Experience of the telephone counseling service for people with psychological disorders associated with social isolation

Background: In the current conditions of social isolation, imposed by COVID-19, psychological help lines have been implemented via telephone. It is of interest to know if the contribution of this counseling service is effective; and to what extent the population has assumed this as a reliable way of psychological help.Objective: to describe the experience of the telephone counseling service to people with psychological disorders associated with social isolation.Methods: a descriptive study was carried out of the telephone counseling service aimed at the population with psychological disorders, carried out by the Mella District Mental Health Center, Camagüey province, during May 2020. The reasons for the call, clinical manifestations and behavior to follow were the main variables studied.Results: the elderly population contributed the highest number of calls (40.6%), as well as the most frequent reason being the search for psychological support. Depression and anxiety were found as the main clinical manifestations; and psychological support and monitoring of this as the behaviors to follow in most cases.Conclusion: due to the impossibility of going to specialized mental health centers, due to the conditions imposed by the pandemic, telephone counseling allowed a considerable group of people to receive psychological help backed by trained professionals, in correspondence with individual needs.</p

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective