Valoración mediante una encuesta de la negativa a la vacunación frente al virus del papiloma humano: estudio de los motivos para no vacunar

Treball de Final de Grau en Medicina. Codi: MD1158. Curs acadèmic 2016-2017Objetivo: La vacuna frente al Virus del Papiloma Humano (VPH) ha demostrado ser la estrategia más eficaz en la prevención del cáncer de cérvix. Desde el año 2008 forma parte del Calendario de Vacunación Sistemática Infantil en la Comunidad Valenciana. Sin embargo, se ha observado que la tasa de vacunación no alcanza los objetivos recomendados. Este trabajo tiene como fin, identificar los motivos por los que las familias rechazan la administración de esta vacuna a sus hijas adolescentes, y plantear estrategias para mejorar la cobertura vacunal. Método: Se contactará vía telefónica con los padres de una muestra representativa de las adolescentes nacidas entre 1994 y 2004 adscritas al Centro de Salud Illes Columbretes. Se les informará de manera sistemática mediante un texto consensuado entre los investigadores. Si el entrevistado está de acuerdo se le pasará la encuesta. Resultados: De las 120 niñas encuestadas, 56 no respondieron el cuestionario, de las cuales 36 habían sido ya vacunadas. En las 64 restantes que sí lo contestaron, los motivos más frecuentes para no aceptar la vacuna fueron: miedo a los efectos secundarios, dudas sobre la justificación y efectividad, dudas acerca de la veracidad de la información sobre la misma. Conclusión: Para poder mejorar la tasa de vacunación actual, es fundamental que el personal sanitario informe a las familias, para ampliar sus conocimientos sobre el cáncer de cérvix y la vacuna frente al VPH, disminuyendo así sus dudas e incertidumbre y favoreciendo que puedan tomar decisiones con rigor y sin poner en riesgo la salud de sus hijas.Objective: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has proven to be the most effective strategy in the prevention of cervical cancer. Since 2008, it is part of the Children Systematic Vaccination Calendar in the Valencian Community. However, it has been observed that the vaccination rate does not reach the recommended targets. This work aims to identify the reasons why families refuse to administer this vaccine to their teenagers daughters, and to propose strategies to improve vaccination coverage. Methodology: Parents of a representative sample of adolescents born between 1994 and 2004, attached to the Illes Columbretes Health Center, will be contacted by telephone. They will be systematically informed through an agreed text among researchers. If the interviewee agrees, the survey will be passed. Results: Of the 120 girls surveyed, 56 did not respond to the questionnaire, of which 36 had already been vaccinated. In the remaining 64 respondents, the most frequent reasons for not accepting the vaccine were: fear of side effects, doubts about justification and effectiveness, doubts about the veracity of the information about the vaccine. Conclusion: Fort he purpose of enhancing the current vaccination rate, it is essential for health staff to inform families to increase their knowledge of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine, thereby reducing their doubts and uncertainties and encouraging them to make rigorous decisions about the vaccine. All in all, the ultimate aim is to protect teenager´s health

Telephone Monitoring of Isolated Patients With Suspected COVID-19 Disease in Primary Care: Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Isolation of suspected cases of COVID-19 has been shown effective in reducing disease transmission and monitoring these patients from primary care allows to detect complications. The objective of this study is to determine the evolution of a cohort of patients with suspected COVID-19, and to analyse the factors associated with hospital admissions due to their unfavourable evolution. Methods: Prospective cohort study. A cohort of 166 patients with COVID-19 symptoms was selected and was followed-up by telephone calls during 14 days of home isolation. Results: By the end of the follow-up, a hospital admission had taken place in 14.7% of patients. The mean survival time until admission among diabetics was 12.6, 10.9 days for chronic kidney diseases, and 9.3 days in immunocompromised patients. Immunosuppression was a risk factor for admission over 50 years of age. Conclusion: Hospital admissions for suspected cases of COVID-19 are associated with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and immunosuppression. Telephone monitoring of these patients from primary care allows for home isolation and early detection of disease complications.post-print774 K

Visible Light Communication System Using an Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photodetector

A visible light communication (VLC) system using an organic bulk heterojunction photodetector (OPD) is presented. The system has been successfully proven indoors with an audio signal. The emitter consists of three commercial high-power white LEDs connected in parallel. The receiver is based on an organic photodetector having as active layer a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The OPD is opto-electrically characterized, showing a responsivity of 0.18 A/W and a modulation response of 790 kHz at -6 V.This work has been supported by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid under project S2009/ESP-1781.Publicad

Telephone Monitoring of Isolated Patients With Suspected COVID-19 Disease in Primary Care: Prospective Cohort Study

