Search

Acute low back pain is a common cause of disability in the general population. Effective pain management, which prevents the transition from acute to chronic pain, is essential in its treatment and primarily involves the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and physical medicine modalities, including heat therapy. In recent years, the option of home treatment with lowintensity heat therapy using a convenient heat wrap has become available. Locally applied low-intensity heat therapy for acute lower back pain has an analgesic effect and reduces paraspinal muscle tension. Several randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of this method in reducing pain and disability to a degree comparable to high-dose NSAID therapy. Based on this evidence, it now appears that routine therapeutic management of acute low back pain can be modified by combining standard NSAID therapy with the application of a thermal compress. The essence of this change involves incorporating heat wrap for 2–4 days (8 hours daily) before modifying NSAID dosage or implementing another therapeutic option. Considering the clinical studies on low-intensity heat in acute lower back pain, a reduction of at least 25% in NSAID dosage can be expected. We propose that treatment with a new therapeutic method, which is low-intensity heat therapy, should be an addition to the previously applicable standards, the effectiveness of which was unsatisfactory. The aim of introducing low intensity heat therapy is to reduce the use of NSAIDs (and thus reduce the chance of adverse effects) and to shorten the duration of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths around the world. The main risk factor associated with development of this disease is smoking, with about 80% of lung cancer deaths being related to smoking. However, non-smokers can also develop lung cancer due to an exposure to other harmful substances such as asbestos, radon and other carcinogens. The aim of our study is to present the trends and most recent studies aimed at lung cancer screening. Further research aimed at screening and smoking cessation interventions is recommended. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among all the oncological diseases worldwide. This applies to both women and men; however, the incidence and mortality among women is on the rise. In 2020, lung cancer was responsible for 1.8 million deaths (18%). More than 90% of lung cancer cases and 77.1% of lung cancer deaths occur in countries with high and very high HDI (human development index) values. The aim of our study is to the present trends and most recent studies aimed at lung cancer screening. In the face of the persistently high mortality rate, conducting research aimed at extending already-implemented diagnostic algorithms and behavioural interventions focused on smoking cessation is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teleconsultation has become one of the important, and sometimes the only possible form of communication between healthcare professionals and their patients in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was therefore to understand the attitudes and perceptions of teleconsultation among various healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was based on a specially designed questionnaire that was sent to healthcare professionals by e-mail and by personal contact. The questionnaire was sent in total to 1250 Polish healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, midwifes paramedics, physiotherapists) and was finally completed by 780 of them, which allowed to achieve 62.4% response rate. During the Covid-19 pandemic, teleconsultation and face-to-face contact were similarly frequently reported as preferred patient contact, 50.5% and 49.5%, respectively. More than half of healthcare professionals are ready to use teleconsultation in their work after a pandemic is over. The most positive attitude to teleconsultation was presented by doctors and nurses, the least among paramedics and physiotherapists. Doctors assessed the reliability and efficacy of teleconsultation significantly higher than all other healthcare professionals (6.49 and 6.79 on the Likert 1-10 scale, respectively). The undoubted advantages of teleconsultation included: reducing the possibility of getting infected with Covid-19, quick contact with a patient, the possibility of providing help to a larger number of patients at the same time. The most common weaknesses of teleconsultation were: the inability to perform a physical examination of the patient, unreliable transfer of information by patients, technical difficulties in communication. Most healthcare professionals appreciate the value of teleconsultation. However, they are aware of the limitations of teleconsultation, and their attitude varies depending on the tasks and specificity of individual medical professions. It seems that even after the pandemic is over, teleconsultations will find a permanent, rightful place in the healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic projections show that the fastest growing age group of patients in the world are people over 65 years of age. For instance, it is estimated that in 2050 their share will reach approximately 31.3% of the Polish population. This means that the elderly will certainly dominate among patients visiting doctors of all specializations. Health care at old age should be focused on individual needs of the patient. A right diagnosis of symptoms, identifying the health needs of seniors in all dimensions, determines application of further medical procedures. A tool that facilitates this task is Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA ). CGA is a multidisciplinary tool and also a complex diagnostic process, consisting of a series of scales, the aim of which is to determine the scope of seniors' health disorders, their ability to operate independently, their needs and problems encountered in the physical, psychological, socio-economic and environmental spheres. The main scales which apply in the CGA are: ADL, IADL, Barthel and others which serve to assess the functional capacity of the senior. As part of the CGA one can also evaluate the psychological state, using MMSE, Hodgkinson test, CDT, scale of Yesavage and others. In turn, the social-environmental assessment is meant to define the needs of elderly patients, which are connected with emergency interventions and long-term care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Health Organisation reports that melanoma had an incidence of 331,722 cases worldwide in 2022, ranking it 17th on the list of the most prevalent malignancies. This disease is a threat to public health as years of potential life lost from melanoma deaths constitute an economic and social burden; it is, however, curable if detected early. This study aims to show current trends in clinical trials for melanoma screening., Materials and Methods: The analysis was conducted using data from clinicaltrials.gov. The analysis considered both interventional and observational studies on melanoma screening. Only the studies with complete and active statutes by 4 September 2024 were included in the analysis., Results: Out of 25 studies registered in clinical trial databases regarding melanoma screening, 20% research advanced imagining techniques employing innovative machine learning algorithms, while 16% explore behavioural interventions., Conclusions: Intensification of behavioural interventions and health promotion activities is recommended.

Lymphocytes were obtained by heart-punction from rats bearing Morris hepatoma. In the short term, 18-hour cultures of these lymphocytes exhibited a significantly higher amount of apoptotic cells than lymphocyte cultures from the healthy, control animals. Neuraminidase, injected into the caudal vein of the rats with Morris hepatoma, caused a marked lowering in the amount of apoptotic blood-lymphocytes and an elevation of the amount of viable cells. The possible mechanism of neuraminidase preventing the apoptosis of blood-circulating lymphocytes in tumour hosts is discussed herein.

We distributed a questionnaire among doctors participating in vocational training in Regional Family Doctors Educational Centre at Family Medicine Department in Wrocław Medical Academy and Family Medicine Department of Collegium Medicum in Jagiellonian University. It included questions concerning co-operation of general practitioners with specialist outpatient clinics and assessment of health service reform. The doctors with the first degree of specialisation in internal medicine as well as in family medicine and those training for specialisation filled in the questionnaires. The doctors work in non-public as well as public medical centres of primary care. We asked the doctors about the quality of co-operation with specialists, reservations about the co-operation and suggestions on how to improve it. The doctors also expressed their opinions on transformation in medical care, job opportunities for specialist in family medicine and suggestions for family doctors' future improvement. Our paper presents an attempt to evaluate medical care system reform and the state of co-operation of general practitioners with specialists as well as to draw conclusions regarding possibilities of improving this co-operation and raising the standard of comprehensive patient care.