BackgroundGeneral practice provides a unique setting where hazardous alcohol consumption can be screened for and behavioural interventions can be implemented in a continuous care model. Our aim was to assess in a general practice population, the prevalence of hazardous drinking, the knowledge and attitudes surrounding alcohol, and the acceptability of brief interventions in alcohol.MethodsA cross-sectional survey in a practice in South London, performed as part of a wider service evaluation. Questionnaires were offered to adult patients awaiting their appointments. Responses were stratified according to hazardous drinking, as per the abbreviated ‘Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test’ (AUDIT-C).ResultsOf 179 respondents (30 % male), 34 % yielded an AUDIT-C ≥5 and 18 % reported that they never drink alcohol. Male and Caucasian patients were more likely to self-report hazardous drinking, who in turn were more likely to believe in the health benefits of moderate consumption. Little over half of patents thought that alcohol is a risk factor for cancer and were misinformed of its calorific content, suggesting two targets for future improvement. Patients’ knowledge about what is a single ‘unit’ of alcohol was below that expected by random chance 66 % agreed that alcohol screening should feature in all GP consultations.ConclusionsWhile awareness of alcohol related health risks is generally good, future efforts may benefit from focusing on the association with cancer and calories. Our findings question the utility of the ‘unit’ system, as well as dissemination of suggested ‘health benefits’ of moderate consumption. General practice initiatives in screening and brief advice for alcohol deserve further study.

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We performed a health needs assessment of the vulnerable population cared for by the Banco Farmaceutico, an Italian nonprofit charitable organization that supplies medicines for many centers belonging to different charities. Drugs dispensed in the first half of 2014 by a representative sample of these centers were examined. An independently conducted telephone interview on our centers complemented this data. Adult males and migrants constituted the majority of the user population, and the most dispensed drugs were those for the respiratory system. Of all patients, 40% presented with a chronic problem and more than half needed polypharmacy. Users seek help spontaneously in 70% of the cases, with the centers being able to meet 80% of the existing demand. Patients that could not be managed were referred to local hospitals or collaborating doctors and reasons were explored. We believe our study to be a first attempt to characterise a growing population that is also increasingly represented in emergency departments and internal medicine wards. It is also an evaluation of the quality of data collected by charitable institutions, highlighting a significant need for improvement as they could be the only basis to monitor the health needs of this type of population.

Please cite this article as: FIORINI F, ISTED A, HEZELGRAVE NL, SHENNAN AH, Quantitative fetal fibronectin predicts preterm birth in women with bulging fetal membranes, European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.ejogrb.2016.05.046 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. CONCLUSION:Quantitative fFN has a role in predicting spontaneous preterm birth even in women with bulging fetal membranes, suggesting that fFN leakage could potentially be an active process. This may aid the clinical management of this high-risk group in the future.