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McCord R, Cronk R, Tomaro J, Reuland F, Behnke N, Mmodzi Tseka J, Banda C, Kafanikhale H, Mofolo I, Hoffman I, Bartram J. The implementation of environmental health policies in health care facilities: The case of Malawi. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2019; 222:705-716. [PMID: 31101502 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Establishing and maintaining safe and sufficient environmental health (EH) conditions in health care facilities (HCFs) is important to prevent and control infections. In 2018, the Government of Malawi finalized an environmental health policy that defines specific targets and programs for EH in healthcare settings. This and other related policies have been used since 2010 as a guide for EH practice in HCFs, but the implementation of these policies has been incomplete to-date. This study qualitatively examines the successes and shortcomings of implementing these policies in Malawi's public HCFs. Thematic analysis of interviews with 53 respondents from all levels of government was used to identify the successes of the policies and the barriers to effective implementation using Contextual Interaction Theory. The greatest identified strength lies in the design of the EH department and its ability to connect individual HCFs and EH actors directly to the policy-making level of government. Identified barriers to implementation include: insufficient financial support; lack of human resources; incomplete reporting; poor stakeholder coordination; and insufficient training of EH actors. We recommend refresher trainings for all EH actors, the establishment of a directorate level EH position, and strengthened coordination to improve the collection, analysis, and reporting of monitoring data to enable EH actors to advocate for the additional funding needed to develop programs for EH personnel and to apply effective EH interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- R McCord
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA.
| | - R Cronk
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, USA
| | - J Tomaro
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, USA
| | - F Reuland
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, USA
| | - N Behnke
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, USA
| | | | - C Banda
- Malawi Ministry of Health and Population and Population, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - H Kafanikhale
- Malawi Ministry of Health and Population and Population, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - I Mofolo
- UNC Project-Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi; Department of Medicine, UNC-CH, USA
| | - I Hoffman
- UNC Project-Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi; Department of Medicine, UNC-CH, USA
| | - J Bartram
- The Water Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-CH, USA
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Maurer M, Staubach P, Raap U, Richter-Huhn G, Bauer A, Ruëff F, Jakob T, Yazdi AS, Mahler V, Wagner N, Lippert U, Hillen U, Schwinn A, Pawlak M, Behnke N, Chaouche K, Chapman-Rothe N. H1-antihistamine-refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria: it's worse than we thought - first results of the multicenter real-life AWARE study. Clin Exp Allergy 2017; 47:684-692. [PMID: 28160338 DOI: 10.1111/cea.12900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most data on chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) originate from highly selected patient populations treated at specialized centres. Little is known about CSU patient characteristics and the burden of CSU in routine clinical practice. AWARE (A World-wide Antihistamine-Refractory chronic urticaria patient Evaluation) is an ongoing global study designed to assess chronic urticaria in the real-life setting. OBJECTIVE To describe the baseline characteristics of the first 1539 German AWARE patients with H1-antihistamine-refractory CSU. METHODS This prospective non-interventional study included patients (18-75 years) with a diagnosis of H1-antihistamine-refractory CSU for > 2 months. Baseline demographic and disease characteristics, comorbidities, and pharmacological treatments were recorded. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the dermatology life quality index (DLQI), chronic urticaria QoL questionnaire (CU-Q2 oL), and angioedema QoL questionnaire (AE-QoL, in cases of angioedema). Previous healthcare resource utilization and sick leave data were collected retrospectively. RESULTS Between March and December 2014, 1539 patients were assessed in 256 sites across Germany. The percentage of females, mean age, and mean body mass index were 70%, 46.3 years, and 27 kg/m2 , respectively. The mean urticaria control test score was 7.9, one in two patients had angioedema, and the most frequent comorbidities were chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU; 24%), allergic rhinitis (18.2%), hypertension (18.1%), asthma (12%), and depression (9.5%). Overall, 57.6% of patients were receiving at least one pharmacological treatment including second-generation H1-antihistamines (46.3%), first-generation H1-antihistamines (9.1%), and corticosteroids (15.8%). The mean DLQI, total CU-Q2 oL, and total AE-QoL scores were 8.3, 36.2, and 46.8, respectively. CSU patients reported frequent use of healthcare resources, including emergency services (29.7%), general practitioners (71.9%), and additional allergists or dermatologists (50.7%). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE This study reveals that German H1-antihistamine-refractory CSU patients have high rates of uncontrolled disease, angioedema, and comorbid CIndU, are undertreated, have impaired QoL, and rely heavily on healthcare resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Maurer
- Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - P Staubach
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - U Raap
- Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Klinikum Oldenburg AöR, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | | | - A Bauer
- Department of Dermatology, University Allergy Center, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - F Ruëff
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - T Jakob
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Justus Liebig University, University Medical Center Gießen and Marburg, Gießen, Germany.,Department of Dermatology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - A S Yazdi
- Department of Dermatology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - V Mahler
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - N Wagner
- Department of Dermatology, Clinical Centre Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - U Lippert
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Center, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - U Hillen
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - A Schwinn
- Praxis für Dermatologie, Memmingen, Germany
| | - M Pawlak
- Hautarztpraxis, Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Germany
