Validation of an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 16 drugs and metabolites in hair in the context of driving license granting.

The use of psychoactive substances has been associated with increased risk for traffic accidents. Hair testing has become a routine practice in clinical and forensic toxicological laboratories, with a unique perspective in the investigation of drug consumption. The study aimed to develop and validate a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of multiple drugs in hair, to be used for toxicological examination in driving license granting.

Phase Angle as a Sarcopenia Marker in Hospitalized Elderly Patients.

Background: Phase angle (PhA) has been proposed as a parameter to predict clinical outcomes and mortality for various diseases. Several studies have considered it an important nutrition assessment tool. However, the usefulness of this parameter as a sarcopenia marker has not yet been evaluated.

[Comparison of strength of the handshake with anthropometric and subjective parameters at the patients' nutritional assessment with liver diseas].

Objective: We aimed to assess the nutritional status of patients with chronic liver disease by evaluating the strength of grip of non-dominant hand (SGNDH), correlating it with other methods and analyzing their contribution to this assessment.

Methods: This study was conducted with patients having chronic chronic disease at the outpatient hepatology service of the Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira--IMIP, Recife-PE, from February to October 2010. Clinical and demographic variables were collected.

Nutritional, clinical and socioeconomic profile of patients with cystic fibrosis treated at a referral center in northeastern Brazil.

Objective: To describe the profile of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study involving CF patients < 18 years of age, evaluated between March and July of 2006 at a referral center in northeastern Brazil. Nutritional assessment was performed using Z scores for height/age (H/A), weight/age (W/A) and weight/height (W/H), as well as %weight/height (%W/H) and body composition measurements.