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Objective: To compare differences in self-reported musculoskeletal pain before and after receiving rapid acupuncture for pain at an outpatient emergency department., Methods: Exactly 102 patients presenting to the emergency room of the Hospital Servidor Publico Estadual in Sao Paulo, Brazil, participated in this before-and-after study. All participants had musculoskeletal pain and were treated with the technique proposed by Marques Filho. This emergency acupuncture involved inserting a needle at a point defined by traditional Chinese medicine and applying intense stimulation for 10 s; no more than two points were used on any individual patient. Pain was measured using a numerical visual scale before and immediately after the procedure., Results: Participants in this study were mostly women (78%), had a college degree (47%) and were below the age of 60 (56%). The most common region of pain was the lower back (31%), and the most common type of pain was acute and exacerbated chronic pain. The meridians most commonly involved were the eight extra meridians (40%), and the points most often used for treatment were Houxi (SI3), Shenmai (BL62) and Zulinqi (GB41). Almost all participants reported a decrease in pain intensity, independent of sex, education level, pain site and pain type (acute/chronic; P < 0.05). At the end of the session, only 4% of the participants reported a desire for allopathic medication., Conclusion: This emergency acupuncture technique for analgesia appears to reduce musculoskeletal pain., Trial Registration: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/) with No. RBR-8dmfjf., (Copyright © 2020 Shanghai Changhai Hospital. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of physical activity on the use of the health system and the quality of life in sedentary elderly., Methods: A prospective interventional study was carried out between March 2010 and February 2011 with 100 subjects (60-90 years of age,) divided into active group (AG) and control group (CG). During this period, AG performed physical exercise twice a week in 60-minute sessions and the CG remained sedentary with observation of their activities. Before and after the study, all subjects were clinically evaluated and completed a quality of life questionnaire., Results: Eighty-nine subjects (AG = 44; CG = 45) were analyzed. AG had fewer visits to emergency room (p = 0.0056), hospitalizations (p = 0.0011), length of hospital stay (p = 0.0012) and fewer subsidiary tests (p = 0.0236) compared to the CG. The quality of life score analyzed before and after physical activity increased in AG compared to CG (p < 0.0001) and among subjects in AG (p < 0.0001), with no change in the CG., Conclusion: The intervention of a physical activity program for sedentary elderly can contribute to reduce the use of the health system and improve the quality of life. Level of evidence II, Therapeutics Studies. Prospective comparative study. , Competing Interests: All authors declare no potential conflict of interest related to this article.

Context: Viral hepatitis is a disease of compulsory notification and is very important due to its high prevalence., Objective: To analyze the epidemiological profiles of hepatitis B and C, reported through surveillance at the 'Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual', São Paulo, SP, Brazil, from January 2004 to April 2007., Methods and Results: The study revealed 112 confirmed cases of hepatitis B and 651 of hepatitis C. Male gender predominated among hepatitis B while female gender predominated among hepatitis C, statistically significant. Hepatitis B occurred mainly among patients from 30 to 39 years old (P<0.01), and hepatitis C was more frequent among patients from 40 to 49 years old (P = 0.49). Asthenia was the most frequent symptom. The main risk factors were: sexually transmitted diseases (hepatitis B; P<0.01), previous surgery and blood transfusion (hepatitis C; P<0.01). Cases were mostly confirmed through laboratory tests. Chronic hepatitis occurred in 54.5% and 81.7% cases of hepatitis B and C, respectively (P<0.01). Virus B was mostly transmitted by sexual contact (P<0.01); virus C was transmitted mainly by blood transfusion (P<0.01)., Conclusions: The findings were similar to national and international data available. Epidemiologic surveillance plays an important role in determining the viral hepatitis profile in order to provide adequate screening and prevention.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of a set of risk factors for non-transmissible chronic diseases and compare it to that found 15-16 years ago in a similar survey., Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was carried out comprising a random sample of people aged 15-59 years in the city of São Paulo between 2001 and 2002. The total of 2,103 people answered a questionnaire and had their blood pressure, weight, height, waist and hip circumferences measured. For a third of these participants, their total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels were determined., Results: The total age-adjusted prevalences in the study age group were as follows: smoking, 22.6%; uncontrolled blood pressure, 24.3%; obesity, 13.7%; increased waist circumference, 19.7%; total cholesterol >or =240 mg/dL, 8.1%; HDL-cholesterol <40 mg/dL, 27.1%; triglycerides > or =200 mg/dL, 14.4%; and blood glucose > or =110 mg/dL, 6.8%. Smoking, uncontrolled blood pressure, high total cholesterol, low HDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides were significantly more prevalent in men than women., Conclusions: The prevalences of a set of risk factors for chronic diseases showed men to have a poorer condition than women. In comparison to the previous survey, the prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure remained unchanged but the prevalence of smoking has significantly lowered.