| | - N Behnke
- Hautarztpraxis, Panketal, Germany
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Abstract
We report on 4 elderly patients aged 54-85 years with histopathologically diagnosed pilomatricoma who had been seen in our department from 1993 to 1997. Pilomatricoma is a rather uncommon neoplasm in middle-aged and old patients. It is much better known in children. Here, we clinically studied these 4 cases of pilomatricoma in elderly patients (above 50 years of age) to show the variety of clinical differential diagnosis and discuss the clinicopathological features. The results of the present study indicate that the differential diagnosis of pilomatricoma should also be considered in elderly individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Behnke
- Department of Dermatology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Meng W, Schindler A, Spieker K, Krabbe S, Behnke N, Schulze W, Blümel C. [Iodine therapy for iodine deficiency goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. A prospective study]. Med Klin (Munich) 1999; 94:597-602. [PMID: 10603730 DOI: 10.1007/bf03044999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
PROBLEM There is epidemiological and clinical evidence that iodine may induce or promote the manifestation of autoimmune thyroiditis. For this reason it is important to know if substitution of alimentary iodine deficiency or iodine treatment of endemic goitre can cause formation of thyroid antibodies. On the other hand the practical importance of this phenomenon should be evaluated. PATIENTS AND METHODS During a prospective study we examined 209 patients with endemic non-toxic goitre and 53 healthy people. For treatment were used 200 micrograms iodine/d (n = 119), 500 micrograms iodine/d (n = 27), 1.5 mg iodine/week (n = 41), 150 micrograms iodine/d plus 75 to 100 micrograms T4/d (n = 26), 100 micrograms iodine plus 100 micrograms T4/d (n = 24). The observation took 1 year with a 3-month interval for check ups including clinical examination, ultrasound, TSH, T3, fT4, TPO- and thyreoglobuline antibodies and urinary iodine. RESULTS After 12 months 7.5% of iodine treated persons had produced antibodies, most of them at low levels. In healthy people we found increased antibody-levels in 3.8%, in patients with goitre in 9.0%, in patients with nodular goitres in 11.1%. 500 micrograms iodine caused the most antibody reaction in 14.8%. People treated with 200 micrograms iodine/d showed positive antibody levels in 5%. T4 seems to reduce antibody-reactions. Pathological antibody-levels were not found in patients with combined iodine/T4- and single-T4 therapy. Among the 22 primary pathological antibody levels only 4 increased further (18.2%). Three of them belonged to the group of 5 persons treated with 500 micrograms iodine/d. Primary high antibody values were normalized in 5 patients (22.7%). Hypothyroid disturbances were not found. Ultrasound did not show any alterations, and the reduction of thyroid volumes in antibody-positive patients was not affected. Median urinary iodine excretion during the observation-interval was 5.2 to 7.2 micrograms/dl. CONCLUSIONS Possible antibody reactions have no clinical importance at all. Individual cases must be observed. Low iodine doses should be preferred. Combined iodine/T4 treatment seems to have an advantage regarding immunological thyroidal reactions.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Drug Therapy, Combination
- Female
- Goiter, Endemic/blood
- Goiter, Endemic/drug therapy
- Goiter, Endemic/immunology
- Goiter, Endemic/urine
- Humans
- Immunoglobulins, Thyroid-Stimulating/blood
- Immunoglobulins, Thyroid-Stimulating/immunology
- Immunoglobulins, Thyroid-Stimulating/metabolism
- Iodine/adverse effects
- Iodine/blood
- Iodine/deficiency
- Iodine/immunology
- Iodine/therapeutic use
- Iodine/urine
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Prospective Studies
- Remission Induction
- Thyroid Function Tests
- Thyroid Gland/metabolism
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/blood
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/drug therapy
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/immunology
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/urine
- Thyroxine/therapeutic use
- Treatment Outcome
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Affiliation(s)
- W Meng
- Abteilung für Endokrinologie und Stoffwechselkrankheiten, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald.
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Behnke N, Müller W, Neumann J, Schmitz W, Scholz H, Stein B. Differential antagonism by 1,3-dipropylxanthine-8-cyclopentylxanthine and 9-chloro-2-(2-furanyl)-5,6-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo(1,5-c)quinazolin-5-im ine of the effects of adenosine derivatives in the presence of isoprenaline on contractile response and cyclic AMP content in cardiomyocytes. Evidence for the coexistence of A1- and A2-adenosine receptors on cardiomyocytes. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1990; 254:1017-23. [PMID: 2168481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The antagonism by the A1-adenosine receptor antagonist 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX) and the A2-adenosine receptor antagonist [9-chloro-2-(2-furanyl)-5,6-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo (1,5-c)quinazolin-5-imine] (CGS 15943A) of the effects of the A1-adenosine receptor agonist (-)-N6-phenylisopropyladenosine (R-PIA) and the A2-adenosine receptor agonist 5'-N-ethyl-carboxamideadenosine (NECA) in the presence of isoprenaline on contractile response and cyclic AMP (cAMP) content in cardiomyocytes from guinea pig cardiac ventricles were studied. In electrically driven (1 Hz) guinea pig ventricular cardiomyocytes R-PIA concentration-dependently (0.0001-100 microM) reduced the stimulatory effects of isoprenaline (0.01 microM) on contractile response and on cAMP content. The A1-adenosine receptor antagonist DPCPX (0.3 microM) antagonized the effects of R-PIA on contractile reponse and on cAMP content, whereas the A2-adenosine receptor antagonist CGS 15943A (0.01 microM) was ineffective. NECA (0.0001-100 microM) reduced the effects of isoprenaline (0.01 microM) on contractile response to about the same extent as R-PIA. However, NECA did not change cAMP content. DPCPX (0.3 microM) antagonized the effects of NECA on contractile response and evoked a cAMP-increasing effect of NECA, which was 38% of the isoprenaline value at most. In contrast, CGS 15943A did not affect the reduction of contractile response induced by NECA, whereas CGS 15943A revealed a cAMP-decreasing effect of NECA (0.1-10 microM). This study provides functional evidence that both, cAMP-decreasing A1- and cAMP-increasing A2-adenosine receptors are present on ventricular cardiomyocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Affiliation(s)
- N Behnke
- Abteilung Allgemeine Pharmakologie, Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf, Universität Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany
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