Objective: To provide an update on trends in asthma mortality in Brazil for two age groups: 0-4 years and 5-34 years.Methods: Data on mortality from asthma, as defined in the International Classification of Diseases, were obtained for the 1980-2014 period from the Mortality Database maintained by the Information Technology Department of the Brazilian Unified Health Care System. To analyze time trends in standardized asthma mortality rates, we conducted an ecological time-series study, using regression models for the 0- to 4-year and 5- to 34-year age groups.Results:There was a linear trend toward a decrease in asthma mortality in both age groups, whereas there was a third-order polynomial fit in the general population.Conclusions: Although asthma mortality showed a consistent, linear decrease in individuals ≤ 34 years of age, the rate of decline was greater in the 0- to 4-year age group. The 5- to 34-year group also showed a linear decline in mortality, and the rate of that decline increased after the year 2004, when treatment with inhaled corticosteroids became more widely available. The linear decrease in asthma mortality found in both age groups contrasts with the nonlinear trend observed in the general population of Brazil. The introduction of inhaled corticosteroid use through public policies to control asthma coincided with a significant decrease in asthma mortality rates in both subsets of individuals over 5 years of age. The causes of this decline in asthma-related mortality in younger age groups continue to constitute a matter of debate.
ObjectiveTo map the different methods for diagnostic imaging instruction at medical
schools in Brazil.Materials and MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was sent to each of the
coordinators of 178 Brazilian medical schools. The following characteristics
were assessed: teaching model; total course hours; infrastructure; numbers
of students and professionals involved; themes addressed; diagnostic imaging
modalities covered; and education policies related to diagnostic
imaging.ResultsOf the 178 questionnaires sent, 45 (25.3%) were completed and returned. Of
those 45 responses, 17 (37.8%) were from public medical schools, whereas 28
(62.2%) were from private medical schools. Among the 45 medical schools
evaluated, the method of diagnostic imaging instruction was modular at 21
(46.7%), classic (independent discipline) at 13 (28.9%), hybrid (classical
and modular) at 9 (20.0%), and none of the preceding at 3 (6.7%). Diagnostic
imaging is part of the formal curriculum at 36 (80.0%) of the schools, an
elective course at 3 (6.7%), and included within another modality at 6
(13.3%). Professors involved in diagnostic imaging teaching are radiologists
at 43 (95.5%) of the institutions.ConclusionThe survey showed that medical courses in Brazil tend to offer diagnostic
imaging instruction in courses that include other content and at different
time points during the course. Radiologists are extensively involved in
undergraduate medical education, regardless of the teaching methodology
employed at the institution.
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