Validating competencies for an undergraduate training program in rural medicine using the Delphi technique.

Introduction: Worldwide,half the population lives in rural or remote areas; however, less than 25% of doctors work in such regions. Despite the continental dimensions of Brazil and its enormous cultural diversity, only some medical schools in this country offer students the opportunity to acquire work experience focused on medicine in rural or remote areas. The objective of the present study was to develop a framework of competencies for a longitudinal medical training program in rural medicine as an integrated part of medical training in Brazil.

Influence of Enteral Nutrition on Occurrences of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of enteral feeding management on occurrences of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants.

Methods: This was a case-control study conducted in a sample of 1028 VLBW infants (750 to 1499 g) admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit between January 2003 and May 2008. "Cases" were infants born with VLBW and diagnosed with NEC within the first 30 days of life, and "controls" were VLBW infants who did not develop NEC during this period.

[Knowledge, attitude and practice about phototherapy among nursing professionals of teaching hospitals].

This article consists of a KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) survey to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of phototherapy among nursing professionals from two teaching hospitals at the city of Recife, Brazil, through semi-structured questionnaire applied to 111 professionals. It was used the T Student test to compare means of correct answers. Thus, there were higher means for practice, followed by those related to attitude and a lower percentage of correct answers for knowledge.

Efficacy of Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus casei oral supplementation on necrotizing enterocolitis in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Probiotics are used for the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) because of their positive effects on intestinal motor function, modulation of inflammatory response, and mucosal barrier function.

Objective: The objective was to assess whether the combined use of Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium breve may prevent the occurrence of NEC stage ≥ 2 by the criteria of Bell in very-low-birth-weight preterm infants.

Design: A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted in 231 preterm infants weighing from 750 to 1499 g at birth.

[Weight/length ratio: is it a good index to assess the nutritional status of full-term newborns?].

Objective: An accurate assessment of the nutritional status of an infant at birth is very important, since it provides information on early identification of pathological events related to intrauterine growth acceleration or retardation. Anthropometric ratios such as weight/length and mid-arm circumference/head circumference may be used as alternative tools for this purpose. The main objective of this study was to verify the correlation between triceps skinfold thickness with Rohrer Index, Body Mass Index, weight/length ratio, and mid-arm circumference/head circumference ratio.