Con el apoyo financiero de Open Society Foundations, Dejusticia desarrolló una investigación con el diagnóstico de ocho países de la región (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panamá y Uruguay), sobre la situación de acceso a cuidados paliativos, el desarrollo institucional y normativo que le respalda y las barreras de acceso a medicamentos opioides – esenciales para el manejo del dolor. Como enfoque de atención, los cuidados paliativos tienen como objetivo mejorar la calidad de vida del paciente y su familia, mediante una intervención que incorpora control y manejo de síntomas, apoyo psicosocial, y espiritual. Es un esfuerzo interdisciplinario en el que la medicina se aplica desde una perspectiva de sanación, independiente del pronóstico de la enfermedad que aqueja a la persona, y se aplica en su mayoría en enfermedades crónicas, degenerativas y debilitantes. En las Américas se atraviesa un importante momento de oportunidad: en 2015 se aprobó la Convención Interamericana sobre la Protección de los Derechos Humanos de las Personas Mayores, que dispone obligaciones específicas para que los Estados incorporen medidas que regulen el acceso a los cuidados paliativos como componente del derecho humano a la salud, y garanticen que las personas mayores puedan decidir sobre el curso de los tratamientos que desean recibir en salud. La eventual ratificación y posterior implementación de esta Convención abre la posibilidad de incorporar la dimensión de cuidado y manejo de síntomas a nuestros sistemas generales de salud. Este proyecto también busca analizar el proceso de alistamiento para la implementación de las medidas de la Convención Interamericana con respecto a los cuidados paliativos y el nivel de interacción con otras esferas del activismo, como el movimiento de derechos humanos y salud pública en la reforma a la política de drogas. Descripción tomada de: https://www.dejusticia.org/publication/los-cuidados-paliativos-y-su-estado-en-latinoamerica/ Consulte la versión en inglés en la siguiente URL:

To improve cardiovascular implant success, metal-based stents are designated to modulate endothelial cells adhesion and migration in order to prevent restenosis and late thrombosis diseases. Biomimetic coatings with extra-cellular matrix adhesive biomolecules onto stents surfaces are a strategy to recover a healthy endothelium. However, the appropriate bioactive sequences to selective promote growth of endothelium and the biomolecules surface immobilization strategy remains to be elucidated. In this study, biofunctionalization of cobalt chromium, CoCr, alloy surfaces with elastin-like recombinamers, ELR, genetically modified with an REDV sequence, was performed to enhance metal surfaces endothelialization. Moreover, physical adsorption and covalent bonding were used as biomolecules binding strategies onto CoCr alloy. Surfaces were activated with plasma and etched with sodium hydroxide previous to silanization with 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane and functionalized with the ELR. CoCr alloy surfaces were successfully biofunctionalized and the use of an ELR with an REDV sequence, allows conferring bioactivity to the biomaterials surface, demonstrating a higher cell adhesion and spreading of HUVEC cells on the different CoCr surfaces. This effect is emphasized as increases the amount of immobilized biomolecules and directly related to the immobilization technique, covalent bonding, and the increase of surface charge electronegativity. Our strategy of REDV elastin-like recombinamers immobilization onto CoCr alloy surfaces via covalent bonding through organosilanes provides a bioactive surface that promotes endothelial cell adhesion and spreading.

Hydrogenosomes and mitosomes represent remarkable mitochondrial adaptations in the anaerobic parasitic protists such as Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia intestinalis, respectively. In order to provide a tool to study these organelles in the live cells, the HaloTag was fused to G. intestinalis IscU and T. vaginalis frataxin and expressed in the mitosomes and hydrogenosomes, respectively. The incubation of the parasites with the fluorescent Halo-ligand resulted in highly specific organellar labeling, allowing live imaging of the organelles. With the array of available ligands the HaloTag technology offers a new tool to study the dynamics of mitochondria-related compartments as well as other cellular components in these intriguing unicellular eukaryotes.

Background: Physicians face intrinsic tensions when practicing medicine; therefore, extrinsic factors that could affect distress, such as payment methods, need to be assessed. The study objectives were to: compare levels of distress by payment method, identify factors predicting distress in a two-level regression model, and explore interactions between predictors of distress and payment method. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians in the Saskatoon Health Region, Saskatchewan. Physicians completed a pre-tested questionnaire about their distress. Analysis of variance was used to compare distress levels of physicians paid by fee-for-service (FFS), alternative payment plans (APPs), and blended methods. A mixed linear regression model was built to predict distress with geographical area of practice as the random component. Demographics, workload, complexity of patients, payment method, career satisfaction, and practice profile were the independent variables. The interactions between payment method and predictors of daily distress were evaluated. Results: A total of 382 physicians participated. Response bias was tested and found to be negligible. In the multivariable analysis, payment method was a predictor of distress which interacted with the proportion of complex cases. Lower levels of distress were found among physicians who had more than 75% of patients with complex conditions and were paid by APPs, compared to those paid by FFS and blended methods. Career satisfaction was found to be an important predictor. Nine percent of the outcome variation was explained by geographic area of practice. Conclusions: Payment method is a predictor of distress when adjusting by confounders, interacting with proportion of complex cases. APPs may promote provision of care for patients with complex conditions. Career satisfaction can be considered a protective indicator of distress. Practice environment influences distress experienced by physicians.

Sin duda, ver los sistemas de salud desde la perspectiva de la investigación de operaciones impone nuevos retos que no son insalvables. Hay en los sistemas de salud desafíos y dilemas a los que quizás antes no nos veíamos enfrentados al trabajar en otras industrias o servicios. Desde dilemas éticos, causados por la naturaleza del servicio de salud como un derecho fundamental, bien sea porque en las decisiones que se modelan muchas veces están involucradas las vidas y el bienestar de los pacientes, o porque los objetivos de los sistemas de salud van más allá de la rentabilidad o la disminución de...

