Introduction:The Family Health Strategy (FHS) should be first-contact care in the Brazilian Health System. However, Primary Health Care (PHC) still encompasses two models: the FHS and the traditional health care facilities. The expansion of the FHS has been slow and heterogeneous in many cities, rendering a comparative evaluation of key quality-related elements of PHC models crucial. Objective: To compare the performance of PHC models as perceived by health professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving managers and health professionals from PHC of a medium-size city in South-eastern Brazil. Data were collected by applying the Primary Care Assessment Tool. The performance was estimated through primary health care indexes (general and partial PHCI by attributes). Univariate polytomous logistic regression was performed to compare care model performances according to their attributes. Strength of association was estimated by odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Results: Three managers and 81 health professionals participated in the study. The FHS had a better index rating than the traditional care model for general PHCI and for the attributes longitudinality, comprehensiveness, family focus and professional level. Conclusion: Although the FHS attained higher scores compared to the traditional model, it has not yet achieved the performance expected. This scenario points to the need for increased FHS cover and quality improvements at the existing units.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of polypharmacy, describe the pharmacotherapeutic classes used, and investigate whether polypharmacy is associated with demographic and socioeconomic indicators, regardless of the number of diseases, among participants in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) baseline (2008-2010). Method: In this analysis, 14,523 adults and elderly (35-74 years) participated. Polypharmacy was characterized as regular use of five or more medicines. The demographic and socioeconomic indicators analyzed were: gender, age, education level, per capita family income, and access to private health insurance. The independent association between demographic and economic indicators and polypharmacy was estimated by binary logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of polypharmacy was 11.7%. The most used drugs were those with action on the cardiovascular system. After adjustments, including by number of diseases, the chances of being on polypharmacy treatment were significantly higher among women, older participants and those with greatest number of diseases. Individuals without health insurance had lower chance to be under polypharmacy, as well as those with lower income. Conclusion: The occurrence of polypharmacy among ELSA-Brasil baseline participants was mainly due to drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases. The relation between polypharmacy and the female gender, as well as its association with old age, are in consonance with the results obtained in other studies. Despite the absence of an association between polypharmacy and education level, the income and health insurance results reinforce the existence of social inequalities regarding drug use.

Objetivo: Analisar o preço real de aquisição de medicamentos anunciados como promessas terapêuticas para tratamento da COVID-19 no Brasil. Métodos: Identificaram-se os medicamentos que estão sendo estudados e/ou noticiados como promissores e, posteriormente, analisaram-se os custos de aquisição desses medicamentos por uma drogaria do interior do estado de Minas Gerais, entre janeiro e junho de 2020. Resultados: Sete (87,5%) medicamentos apresentaram aumento do valor de compra no período estudado. Dexametasona e ivermectina apresentaram elevação de mais de 200% no preço. A menor elevação foi o polivitamínico, 5,44%. A hidroxicloroquina foi o único medicamento (12,5%) que não sofreu variação no preço e só foi adquirida nos três primeiros meses do ano de 2020. Conclusão: O preço de aquisição da maioria dos medicamentos anunciados como “promessas terapêuticas” para tratamento da Covid-19 no Brasil sofreu aumento significativo no período da pandemia.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) use and associated factors, as well as the prevalence of Prescribing Omissions (PO). A cross-sectional study was conducted in a philanthropic Brazilian nursing home involving 46 individuals aged 60 years or older. The following information was collected from medical records and drug prescriptions: gender, age, health conditions and drugs used in the past thirty days. PIM and PO were identified according to the Beers' Criteria and the STOPP/START screening tools. Over one third (37%) of the population used at least one PIM according to the Beers' Criteria (n=17) and 60.9% according to the STOPP tool. A significant association was found between polypharmacy (use of five or more drugs) and use of PIM according to the Beers' Criteria, but not according to the STOPP. Eight residents (17.4%) were exposed to eight PO. This study allowed the diagnosis of a concerning drug utilization profile with use of a high number of PIMs. Thus, there is an evident need to implement strategies for improving geriatric prescription. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a prevalência de uso de medicamentos potencialmente inadequados (MPI) e fatores associados, bem como a prevalência de omissões farmacoterapêuticas (OF). Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado em uma instituição filantrópica brasileira de longa permanência com 46 indivíduos com 60 anos ou mais. As seguintes informações foram coletadas a partir de prontuários e prescrições: sexo, idade, condições de saúde e medicamentos utilizados nos últimos trinta dias. MPI e OF foram identificados pelo Critério de Beers e as ferramentas de triagem STOPP/START. Mais de um terço (37%) da população utilizou pelo menos, um MPI de acordo com os critérios de Beers (n=17) e 60.9% de acordo com a ferramenta STOPP. Associação estatisticamente significante foi detectada entre a polifarmácia (consumo de cinco ou mais medicamentos) e uso de MPI de acordo com os critérios de Beers, mas não de acordo com o STOPP. Oito residentes (17,4%) foram expostos a oito OF. Este estudo permitiu o diagnóstico de um perfil de utilização de medicamentos preocupante com número elevado de utilização de MPI. Isso indica a necessidade de implementar estratégias para melhorar a qualidade da prescrição geriátrica. UnitermsUnitermos: Farmacoepidemiologia. Atenção farmacêutica. Idoso/uso inapropriado de medicamentos. Medicamentos/prescrição inadequada. Medicamentos/uso inapropriado. Critério de Beers.

The history of muscle biopsy dates back to 1860, when Duchenne first performed a biopsy on a patient with symptoms of myopathy (1) . Since then, the basic and clinical science of muscle and muscle disease has gone through three stages of development: the classical period, the modern stage and the molecular era.