusions: Although women are less frequently hospitalized for AF, they show a higher risk of fatal hospitalizations. The pandemic may have reduced new AF diagnoses and increased mortality in this group of patients. The results of this study may be helpful in making comparative analyses in the European and global contexts and taking actions aimed at improving the health condition of the Polish population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyse how the specific gender configurations of the adolescent patient and the doctor affect the performance of intimate areas examinations during adolescent well-care visits and the emotions that accompany these examinations, the use of comfort measures, and the subsequent willingness of adolescents to visit the doctor in the future. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by adolescents (n = 1072) and their parents (n = 685) recruited from 80 randomly selected secondary schools in Poland. Genital examination and puberty assessment were performed more often in boys than in girls (OR = 14.1, p <.0001 and OR = 5.5, p <.0001, respectively). Female doctors performed intimate examinations more frequently than male doctors (OR = 2.2, p =.0059). Male doctors were more likely to ask for consent than female doctors, 66.7% vs. 40.2% (p =.0556), and use the screen more often than female doctors, 46.7% vs. 21.7% (p =.0393). Intimate examinations significantly discouraged adolescents from revisiting the doctor, especially when performed by a physician of the opposite sex. The majority of Polish adolescents and their parents believe that routine prophylactic genital region examinations are illegal, especially if girls' genitals are to be examined by male physicians. Conclusion: The implementation of preventive genital region examinations in adolescents depends largely on non-medical factors—the gender of the patient, the physician, and the mutual configuration of these genders. The level of public non-acceptance of these procedures should not be underestimated by experts setting standards of well-care for adolescents. What is known: • Although the assessment of sexual maturity is an integral part of the preventive examination of adolescents (both girls and boys) these examinations are often overlooked. What is new: • The gender of the physician and the congruence of his/her gender with the gender of the adolescent patient influence whether a puberty assessment will be performed, as well as the social acceptance of such procedures. • Examinations of the intimate area are a significant factor discouraging both adolescent girls and adolescent boys from seeing the doctor again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effectiveness of alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) depends substantially on their acceptability and tolerability. In this study, we assessed the acceptability and tolerability of a new ABHR (product EU 100.2018.02). Methods: Among physicians, nurses, and cosmetologists who used the ABHR for 30 days, we assessed the product's acceptability and tolerability according to a WHO protocol. Additionally, we used instrumental skin tests. Participants assessed the product's color, smell, texture, irritation, drying effect, ease of use, speed of drying, and application, and they gave an overall evaluation. Moreover, they rated the tolerability, i.e. their skin condition, on the following dimensions: intactness, moisture content, sensation, and integrity of the skin. The tolerability was also assessed by an observer as follows: redness, scaliness, fissures, and overall score for the skin condition. Instrumental skin tests included transepidermal water loss, skin hydration, sebum secretion, and percentage of skin affected by discolorations. All assessments were made at baseline (visit 1), and 3–5 days (visit 2) and 30 days (visit 3) later. Results: We enrolled 126 participants (110 [87%] women) with a mean age of 34.3 ± 11.65 years. Sixty-five participants (52%) were healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses), and 61 (48%) were cosmetologists. During visit 2 and visit 3, about 90% of participants gave responses complying with the WHO's benchmark for acceptability and tolerability. Similarly, the ABHR met the WHO criteria for observer-assessed tolerability: on all visits, in more than 95% of participants, the observer gave scores complying with the WHO benchmark. Transepidermal water loss decreased from baseline to visit 3 (p < 0.001), whereas skin hydration, sebum secretion, and the percentage of skin affected by discolorations did not change significantly during the study (p ≥ 130). Conclusions: The EU 100.2018.02 had both high acceptability and tolerability, meeting the WHO criteria. The WHO protocol proved useful in the analysis of acceptability and tolerability of ABHRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]