Perceptions of medical doctors and patients about imaging for people with low back pain: A qualitative study.

Background: Low-value care is the use of substitutive/ineffective/harmful strategies based on available evidence, and it is considered one of the main contributors to the burden related to low back pain in health care systems. The use of routine imaging for patients with low back pain is the main example of inappropriate care. Therefore, understanding the perceptions of medical doctors and patients from Brazil about this practice may help propose strategies to reduce imaging rates.

Efficacy/effectiveness and safety of emicizumab prophylaxis of people with hemophilia A: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Emicizumab is a monoclonal antibody approved for prophylaxis against bleeds for people with hemophilia A (PwHA). A systematic review was conducted evaluating the efficacy/effectiveness and the safety of emicizumab as prophylaxis for PwHA compared to prophylaxis with factor VIII (FVIII) or bypassing agents (BPA), respectively in patients without and with inhibitors.

Research Design And Methods: Database-directed search strategies were performed in Aug/26/2022 and updated in Mar/16/2023.

Emicizumab prophylaxis for people with hemophilia A: Waste estimation and the Brazilian perspective.

Costs of hemophilia A treatment are increasing. Waste of clotting products should be avoided. To estimate the first-year waste of emicizumab prophylaxis for people with hemophilia A and inhibitors (PwHAi) who failed immune tolerance induction (ITI), in Brazil.

Economic Evaluation of Immune Tolerance Induction in Children With Severe Hemophilia A and High-Responding Inhibitors: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Prophylaxis With Emicizumab.

Objective: This study aimed to measure the cost-effectiveness of prophylaxis with emicizumab in PsHAhri on ITI in Brazil.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness modeling analysis was used to estimate the costs per PsHAhri on ITI and the number of prevented bleedings from undertaking one intervention (prophylaxis with BpA) over another (prophylaxis with emicizumab), based on the Brazilian Ministry of Health perspective. Costs of ITI with recombinant FVIII, prophylaxis with BpA or emicizumab, and treated bleeding episodes with BpA costs were evaluated for PsHAhri who had ITI success or failure.

Instruments to Measure Patient Satisfaction with Comprehensive Medication Management Services: A Scoping Review Protocol.

Comprehensive medication management (CMM) is the service offered within the clinical practice of pharmaceutical care, which has the objective to optimize pharmacotherapeutic outcomes. Patient satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that points to the quality of the health services offered and the degree to which the patients' expectations and needs are met. The evaluation of the level of patient satisfaction is a key indicator to support decisions and to improve the quality of the service provided.

Primary pituitary abscess: case report and suggested management algorithm.

Purpose: To describe a case of successful treatment of a patient with a rare primary pituitary abscess (PA) and propose a management algorithm.

Summary Of Background Data: PA is an infrequent entity that can be life-threatening if not promptly diagnosed and treated. PAs can be primary or secondary, the latter in the presence of sellar anomalies, risk factors or a systemic or local infection.

Crizotinib Versus Conventional Chemotherapy in First-Line Treatment for ALK-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer and the main cause of death from malignant neoplasms worldwide. One of the most recent discoveries in the context of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was the mutation of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase receptor (ALK). This genetic alteration is found in approximately 2-5% of NSCLC patients, and crizotinib was the first targeted therapy discovered for its first-line treatment.

Access to medicines in the Brazilian Unified Health System's primary health care: assessment of a public policy.

In 2008, the Programa Rede Farmácia de Minas (RFM, literally translated: 'Minas Gerais Pharmacy Network' program) was created as a strategy to expand access to medicines. Measure access to medicines in public pharmacies through comparison between municipalities that joined or not the RFM. Cross-sectional, evaluative study, gathering information from a representative sample of the municipalities in Minas Gerais between July 2014 and May 2015.

Strategies to improve the availability of medicines in primary health care in Brazil: findings and implications.

Access to essential medicines is a key component of managing patients in ambulatory care. In 2008, the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, created the Pharmacy Network of Minas (Rede Farmácia de Minas [RFM]) program to improve access to medicines, increasing availability and restructuring the infrastructures. The aim was to assess the current situation, comparing municipalities with and without RFM.

Use of medicines by adults in primary care: Survey on health services in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Introduction: Inappropriate use and increase of health care spending reinforce the need to extend our knowledge about the quality of medication use.

Objectives: To describe and evaluate the profile of medication use in a representative sample of adult users of primary care services in the Unified Health System (SUS) of Minas Gerais.

Method: Cross-sectional study, with 1,159 interviewees in 104 municipalities and 253 health care services.

Indicator of access to medicines in relation to the multiple dimensions of access.

Creation of a single indicator of access to medicines. Data collection was performed with individuals who obtained their medication from either public and/or private pharmacies. A Likert scale was used to measure the importance and satisfaction in relation to various access dimensions.

Infrastructure evaluation of Pharmaceutical Services in the National Health System of Minas Gerais.

Objectives: To characterize the infrastructure of public pharmacies in Minas Gerais, comparing municipalities that have received the RFM program to the ones that haven't, in order to verify if the State's Economic Incentives implied in improvement of local Pharmaceutical Services (PS).

Methods: A cross-sectional, exploratory, evaluative study in a representative sample of the municipalities of Minas Gerais. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with users, physicians, and drug dispensers, as well as observation of pharmacy facilities and telephone interviews with municipal officials from the PS.

Rituximab for rheumatoid arthrits treatment: a systematic review.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic joint inflammation that often leads to significant disability. Several effective anti-TNF agents have been used, but some patients have shown an inadequate response. Rituximab is a therapeutic monoclonal antibody indicated in such cases.

Treatment of psoriatic arthritis with anti-TNF agents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, effectiveness and safety.

We did a systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy and safety of the anti-TNF drugs adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab and infliximab used in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) adult treatment. Additionally, we present results of anti-TNF use in real life settings. We searched Embase, Medline, Cochrane Central and LILACS, from inception to 11/08/2013, for studies comparing anti-TNFs with each other or with controls.

Treatment of ankylosing spondylitis with TNF blockers: a meta-analysis.

Biological agents directed against tumor necrosis factor (TNF) represent therapeutic options for patients with ankylosing spondylitis with high disease activity despite use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the anti-TNF agents infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, golimumab, and certolizumab for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, we performed a systematic review of randomized clinical trials on adult patients with ankylosing spondylitis using articles culled from the EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and LILACS databases (September/2012), manual literature search, and the gray literature. Study selections and data collection were performed by two independent reviewers, with disagreements solved by a third reviewer.