Objectivos: Determinar a taxa de cobertura do rastreio de cancro do cólon e do recto (CCR), segundo o Plano Oncológico Nacional, e analisar factores socio-demográficos associados à sua realização. Tipo de estudo: Observacional, analítico e transversal. Local: Unidade de Saúde Familiar (USF) Horizonte e Centro de Saúde (CS) de Vila do Conde/Modivas. População: Utentes inscritos nos USF Horizonte e CS de Vila do Conde/Modivas, com médico de família e idade compreendida entre 50 e 74 anos, no ano de 2006. Métodos: Amostra aleatória de 504 indivíduos. Colheita de informação por processo documental, relativa a idade, sexo, escolaridade, número de doenças crónicas e realização do rastreio. Utilizaram-se os testes qui-quadrado, t de Student e regressão logística binária (nível de significância de 0,05). Resultados: Amostra com idade média de 60 anos e 57,3% de mulheres. Obteve-se uma taxa de cobertura do rastreio de 24,6%. Apenas foi encontrada relação estatisticamente significativa entre o número de doenças crónicas e a realização do rastreio, sendo que com um aumento do número de doenças crónicas se verifica mais frequentemente a realização do rastreio. O aumento da idade também se relacionou com uma maior realização do rastreio; porém, quando ajustada para as outras variáveis, esta relação perdeu relevância estatística. Conclusões: A taxa de cobertura encontrada é concordante com valores revelados em estudos de outros países. No entanto, o sexo, a idade e a escolaridade não se relacionaram com diferenças na realização do rastreio. Quanto ao número de doenças crónicas, dever-se-á ter em conta que talvez o seu aumento leve a um maior número de consultas o que pode originar mais oportunidades de rastreio. A baixa taxa de cobertura do rastreio de CCR deverá ser estudada para determinar outras variáveis passíveis de influenciar a sua realização.

Aims: To determine the rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in general practice and to analyse social and demographic factors associated with screening. Study type: Descriptive. Setting: Unidade de Saúde Familiar (USF) Horizonte and Centro de Saúde (CS) de Vila do Conde/Modivas. Population: Patients aged 50 to 74 years old in 2006, registered with a family physician in USF Horizonte and CS de Vila do Conde/Modivas Methods: A random sample of 504 people was selected. Age, sex, educational level, number of chronic diseases and data on completion of screening tests were collected from patient records. Chi-square test, t-Student test and logistic regression analysis were performed (p = 0,05). Results: The sample had a mean age of 60 years and 57.3% of the patients were women. The screening rate for CRC was 24.6%. There was a statistically significant association found between the number of chronic diseases and performance of screening. Age was associated with screening. However, when adjusted for other variables, this relationship was not found to be significant. Conclusions: The screening rate for CRC was similar to that found in other international studies. Gender, age and educational level were not associated with screening. The presence of chronic diseases may lead to more medical consultations, which can provide more opportunities for screening. The low rate of screening found requires further study to determine other variables that may affect the performance of screening.

Goals: Chickenpox is a benign disease that affects mostly children, showing an incidence rate of 2,37% in Portugal (2005). Despite the fact that it is a self-limited disease, it is highly contagious and can have complications in 5-10% of all affected bindividuals. The aim of this work is to review the existing evidence about the benefits of using acyclovir in chickenpox treatment in the immunocompetent pediatric population, concerning symptoms, days of illness and complications. Data sources: Medline, evidence-based medicine sites, the Portuguese Medical Magazines Index (RMP) and bibliographic references of the selected articles. Review methods: Research of systematic reviews (SR), meta-analysis (MA), randomized controlled trials (RCT) and guidelines (G), using the key-words: chickenpox and acyclovir. SORT taxonomy was used to present the results. Results: 105 articles were found, 11 of which were selected: two SR, three RCT and six G. SR and RCT analysis show that the use of oral acyclovir in chickenpox treatment is associated with a reduction of the number of days of fever and the maximum number of lesions. These are small effects that are only present when the medication is started during the first 24h of rash. There are no clinically important differences concerning chickenpox secondary complications between the acyclovir and placebo treatment. Consequently, the use of oral acyclovir is not routinely recommended in the immunocompetent paediatric population (Recommendation A). The guidelines are consistent with this recommendation. Conclusions: Apart from the modest effects of acyclovir in symptoms improvement, the need for an early administration of this medication, as well as its posology, turns difficult its use. Further studies are needed to evaluate acyclovir cost-benefit relation, and the safety and efficacy of other antiviral drugs in children.

Health and fitness apps have potential benefits to improve self-management and disease control among patients with asthma. However, inconsistent use rates have been reported across studies, regions, and health systems. A better understanding of the characteristics of users and nonusers is critical to design solutions that are effectively integrated in patients’ daily lives, and to ensure that these equitably reach out to different groups of patients, thus improving rather than entrenching health inequities.