Health Professionals' Perspectives on Commercially Available Intravenous Nutrient Therapies: A Preliminary Report.

Background: Intravenous nutrient therapies (IVNTs) have gained popularity on the commercial market. Targeted at people with a variety of ailments and needs, the procedures allegedly offer numerous benefits and quick results, widely advertised on the websites of drip bars and health clinics as well as in the available literature. What is less often presented is the point of view of the customers of such services and the opinions of health personnel.

Development and Validation of a Health Behaviour Scale: Exploratory Factor Analysis on Data from a Multicentre Study in Female Primary Care Patients.

Health behaviours are the most important proximal determinants of health that can be either promoting or detrimental to the health of individuals. To assess and compare health behaviours in different socioeconomic groups within the population, a comprehensive, valid, reliable, and culturally appropriate measure is needed. This study aimed to develop a health behaviour questionnaire and validate it in a sample of female patients over 45 years of age with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Nurses' Perspectives on Smoking Policies, Safety and Cessation Support in Psychiatric Wards: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

A high prevalence of smoking and low rates of smoking cessation interventions can be observed in psychiatric wards. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study was performed in five hospitals among 107 psychiatric ward nurses. The aim was to investigate nurses' views on patients' smoking practices and their influence on the safety of both the patients and medical personnel.

Cohen's Kappa Coefficient as a Measure to Assess Classification Improvement following the Addition of a New Marker to a Regression Model.

The need to search for new measures describing the classification of a logistic regression model stems from the difficulty in searching for previously unknown factors that predict the occurrence of a disease. A classification quality assessment can be performed by testing the change in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Another approach is to use the Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI), which is based on a comparison between the predicted risk, determined on the basis of the basic model, and the predicted risk that comes from the model enriched with an additional factor.

[Risk factors for smoking in persons over 45].

Tobacco smoking has long been one of the most important risk factors contributing to the development of many health problems e.g. cardiovascular diseases respiratory diseases and cancers.

[Health behaviours among men age > 50 years with reference to risk factors cardiovascular diseases].

World Health Organization includes the eight main risk factors, which causes about 61% of cardiovascular deaths. These factors are: tobacco and alcohol use, high blood pressure, high body mass index, abnormal blood lipid levels, high blood glucose, a diet high in saturated fat and low in fruit and vegetable intake and physical inactivity. Thanks to them it's possible to expect probability of illness and its complication.

[Do antismoking campaigns fulfil their function?].

Smoking is a commonly recognized risk factor of civilization diseases. The number of damaging compounds, including carcinogenetic, inhaled by a smoker and exhaled, is directly proportional to a number of smoked cigarettes. Currently 32% of the Polish adult population smoke tobacco (38% males and 26% females), which is a serious social and healthy issue.

[Opinions about smoking bans and e-cigarettes among inhabitants of Poznan--the results of a pilot study].

The aim of the pilot study was to assess the opinions about smoking bans and e-cigarettes among inhabitants of Poznan. In this research we used inquiry-sheet public opinion tool verifying acquaintance of problem. Opinions in that survey were different among men and women.

[Smokers' motivation to quit smoking].

Smoking is a commonly recognized risk factor of civilization diseases. The number of damaging compounds, including carcinogenetic, inhaled by a smoker and exhaled, is directly proportional to a number of smoked cigarettes. Currently 32% of the Polish adult population smoke tobacco (38% males and 26% females), which is a serious social and healthy issue.

Lack of an association between Helicobacter infection and autoimmune hepatitis in children.

An association between Helicobacter infection and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in children was investigated. The prevalence of antibodies to H. pylori did not differ between the AIH and the control group, (22% versus 14%), and antibodies to non-gastric Helicobacter were not detected in either group.

Hepatitis B virus genotypes in children with chronic hepatitis B in Poland.

Objectives: To analyse the distribution of HBV genotypes in Polish children with chronic hepatitis B, and to assess the relation between the viral genotype and the severity of liver damage.

Methods: Serum samples from children with chronic hepatitis B were used for biochemical and serological testing, and for determination of HBV genotypes by a nested-multiplex-polymerase chain reaction. Liver biopsies were obtained for histological assessment, which was performed according to the Batts and Ludwig scoring system of chronic hepatitis.

[Persistence of hepatitis B virus in children after interferon-alpha therapy despite the seroconversion in HBsAg/anti-HBs system].

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess: (1) whether seroconversion to IgG anti-HBs, induced by IFN-alpha therapy in children with chronic active hepatitis B, is maintained 4-10 years after treatment; and (2) whether HBV-DNA is present in circulation despite the synthesis of anti-HBs.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from 38 patients and serological markers of HBV were determined in each of them. HBV-DNA was determined by PCR in anti-HBs positive sera.

Antimicrobial resistance of Helicobacter pylori in Poland: a multicentre study.

The resistance of Helicobacter pylori to antimicrobials, known to be increasing in many countries, is an important factor compromising the efficacy of eradication therapy. Therefore, our study aimed at analysing the current susceptibility status of H. pylori in Poland.

Prevalence of potential virulence markers in Polish Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates obtained from hospitalized children and from chicken carcasses.

The pathogenicity of thermotolerant Campylobacter species, common food-borne pathogens, depends on certain factors unevenly distributed among strains of different origin. The prevalence of such markers has never been examined in a population of Polish Campylobacter strains of human and poultry origin. Therefore, we analysed the presence of the cadF, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC genes and the iam sequence in Campylobacter jejuni (n = 115) and Campylobacter coli (n = 57) isolates from children with diarrhoea and from chicken carcasses.

Persistence of HBV-DNA in children with chronic hepatitis B who seroconverted to anti-HBs antibodies after interferon-alpha therapy: correlation with specific IgG subclass responses to HBsAg.

Background/aims: We examined the persistence of HBV-DNA in sera collected 4-10 years after IFN-alpha therapy from patients with chronic hepatitis B who had seroconverted to anti-HBs antibodies. We also wanted to assess whether any association exists between HBV-DNA status and the IgG anti-HBs subclass responses.

Methods: Sera were obtained from 38 patients and the following parameters were determined in each of them: (1) serological markers of HBV; (2) concentrations of IgM, IgG, IgA; (3) total IgG subclasses.

Antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae isolated from children with community-acquired respiratory tract infections in Central Poland.

Resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents among the key respiratory pathogens is increasing worldwide and therefore a rational choice of an empirical treatment requires knowledge of both global and local resistance patterns. The susceptibility of 185 Streptococcus pneumoniae and 169 Haemophilus influenzae isolates collected from January 1999 to May 2002 at the Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland, from 351 children with community-acquired respiratory tract infections (RTIs) has been determined. Of S.

Primary resistance of Helicobacter pylori to antimicrobial agents in Polish children.

Helicobacter pylori resistance to antimicrobial agents is an important factor compromising the efficacy of treatment. Therefore the aims of our study were: to determine the prevalence of H. pylori resistance to clarithromycin, metronidazole, amoxycillin and tetracycline in children prior to eradication therapy, to compare different methods of susceptibility testing and to detect mutations responsible for clarithromycin resistance.