Search

We characterized experiences and strategies used by frontline healthcare workers to prevent severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-related coronavirus transmission at work and to household members during the coronavirus disease pandemic. Alongside an online questionnaire (n = 234), remote semi-structured interviews (n = 23: 15 clinicians, 8 non-clinicians) were conducted in 2021. Mitigation challenges and facilitators were identified from data to represent experiences as a process considering the before, during, and after work shifts. Journey mapping was utilized to visually describe how healthcare workers experienced the stages of the work environment, leaving work, commuting home, and the home environment, and strategies implemented to stay safe. Major facilitators included the uptake of coronavirus disease vaccines and testing, information regarding virus transmission, and adequate personal protective equipment. The most critical challenges identified included a lack of designated areas for end-of-day disinfection, changing rooms, showers, and lockers in the leaving work stage. Psychosocial and environmental factors must be considered in future hospital pandemic preparations., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction and Importance: The Potter sequence is defined as a series of congenital defects related to severe oligohydramnios, associated with polycystic kidney disease, bilateral renal agenesis, pulmonary hypoplasia, obstructive uropathy and premature rupture of membrane, which compromises the life of the neonate sometime after birth. Within the evidence published so far, which is very little, no perforation of the gastrointestinal tract has been reported as a complication of this condition., Case Presentation: Male neonate born preterm with prenatal diagnosis of pulmonary hypoplasia, polycystic renal dysplasia and severe oligohydramnios (Potter sequence), presented acute respiratory distress syndrome 10 min after birth, requiring mechanical ventilation and admission to the intensive care unit. During her stay in intensive care, he developed abdominal distension and presence of biliary content in the nasogastric tube. An abdominal X-ray was performed and showed signs of pneumoperitoneum, evidencing gastric perforation on exploratory laparotomy., Clinical Discussion: Gastric perforation in neonates is a condition that causes high health costs, morbidity, high risk of mortality and disability, regardless of the cause. The management of gastric perforation in Potter syndrome, as well as any other complication, represents a challenge due to the prognosis of these patients. Renal failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome are disorders that compromise the function of various structures and organs such as the heart and brain., Conclusion: Gastric perforation is a possible complication of the Potter sequence or syndrome. In addition, there is no literature describing the benefits or disadvantages of specific surgical techniques in the resolution of perforation., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Postural stability enables humans to maintain the center of mass of their body within their base of support. Nevertheless, over time, such stability is affected by different factors such as age, repetitive strain, and accidents. Although studies in this field have investigated the effectiveness of hydrotherapy, only a few of them have explored its influence on postural stability, which is reflected in a lack of research that estimates its impact on rehabilitation., Aim: To determine the immediate and final effects of an aquatic routine protocol on the postural stability of elderly subjects., Methods: The postural stability of 20 adults over 60 years of age was analyzed using electromyographic and baropodometric methods. Electromyographic signals were obtained from the tibialis anterior, soleus, both gastrocnemius, vastus medialis, and biceps femoris to calculate the coactivation percentage of the muscles in charge of postural stability. The baropodometric data were collected to analyze the area of the stabilometric ellipse, mean plantar pressure, and weight distribution percentage., Results: The outcome of both methods revealed improvements in the elderly patients after the aquatic routine protocol was applied, which indicates that the type of water exercises implemented in this study has positive effects on their postural stability., Conclusion: The postural stability of the elderly participants was improved after each session because their stability index decreased along with the electrical activity of some muscle pairs, their body weight was better distributed, and the area of body oscillation was reduced. However, this effect was immediate and not final., Competing Interests: conflicts of interest: None declared., (Copyright © 2021 Colombia Medica.)