Acta Medica Port
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Clostridium difficile infection has been increasingly reported, with a significant healthcare burden and important morbimortality. This study aimed to characterize and describe the severity and outcomes of this event at a Portuguese hospital. ⋯ Data concerning Clostridium difficile infection severity and prognosis in Portugal is scarce, and future studies should focus on this important topic.
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[Alcohol Drinking in Higher Education Students from Coimbra and the Impact of Academic Festivities].
The international and national literature as well as studies carried out in universities in Portugal show there is excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking. However, no relation with alcohol consumption and college parties has yet been established. The aim of this study was to assess the association between alcohol consumption and binge drinking with college parties, and also to understand specific patterns of alcohol consumption by gender and years of university attendance. ⋯ College parties allow for more opportunities of pre-existing binge drinking. The way young people face alcohol consumption is a major problem to be addressed.
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Nonmedical use of prescription drugs and other substances for cognitive enhancement in the academic environment has been documented in several studies. However, the prevalence among Portuguese university students is unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence and academic contexts of the use of cognitive enhancers of a sample of Portuguese medical students. ⋯ Studying drugtaking behaviors in medical students and young doctors is relevant for public health and medical education, since they will soon be in charge of drugs prescription. Therefore, ethical and medical concerns raised by off label consumption of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement purposes must be openly addressed.
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Alcohol consumption ranks among the top ten risk factors contributing to the global disease burden. Several international organizations recommend the use of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test to screen for at-risk drinkers. However, a fully validated Portuguese version of this test is lacking. The aim of this study is to systematically review validated versions of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test in the Portuguese language, the documented problems and solutions in its application and proposed cut-offs to identify at-risk drinkers. ⋯ This review will provide important information on the validity of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test as a screening tool for at-risk drinking in Portugal and other official Portuguese speaking countries.