Decentralizing referral prioritization to general practitioners at the primary care level: A qualitative case study based on the Grounded Theory.

Background: Patient referral prioritizations is an essential process in coordinating healthcare delivery, since it organizes the waiting lists according to priorities and availability of resources.

Objective: This study aims to highlight the consequences of decentralizing ambulatory patient referrals to general practitioners that work as family physicians in primary care clinics.

Methods: A qualitative case study was carried out in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.

Burden of rheumatoid arthritis on patients' work productivity and quality of life.

Background: To determine the burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) on patients' work productivity and health related quality of life (HRQoL), and examine the influence of several exposure variables; to analyze the progression of RA over 1 year and its impact on work productivity and HRQoL.

Methods: International multicenter prospective survey including patients in 18 centers in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico with diagnosis of RA and aged between 21-55 years. The following standard questionnaires were completed at baseline and throughout a 1-year follow-up: WPAI:RA, WALS, WLQ-25, EQ-5D-3 L and SF-36.

Similar frequency of abnormal correlation between serum leptin levels and BMI before and after olanzapine treatment in schizophrenia.

Melkersson proposed leptin dysregulation as a factor in the olanzapine-induced metabolic dysfunction. Their suggestion was based on the absence of the expected positive correlation between serum leptin levels and the BMI, and the loss of the sex-dependent difference in leptin levels, which are higher in women. Although subsequent studies did not confirm that proposal, few of them assessed basal leptin levels and corrected for body fat percentage.

Metformin as an adjunctive treatment to control body weight and metabolic dysfunction during olanzapine administration: a multicentric, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Excessive body weight gain (BWG) is a clinically relevant side effect of olanzapine administration. The primary objective of this study was to assess whether metformin prevents or reverses BWG in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder under olanzapine administration. Secondarily we evaluated diverse metabolic variables.