Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that cryotherapy duration influences lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in a rat model. Materials and Methods: Six Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) were used. Five sites were selected per animal and divided into 5 groups: a negative control group (NC), 2 positive control groups (PC1 and PC2), and 2 experimental groups (E1 and E2). Cryotherapy was applied for 1 minute (E1) or 5 minutes (E2). An acute inflammatory response was induced in the PC and E groups via subcutaneous administration of 0.5 mL/kg. In the PC2 group, a catheter was inserted without additional treatment. For the E1 and E2 groups, 2.5°C saline solution was administered through the implanted catheters for 1 and 5 minutes, respectively.The rats were sacrificed, and samples were obtained and processed for histological analysis, specifically examining the presence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils and hemorrhage. The χ 2 test was used to compare the presence of acute inflammation across groups. Dependent variables were compared using the linear-by-linear association test. Results: Inflammation and hemorrhage varied significantly among the groups (p = 0.001). A significantly higher degree of acute inflammation was detected (p = 0.0002) in the PC and E1 samples than in the E2 group, in which cryotherapy was administered for 5 minutes. The PC and E1 groups also exhibited significantly greater numbers of neutrophils (p = 0.007), which were essentially absent in both the NC and E2 groups. Conclusions Cryotherapy administration for 5 minutes reduced the acute inflammation associated with LPS and catheter implantation.

Introduction : The increasing aging population of the Philippines impacts on the socioeconomic development of the country, prompting a deeper look into their quality of life. This study sought to determine the effect of the Elderly Development Program on the quality of life of the elderly population of Los Baños. Methods : A 4-month prospective cohort study of the elderly population in Los Baños, Laguna compared the quality of life scores of a group enrolled in the Elderly Development Program and an unexposed control, using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Abbreviated Version for Filipino Older Persons questionnaire. Results : Quality of life scores where higher for the EDP group during the four months of observation. In Month 2, significant differences were found in all domains except for the psychological domain. Only the physical health domain score was significant in the EDP group for Month 3 (p = 0.003) and Month 4 (p = 0.029). Both the EDP and control groups had higher overall and domain scores in Month 4 compared with baseline. Conclusion The Elderly Development Program may improve the overall quality of life of elderly persons, specifically in the physical health domain. These improvements are likely due to the focus of the program on the physical aspect of the elderly.
Aged ; Quality of Life

INTRODUCTION: Advance directives are documents by which a person makes provisions for health care decisions in the event that, in the future, that person becomes unable to make those decisions. There is a lack of studies on the knowledge and understanding towards advance directives among patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to address this lack of research regarding advance directives by measuring the level of knowledge and attitudes of families of hospitalized patients. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used to describe the attitudes and the level of knowledge on advance directives of the families of patients. Data were collected directly by the researchers via assisted questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were reported. RESULTS: A total of 79 participants consisting of immediate family members of patients from UERMMMCI were enrolled. Only 24% reported having discussed advance directives with the patient's physician. Those respondents whose families had no discussion with their physician about advance directives had the same score as those who had. Overall, 61% of participants have only medium to low knowledge of advance directives, while 70% have positive attitudes regarding advance directives. CONCLUSION The study showed that the family members of patients had a reasonable understanding of advance directives in terms of basic knowledge, and positive attitudes on advance directives. Those who denied having discussed advance directives were comparable in the knowledge of advance directives with those who did.