Adequate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in health has been shown to save the patient and caregiver time, improve access to the health system, improve diagnosis and control ...of disease or treatment. All this results in cost savings, and more importantly, they help improve the quality of service and the lives of patients. The purpose of this study is to analyse the differences in the uses of this ICTs between those physicians that belong to Pain Treatment Units (PU) and other physicians that work in pain not linked to these PUs. An online survey, generated by Netquest online survey tool, was sent to both groups of professionals and the data collected was statistical analysed through a logistic regression methodology which is the Logit binomial model. Our results show that those physicians that belong to PUs use ICTs more frequently and consider it more relevant to their clinical practice.
► Mercury in soil. ► Mercury distribution in
M. vulgare L. ► Physical-chemical soil parameters. ► Microbial biomass carbon. ► Soil microbiological activity.
Almadén, Spain, has the most important ...known cinnabar deposits, which have provided a third of the entire world production of Hg, and has been the scene for numerous studies on Hg. This mining district includes several mines where cinnabar has been extracted in the past two millennia as well as facilities related to the production of primary Hg. The aim of the work is to evaluate the spatial distribution of Hg in the soil–plant system within an area where intense activity occurred over a long period. An abandoned metallurgical plant from the 17th–18th centuries was chosen as the study area, situated in Almadenejos a distance of 12
km from Almadén. Nowadays, this plot is covered with cinnabar mine tailings and it is used by village inhabitants for livestock grazing. The area has elevated Hg concentrations of natural origin and from human activities. Soil parameters are similar within the study area; however, data reveal high variability in total and available Hg concentrations in soils, making it difficult to establish a trend.
Marrubium vulgare L. has been studied due to its abundance in the plot, and there is no evidence of phenological toxicity. In spite of elevated Hg concentrations, high biological activity is found in the sampled soils. All these characteristics, spatial variation, high Hg concentration, good biological activity, make this a particularly good area for studies involving Hg.
Introduction: at present, smoking appears as one of the main health problems worldwide. Objective: to characterize the people who smoke psycho-socially in La Palma municipality during 2017. Method: ...an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in the health area belonging to Pedro Borras Astorga University Polyclinic; the target group consisted of 6625 patients dispensed as smokers, the sample was chosen by simple random sampling consisting of 863 smokers who met the inclusion criteria. Theoretical, empirical and descriptive statistics which included absolute and relative frequency were applied. Results: 59,7 % of smokers were male, 71,3 % belonged to the age group of 25 to 59 years old, 57,3% only completed elementary school, the marital status of divorced-separated prevailed with 40,0 %; there was a 53,8 % average dependence on nicotine addiction, 91,0 % was motivated to smoke to reduce stress and 75,7 % of smokers presented the risk factors of living into dysfunctional families. Conclusions: smoking is a health problem, it influences on the morbidity and mortality rates of the population of La Palma municipality, consequently prevention and control actions should be taken to diminish the risk factors, to achieve quality of life in the population exposed to this risky addiction.
Introducción: en la actualidad, el tabaquismo se presenta como una de las principales problemáticas de salud a nivel mundial.Objetivo: caracterizar psicosocialmente a pacientes fumadores del municipio La Palma en el año 2017.Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal en el área de salud atendida por el Policlínico Universitario “Pedro Borrás Astorga”, el universo estuvo constituido por los 6625 pacientes dispensarizados con tabaquismo, la muestra seleccionada por muestreo aleatorio simple quedó conformada por 863 fumadores que cumplieron con criterios de inclusión, se emplearon métodos teóricos (histórico - lógico y analítico - sintético) y empíricos (encuesta); se utilizó la estadística descriptiva dada por frecuencia absoluta y relativa.Resultados: el 59,7 % de los fumadores eran masculinos, el 71,3 % pertenecían al grupo de edad de 25 a 59 años, alcanzaron un 57,3 % de nivel escolar de primaria terminada, el estado civil de divorciados–separados prevaleció con un 40,0 %; existió un 53,8 % de dependencia media a la adicción a la nicotina, el 91,0 % se motivó a fumar para disminuir tensiones y el 75,7 % de los fumadores mostraron como factores de riesgos pertenecer a familias disfuncionales.Conclusiones: el tabaquismo constituye un problema de salud, influye en la morbimortalidad de la población del municipio La Palma, por lo que deben realizarse acciones de prevención y control como factor de riesgo, para lograr calidad de vida en la población expuesta a este mal hábito.
