Treating pain in patients with dementia and the possible concomitant relief of symptoms of agitation.

Dementia is an irreversible, progressive form of cognitive dysfunction that can affect memory, learning ability, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, linguistic skills and executive function but which does not impair consciousness. Pain prevalence is high among the elderly who are also at elevated risk for dementia. Pain control for dementia patients is important but can be challenging for clinicians as cognitive deficits can make it difficult to identify, localize and assess pain.

Effect of multiple honey doses on non-specific acute cough in children. An open randomised study and literature review.

Background: Honey is recommended for non-specific acute paediatric cough by the Australian guidelines. Current available randomised clinical trials evaluated the effects of a single evening dose of honey, but multiple doses outcomes have never been studied.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of wildflower honey, given for three subsequent evenings, on non-specific acute paediatric cough, compared to dextromethorphan (DM) and levodropropizine (LDP), which are the most prescribed over-the-counter (OTC) antitussives in Italy.

[The Rorschach test during chronic haemodialysis (author's transl)].

Twenty-eight patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis for renal failure and seven patients suffering from chronic uremia, but not on dialysis programs were submitted to the Rorschach test. The patients who were undergoing haemodialysis for less than one year showed higher signs of anxiety (shock and Hd responses); on the other hand patients undergoing the treatment for more than 5 years showed a generally worse quality response to the test. This bad performance was interpreted either as a sign of organic brain damage or as a worse cooperation in the test procedure.