Background Retinopathy of prematurity is the major cause of blindness in children in Colombia. This cause of childhood blindness is irreversible when stablished, but 100% preventable with the adequate strategies put in place. This raises important questions concerning strategies to reduce the incidence of blindness as a result of ROP, which should ensure that all infants who are at risk of blinding ROP are examined in screening programmes. Aim The aim was to collect data in the neonatal intensive care units. This was used to evaluate the existing human and material resources for preventing, screening and treating ROP and rehabilitation of children suffering from ROP. The data helped to do an analysis of gaps in the service and allowed to present a proposal for a programme to prevent blindness due to ROP in the cities of Manizales, Pereira and Armenia, Colombia. Methods 7 NICUs were visited in the three cities. The study collected quantitative data on neonatal intensive care units, admission and survival of premature babies during 2010, human resources and infrastructure and data on knowledge of the Colombian guidelines on ROP. Results The survival rates vary according to the provider. They are higher in the private sector, and lower in the public sector. Overall, the available data allowed us to estimate that there are approximately 45,000 births per year (2010) in the region (95% occur in hospital) and 1.8% of all the births are less than 2,000g. Therefore, in the region, 810 babies per year weighing less than 2,000g are at risk of developing any type of ROP. The number of places, ventilators and monitors is sufficient. Staffing is adequate in the private NICUs, with a shortage of neonatologists in the public NICUs. The number of nurses monitoring babies is universally adequate, but the lack of knowledge in controlling risk factors of developing ROP such as monitoring oxygen in a constraint. An ROP screening programme is not available in public NICUs and in some of the mixed providers. The Kangaroo Mother programme lack of screening for ROP. Conclusions The unstable health system has allowed (i) unsustainable NICUs and programmes for ROP (ii) If available, programmes running without being monitored or evaluated, and, (iii) no screening in public and some mixed NICUs in Manizales, Pereira and Armenia. (iv) no screening for ROP in the Kangaroo Mother Programe As access and survival rates improve in the NICUS of these cities, ROP is likely to continue to be a significant cause of blindness in the region, despite the progress that has been achieved with the 2010 Colombian guidelines for screening and treating ROP. Recommendations The results suggest that the prevention of blinding ROP is a complex task in Colombia that requires concomitant strategies to be put in place: Firstly, national policies in screening for ROP and oxygen delivery for the babies in the NICUs are needed. Secondly, as a primary preventive strategy, training nurses in the NICUs to control and monitor the delivery of oxygen; as a secondary preventive strategy, ROP programmes offered to the public, mixed, private NICUs and to the Kangaro Mother Programme; as a tertiary strategy, rehabilitation providing a low vision centre for these children Thirdly, running ROP programmes need to be monitored and evaluated.

Background: Health care–associated infections (HAIs) are a public health problem that increase health care costs. This article aimed to systematically review the literature and meta-analyze studies investigating risk factors (RFs) independently associated with HAIs in hospitalized adults. Methods: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS) were searched to identify studies from 2009-2016. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) or odds ratios (ORs) or mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and compared across the groups. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Results: Of 867 studies, 65 met the criteria for review, and the data of 18 were summarized in the meta-analysis. The major RFs independently associated with HAIs were diabetes mellitus (RR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.27-2.44), immunosuppression (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.04-1.47), body temperature (MD, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.83), surgery time in minutes (MD, 34.53; 95% CI, 22.17-46.89), reoperation (RR, 7.94; 95% CI, 5.49-11.48), cephalosporin exposure (RR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.30-2.42), days of exposure to central venous catheter (MD, 5.20; 95% CI, 4.91-5.48), intensive care unit (ICU) admission (RR, 3.76; 95% CI, 1.79-7.92), ICU stay in days (MD, 21.30; 95% CI, 19.81-22.79), and mechanical ventilation (OR, 12.95; 95% CI, 6.28-26.73). Conclusions: Identifying RFs that contribute to develop HAIs may support the implementation of strategies for their prevention, therefore maximizing patient safety.

A partir de nuestra 4ª. edición del libro Biomateriales odontológicos de uso clínico se han producido cambios importantes con el advenimiento de nuevos materiales y técnicas, fruto de la constante e incesante investigación en la búsqueda y síntesis de biomateriales que respondan a las características ideales de biocompatibilidad, estética, adhesión y funcionalidad a largo plazo. Con la valiosa colaboración de ilustres docentes vinculados a diferentes universidades de nuestro país, hemos llegado a plasmar un texto de gran utilidad y de altísima producción cientí fica, que a través de sus 20...

Los autores que participan en este volumen piensan críticamente sobre el tema de la salud mental, sin olvidar la complejidad de su objeto y en relación específica con la violencia y con la atención en salud; todo ello en el marco del Sistema General de Seguridad Social y de las vivencias y necesidades de los sujetos, las familias, las comunidades y los profesionales que día a día asumen la responsabilidad de su cuidado.

Albert Jovell es un referente ético de primera línea y un firme defensor de una medicina más humana. Su compromiso en defensa de una sanidad pública y equitativa es inequívoco. En esta larga entrevista con el periodista Jordi Sacristán reflexiona con sensatez y serenidad acerca de cuestiones individuales y colectivas proporcionándonos una verdadera lección vital. Según Jovell, la salud es un aspecto muy sensible de la vida y uno de los elementos que más valoramos los seres humanos: un elemento que no deja margen para el error pues la sociedad no quiere errores en salud. Ello obliga a exigir un nivel...