Objective: Isolation of suspected cases of COVID-19 has been shown effective in reducing disease transmission and monitoring these patients from primary care allows to detect complications. The objective of this study is to determine the evolution of a cohort of patients with suspected COVID-19, and to analyse the factors associated with hospital admissions due to their unfavourable evolution. Methods: Prospective cohort study. A cohort of 166 patients with COVID-19 symptoms was selected and was followed-up by telephone calls during 14 days of home isolation. Results: By the end of the follow-up, a hospital admission had taken place in 14.7% of patients. The mean survival time until admission among diabetics was 12.6, 10.9 days for chronic kidney diseases, and 9.3 days in immunocompromised patients. Immunosuppression was a risk factor for admission over 50 years of age. Conclusion: Hospital admissions for suspected cases of COVID-19 are associated with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and immunosuppression. Telephone monitoring of these patients from primary care allows for home isolation and early detection of disease complications

Building integration of photovoltaic solar systems in the ZAE office building in Germany

Currently, one of the major concerns worldwide is the access to safe, clean and sustainable energy. People’s current life-style and our life on this planet are subject to energy availability. Therefore, latest research projects have focused on developing ways of obtaining clean, safe and renewable energy. Solar photovoltaic energy (PV) is one of those energy sources, where electricity is directly obtained from solar radiation. This paper examines a case study showing the integration of PV modules into an office and lab building located in Erlangen, Germany. Polysun Simulation Software v.5.3 was used for simulating different types, size and location of PV modules in the building selected as case study (Vela Solaris, 2012). Results demonstrate the multiple possibilities for PV integration into buildings, and the advantages and disadvantages of every option regarding electricity production, orientation, modules dimension, aesthetics and CO2 savings. Moreover, the benefits offered to designers and clients when using specialised software during design decision stages are discussed.El acceso a energía de manera segura y constante es actualmente una de las grandes preocupaciones mundiales. La continuación de la vida humana en el planeta y de los estilos de vida actuales están sujetos a la disponibilidad energética. Desde hace varias décadas numerosas investigaciones se han concentrado en buscar fuentes de energía limpias, seguras y renovables. Una de esas fuentes es la solar fotovoltaica, a través de la cual se puede obtener electricidad a partir de la radiación solar. Aquí se presenta un caso de estudio de integración, dimensionamiento y ubicación de módulos fotovoltaicos en un edificio de oficinas y laboratorios ubicado en Erlangen, Alemania. El trabajo se realizó a través de un levantamiento arquitectónico del sitio, un modelo en 3D del edificio, un estudio de sombras y simulaciones de sistemas fotovoltaicos utilizando el programa Polysun Simulation Software v.5.3 (Vela Solaris, 2012). Los resultados obtenidos demuestran las múltiples posibilidades que existen para integrar módulos fotovoltaicos en edificios, así como las ventajas y desventajas de cada opción en términos de producción de energía, orientación, dimensiones de los paneles, estética y de ahorro de CO2. Además se demuestran las ventajas que ofrece la utilización de un software especializado para tomar decisiones de diseño con mayor certeza

Effect of the methacrylate-based endodontic sealer Epiphany on rat peritoneal macrophages viability

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the endodontic sealer Epiphany on rat peritoneal macrophages viability. Materials and methods: Peritoneal macrophages were obtained from Wistar rats and resuspended in RPMI- 1640 medium. Undiluted (crude extract) and diluted extracts to 10%, 1%, 0.1%, 0.01%, 0.001% and 0.0001% of Epiphany, AH 26 and AH Plus sealers on RPMI-1640 medium were tested for cytotoxicity to rat peritoneal macrophages using the trypan blue dye exclusion assay. Data were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests at 5% significance level. Results: Crude extract of Epiphany killed 51% of cells, but was less cytotoxic that crude extracts of AH Plus and AH 26, which killed 81% and 86% of cells, respectively. Ten-fold dilutions of Epiphany, AH Plus and AH 26 killed 44%, 56%, 62% of macrophages, respectively. A hundred dilution of Epiphany only killed 7% of macrophages, but the same dilution of AH Plus and AH 26 killed 10% and 31% of macrophages, respectively. Lower dilutions of sealer extracts caused minimal cell death as compared to the control groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: The methacrylate-based endodontic sealer Epiphany showed lower cytotoxicity on macrophages than resin-based sealers AH Plus and AH 26. Dilution of elutes of the three materials by tenfold markedly reduced their effect

Evolution of a Cohort of COVID-19 Infection Suspects Followed-Up from Primary Health Care

Diagnosis and home follow-up of patients affected by COVID-19 is being approached by primary health care professionals through telephone consultations. This modality of teleconsultation allows one to follow the evolution of patients and attend early to possible complications of the disease. The purpose of the study was to analyze the evolution of a cohort of patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 disease followed by primary care professionals and to determine the factors that are associated with hospital admission. A prospective cohort study was carried out on 166 patients selected by consecutive sampling that showed symptoms compatible with COVID-19. The follow-up was approached via telephone for 14 days analyzing hospitalization and comorbidities of the patients. There were 75% of the hospitalized patients that were male (p = 0.002), and 70.8% presented comorbidities (p < 0.001). In patients with diabetes, the risk of hospitalization was 4.6-times larger, in hypertension patients it was 3.3-times, those suffering from renal insufficiency 3.8-times, and immunosuppressed patients 4.8-times (IC 95%: 1.9–11.7). In 86.7% of the cases, clinical deterioration was diagnosed in the first seven days of the infection, and 72% of healing was reached from day seven to fourteen. Monitoring from primary care of patients with COVID-19 allows early diagnosis of clinical deterioration and detection of comorbidities associated with the risk of poor evolution and hospital admission

Assessment of Staff Attitudes towards People with Disability

The main purpose of this study was the construction and validation of a scale of attitudes towards people with disabilities, mainly directed at professionals in the areas of health and education. Participants were 976 professionals from different fields (health, education, career counseling, media, administration), with an age range between 18 and 65 years. 49.1% were women. After analyzing agreement between expert judges to evaluate the content of the items, three types of analysis were performed: comparison of correlation structures, exploratory factor analysis by common factor method, and confirmatory factor analysis on polichoric correlations matrix. Two models were compared: Unidimensional and three-correlated factors. Results have shown good metric qualities of reliability (internal consistency, reliability of individual indicators, construct reliability and standard error of measurement) and validity (content, convergent and discriminant).El propósito principal de este estudio ha sido la construcción y validación de una escala de actitudes hacia las personas con discapacidad, dirigida preferentemente a profesionales de las áreas de la salud y la educación. Han participado 976 profesionales de diferentes ámbitos (sanidad, educación, orientación laboral, medios de comunicación, administración), con un rango de edad entre 18 y 65 años. El 49.1% fueron mujeres. Se han realizado análisis de concordancia entre jueces expertos para valorar el contenido de los ítems, y se han sometido los datos a tres clases de análisis: comparación de estructuras de correlación, análisis factorial exploratorio con método de factor común y análisis factorial confirmatorio. Se han comparado dos modelos: unifactorial y de tres factores correlacionados. Los resultados han evidenciado buenas cualidades métricas de fiabilidad (consistencia interna, fiabilidad de los indicadores individuales, fiabilidad de constructo y error típico de medida) y de validez (de contenido, convergente y discriminante)

Evaluación de actitudes de los profesionales hacia las personas con discapacidad

El propósito principal de este estudio ha sido la construcción y validación de una escala de actitudes hacia las personas con discapacidad, dirigida preferentemente a profesionales de las áreas de la salud y la educación. Han participado 976 profesionales de diferentes ámbitos (sanidad, educación, orientación laboral, medios de comunicación, administración), con un rango de edad entre 18 y 65 años. El 49,1 % fueron mujeres. Se han realizado análisis de concordancia entre jueces expertos para valorar el contenido de los ítems, y se han sometido los datos a tres clases de análisis: comparación de estructuras de correlación, análisis factorial exploratorio con método de factor común y análisis factorial confirmatorio. Se han comparado dos modelos: unifactorial y de tres factores correlacionados. Los resultados han evidenciado buenas cualidades métricas de fiabilidad (consistencia interna, fiabilidad de los indicadores individuales, fiabilidad de constructo y error típico de medida) y de validez (de contenido, convergente y discriminante)

Evidence on port-locking with heparin versus saline in patients with cancer not receiving chemotherapy: A randomized clinical trial

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of port-locking with heparin every 2 months vs. every 4 months and vs. saline solution every 2 months in patients with cancer not receiving active chemotherapy. The hypothesis stated that locking with heparin at four-month intervals and saline at two-month intervals would not increment > 10% of port obstructions. Methods: Multicentre, phase IV parallel, post-test control group study took place at the two chemotherapy units of oncology hospitals. Included patients with cancer with ports that completed the chemotherapy treatment but still having port maintenance care or blood samples taken up to four months. A sample of 126 patients with cancer in three arms was needed to detect a maximum difference of 10% for bioequivalence on the locking methods. Consecutive cases non-probabilistic sampling and randomized to one of the three groups; group A: received heparin 60 IU/mL every two months (control) vs. group B heparin every four months and vs. saline every two months in group C. Primary variables were the type of locking regimen, port obstruction, and absence of blood return, port-related infection, or venous thrombosis during the study period. Clinical and sociodemographic variables were also collected. Results: A total of 143 patients were randomly assigned; group A, 47 patients with heparin every 2 months, group B, 51 patients with heparin 4 months, and group C, 45 patients with saline every 2 months. All participants presented an adequate blood return and no obstructions, until the month of the 10th, when one participant in the group A receiving was withdrawn due to an absence of blood flow ( P 1/4 0.587). Conclusions: Port locks with heparin every 4 months or saline every 2 months did not show differences in safety maintenance, infection, or thrombosis compared to heparin every 2 months