Abstract Objectives: Endoscopic evacuation of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been developed in order to reduce the tissue injury that conventional craniotomy could generate. Experimental studies ...are important to assess the effectiveness of the technique and its modifications. The objectives of this study are to develop in pig an experimental model of endoscopic evacuation of ICHs, to assess effectiveness of surgical evacuation, and to evaluate a new transparent sheath as complement to the endoscopy. Methods: Autologous blood was infused into the frontal lobe white matter in 16 pigs. In the problem group, endoscopic evacuation was performed with the aid of a new transparent sheath, which has outer and inner sheaths with blunt and closed finals. Pigs were sacrificed at 4 h, 24 h and 5 days. The volumes of hematoma and histopathological features were determined. Results: Residual volume of the problem group was significantly 70.09% lower than in control group, without significant differences in injected volumes, in percentage of subarachnoid hemorrhage, and in time interval from hematoma induction to pig´s death. The vital reaction after hemorrhage was similar in both groups. Conclusions: The experimental model developed is useful to assess endoscopic evacuation of ICHs. The endoscopy is an effective technique in the treatment of ICHs, without increasing the vital reaction secondary to hematoma. The new transparent sheath increases the visualization of surgical field and allows a continuous visual control since the beginning of the procedure. Its closed final prevents unwanted injury of the brain by the instruments used to remove the hematoma.
During March 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread throughout Europe, with the spread being especially intense in Italy and Spain. Given the emergency created by the COVID-19 outbreak, routine activity ...has been altered in most cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs. Health staff working in these areas are faced with performing procedures in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 or with uncertainty in unconfirmed cases. This article is a consensus document of the Interventional Cardiology Association and Heart Rhythm Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and aims to provide information to health care professionals working in these invasive cardiology facilities (cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs, pacemaker implantation) in order to guarantee quality patient care and adequate levels of infection prevention.
Durante marzo de 2020, el virus SARS-CoV-2 se ha extendido por toda Europa, con especial intensidad en Italia y España. Ante la emergencia creada por el brote de COVID-19, la inmensa mayoría de las salas de hemodinámica y electrofisiología han visto alterada su actividad habitual. Además se enfrentan a la realización de procedimientos en pacientes con diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19 o con la incertidumbre en casos no confirmados. El presente texto es un documento de consenso de la Asociación de Cardiología Intervencionista y la Asociación del Ritmo Cardiaco de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología que pretende dar información al personal sanitario de estas instalaciones de cardiología invasiva (hemodinámica y electrofisiología y marcapasos) para garantizar una atención de calidad a los pacientes así como unos niveles los niveles adecuados de prevención de la infección.
The evidence for the efficacy of glucocorticoids combined with tocilizumab (TCZ) in COVID-19 comes from observational studies or subgroup analysis. Our aim was to compare outcomes between ...hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received high-dose corticosteroid pulse therapy and TCZ and those who received TCZ.
A retrospective single-center study was performed on consecutive hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 between 1 March and 23 April 2020. Patients treated with either TCZ (400-600 mg, one to two doses) and methylprednisolone pulses (MPD-TCZ group) or TCZ alone were analyzed for the occurrence of a combined endpoint of death and need for invasive mechanical ventilation during admission. The independence of both treatment groups was tested using machine learning classifiers, and relevant variables that were potentially different between the groups were measured through a mean decrease accuracy algorithm.
An earlier date of admission was significantly associated with worse outcomes regardless of treatment type. Twenty patients died (27.0%) in the TCZ group, and 33 (44.6%) died or required intubation (
= 74), whereas in the MPD-TCZ group, 15 (11.0%) patients died and 29 (21.3%) patients reached the combined endpoint (
= 136;
= 0.006 and
< 0.001, respectively). Machine learning methodology using a random forest classifier confirmed significant differences between the treatment groups.
MPD and TCZ improved outcomes (death and invasive mechanical ventilation) among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but confounding variables such as the date of admission during the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered in observational studies.
Patients with mitral stenosis with severe pulmonary hypertension constitute a high-risk subset for surgical commissurotomy or valve replacement. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect ...of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) on percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) procedural success, short- and long-term clinical outcomes (i.e., mortality, mitral valve surgery, and redo PMV) in 926 patients. Of the 926 patients, 263 (28.4%) had PVR ≥4 Woods units (WU) and 663 (71.6%) had PVR <4 WU. Patients with PVR ≥4 WU were older and more symptomatic and had worse valve morphology for PMV. The patients with PVR ≥4 WU also had lower PMV procedural success than those with PVR <4 WU (78.2% vs 85.6%, p = 0.006). However, after multivariate adjustment, PVR was no longer an independent predictor of PMV success nor an independent predictor of the combined end point at a median follow-up of 3.2 years. In conclusion, elevated PVR at PMV is not an independent predictor of procedural success or long-term outcomes. Therefore, appropriately selected patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis might benefit from PMV, even in the presence of elevated preprocedural PVR.
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