INTRODUCTION: Abuse of the elderly exists as a problem in both developed and developing countries. It can be in the form of fnancial exploitation, abandonment, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, and the most common perpetrators are their own caregivers. This study aimed to determine the proportion of family caregivers in Metro Manila at risk for committing elder abuse. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was employed and data collection was done via a Google Form online survey. It consisted of two parts, the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) questionnaire and the Short Form Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-12). Respondents were recruited by non-probability convenience sampling. Google Sheets was used for data encoding and analysis. RESULTS: The study found that 29.03% of family caregivers have a high risk of abuse. The risk of committing elder abuse was highest among 18 to 32 year-old caregivers, males, those with monthly income of less than PhP 7,890, and those with at least a college or postgraduate degree. Most of the respondents were also found to have no to mild burden. CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that there was a signifcant proportion of family caregivers at risk for elder abuse.
Caregivers

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy ofdexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg (DEX) for treatment of macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).Methods This study was a six-month,randomized,double-masked,sham-controlled,multicenter,phase 3 clinical trial with a 2-month open-label study extension.Patients with branch or central RVO received DEX (n=129) or sham procedure (n=130) in the study eye at baseline;all patients who met re-treatment criteria received DEX at month 6.Efficacy measures included Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS),best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA),and central retinal thickness (CRT) on optical coherence tomography.Results Time to ＞ 15-letter BCVA improvement from baseline during the first 6 months (primary endpoint) was earlier with DEX than sham (P＜ 0.001).At month 2 (peak effect),the percentage of patients with ≥ 15-letter BCVA improvement from baseline was DEX:34.9％,sham:11.5％;mean BCVA change from baseline was DEX:10.6± 10.4 letters,sham:1.7 ± 12.3 letters;and mean CRT change from baseline was DEX:-407 ± 212 μm,sham:-62 ± 224 μm (all P＜0.001).Outcomes were better with DEX than sham in both branch and central RVO.The most common treatment-emergent adverse event was in-creased intraocular pressure (IOP).Increase sin IOP generally were controlled with topical medication.Mean IOP normalized by month 4,and no patient required incisional glaucoma surgery.Conclusions DEX had a favorable safety profile and provided clinically significant benefit in a Chinese patient population with RVO.Visual and anatomic outcomes were improved with DEX relative to sham for 3-4 months after a single implant.

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the pressure ulcer bundle of care (PUB) in preventing pressure ulcers among patients in acute care. The pre and post-test quasi-experimental design was utilized to predict a model of preventing pressure ulcer in acute care setting. Thirty acute care patients with moderate risk for pressure ulcers were randomly selected to receive the following five PUB interventions: assessment of pressure ulcer risk, repositioning, head elevation, heel elevation, and frequent diet monitoring. Pressure ulcer risk was assessed using the Braden risk assessment scale before and after PUB interventions. This scale assesses important aspects of ulcer formation according to six subscales: sensory perception, moisture, mobility, physical activity, nutrition, and friction/shear. Profile of the patients according to age, sex, and length of hospital stay was described using frequency and percentage distribution. Bundle compliance, as measured by performance of the five interventions was described using mean scores and standard deviations. The t-test was used to determine the differences in pressure ulcer risk or occurrence between pre- and post-intervention phases. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship of Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment  Scores (PURAS) to the PUB, and to identify the predictor(s)  of PURAS among the four interventions in the PUB. Statistical significance was considered at the .05 level. Pressure ulcer risk scores of patients improved significantly from "mild risk" to "not a risk" post-PUB (p=<0.001). Head elevation, heel elevation, and diet monitoring were found to be predictors of pressure ulcer risk scores after PUB interventions. Repositioning was not significantly associated with pressure ulcer risk scores of patients after PUB interventions. The three predictor model revealed the PUB interventions were able to account for 52% of the variance in pressure ulcer risk scores, which indicates a strong significant relationship between patients receiving PUB and their improvement in pressure ulcer risk. In conclusion, the pressure ulcer bundle of care intervention is effective in prevention of pressure ulcers in patients at risk. Nurses should adopt the provision of bundle of care intervention(s) to enhance patient safety and quality of care.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; PRESSURE ULCER ; ULCER

Objective: Micropapillary thyroid carcinoma (micro-PTC) has a good prognosis but a number of cases will present with aggressive behavior. This study aims to determine the clinical outcomes with surgical management and histopathologic characteristics of Filipino patients with micro-PTC at University of Santo Tomas Hospital. Methodology: 139 patients were diagnosed with micro-PTC from the year 2004-2011. Seventy five patients had complete data and were included in this retrospective study. Chi square test with Yates correction, T-test for tumor diameter, statistical means and percentages were used in data analysis. Results: A total of 1,689 thyroid surgeries were done between 2004 and 2011. There were 1,054 patients (62.4%) diagnosed with benign thyroid tumor(s) and 635 patients (37.6%) with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Of these, 139 (22%) patients have micro-PTC. The prevalence rate of micro-PTC was 22%, with a female predominance (86.6%). The patients’ ages ranged from 24-80 years old with a mean age of 47 years. Comparison of groups showed that having either incidental or non-incidental micro-PTC is independent of the clinical variables of the patient. Two (2.6%) patients initially presented with cranial and supraclavicular metastasis. This study had a low recurrence rate (5.3%) and a mortality rate of 1.3%. Conclusion Male gender is the only significant variable for lymph node and distant metastasis. The patient’s age, family history of cancer, number of foci, size and histological type of tumor have no prognostic value.
Thyroidectomy