Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Multicenter Study
Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among health-care workers in Serbia.
The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of occupational accidents and self-reported attitude of health-care workers (HCWs) in Serbia. ⋯ There was a relatively high rate of accidents among HCWs in our hospitals, most commonly amongst nurses and staff working in clinical wards, intensive care units and operating theaters. The most common types of accidents were needlestick injuries and accidents due to improper handling of contaminated sharp devices or occuring while cleaning instruments or by coming into contact with blood through damaged skin or through the conjunctiva/mucous membranes.
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The study aimed at determining the prevalence of incident occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) among healthcare personnel (HCP) during 2010 and at evaluating the factors associated with these incidents. ⋯ Needle stick injuries are the most common exposure among HCP in Kuwait, and nurses are the most frequently involved HCP category. A good proportion of exposures could be easily prevented. HBV vaccination coverage is incomplete.
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Most blood vessels are surrounded by a variable amount of adventitial adipose tissue, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which was originally thought to provide mechanical support for the vessel. It is now known that PVAT secretes a number of bioactive substances including vascular endothelial growth factor, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), leptin, adiponectin, insulin-like growth factor, interleukin-6, plasminogen activator substance, resistin and angiotensinogen. Several studies have shown that PVAT significantly modulated vascular smooth muscle contractions induced by a variety of agonists and electrical stimulation by releasing adipocyte-derived relaxing (ADRF) and contracting factors. ⋯ Other procontractile factors released by the PVAT include angiotensin II and superoxide. It is therefore possible that the loss could be due to an increased amount of these proinflammatory and procontractile factors. More studies are definitely required to confirm this.
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To evaluate the prescription of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM), using the Screening Tool of Older Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) and Beers criteria, to disabled older people. ⋯ This study revealed a high frequency of PIM in disabled older patients with chronic diseases, particularly those prescribed ≥6 medications.