Absenteeism and associated factors: a study addressing the workers from a footwear manufacturer.

Objectives: To characterize absenteeism among the workers of a footwear manufacturer and analyze associated factors.

Method: This quantitative and cross-sectional study addressed 572 workers from a footwear company located in southern Brazil, totaling 1,902 sick leaves in 2017. Analyses considered absolute and relative frequencies, and univariate and multivariate Poisson regression models were performed.

Continuous Physiological Monitoring Improves Patient Outcomes.

Background: General patient acuity is increasing in the United States, with more patients having multiple comorbidities and acute-on-chronic conditions. Hospitalizations may also be complicated by serious adverse events, often unrelated to the admitting medical diagnosis. In our facility, the late detection of patient deterioration on general medical units often resulted in increased length of stay (LOS) in the ICU and poor patient outcomes.

Occupational health nurses: interdisciplinary experience in occupational health.

Objective:: to analyze the relationship of occupational health nurses with the other members of the Specialized Service in Safety Engineering and Occupational Medicine (SESMT) and characterize joint actions of these professionals in occupational health.

Method:: qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study with 34 professionals of seven companies from the South Macroregion of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Interviews and observations were conducted for content analysis of Bardin.

[Hypercapnic failure in patients with COPD under 4 weeks non-invasive, home mechanical ventilation].

Background: In patients with severe COPD, ventilatory pump failure is a separate pathophysiological factor. Non-invasive ventilatory support has been introduced in COPD with acute-on-chronic respiratory failure according to evidence-based medicine, but the benefit of long-term ventilation is still not proven. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of carbon dioxide-reducing, non-invasive, home mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure due to stable COPD.

Effectiveness of a hospital-wide selective screening programme for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriers at hospital admission to prevent hospital-acquired MRSA infections.

Screening of potential MRSA-positive patients at hospital admission is recommended in German and international guidelines. This policy has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of nosocomial MRSA transmissions in the event of an outbreak, but the influence of screening on reducing hospital-acquired MRSA infections in a hospital setting where MRSA is endemic is not yet well-documented. This study describes the effect of hospital-wide screening of defined risk groups in a 700-bed acute care hospital during a period of 19 months.