Repositioning of the inferior alveolar nerve in cases of severe mandibular atrophy. : A clinical case

Implant-based rehabilitation of edentulous mandibular posterior sectors tends to be complicated by the presence of bone atrophy. Following tooth loss, cortical bone suffers greater resorption on the vestibular than on the lingual aspect, and patients typically present narrow and low alveolar crests. In cases of moderate to severe mandibular atrophy, the bone height between the alveolar crest and the dental canal is small, and sometimes limited to only a few millimeters. Implant placement in such situations is very difficult, and implies the risk of inferior alveolar nerve damage. In certain cases bone grafting may be considered to restore the alveolar crest. We present a case of severe mandibular atrophy in which inferior alveolar nerve repositioning and implant placement were carried out. Such nerve repositioning may constitute a treatment alternative in patients with severe posterior sector mandibular atrophy and a consequent risk of dental nerve damage during the placement of dental implants

eCONSULTA: Integración de un Sistema de Videoconsultoría Web entre Asistencia Primaria y Atención Especializada

En este artículo presentamos un sistema de videoconferencia web de bajo coste cuyo objetivo es mejorar la comunicación entre Atención Primaria y Atención Especializada optimizando los recursos y la calidad de la atención en enfermedades con alta prevalencia en la actualidad. En este caso se utiliza para problemas metabólicos como la diabetes o patologías del tiroides, aunque podría ser aplicado a otras patologías. El sistema está basado en una herramienta de SW libre (OpenMeetings) adaptada a nuestras necesidades y a la que se han añadido funcionalidades importantes como una sala de espera virtual o la administración de agendas. eCONSULTA ha sido instalado en el Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición del Hospital de Sabadell e integrado en el sistema de información médico de los Centros de Atención Primaria de la comarca del Vallés Occidental, provincia de Barcelona. En el momento de la redacción del artículo se está realizando un estudio de viabilidad y satisfacción de los usuarios

Tracción de la base de la lengua mediante fijación para el tratamiento de la apnea del sueño

Abstract: Sleep apnoea síndrome constitutes an important health problem because of its prevalence and impact over the cardiovascular system and quality of life of the patient. The classic conservative treatment remains to be the CPAP. Although it has a high efficacy, it is not well tolerated by the patient in many cases. The surgical treatments were initially devoted to the velopharyngeal complex, being definitive in only 50% of the cases. Our therapeutical approach consists on a thorough examination of the different areas affected in every case, one of which is the tongue base. The surgical technique we present constitutes a modification of others already described to advance the tongue base. It gets a controlled fixation of the tongue to the vestibular cortex with a monofilament suture through two holes without any special instruments. We obtain a permanent stabilization with good long term results clinically and polysomnographically. The complications found were relationed with deglution problems in the inmediate posoperative period.Resumen: El síndrome de apnea obstructiva del sueño (SAOS) constituye en la actualidad un problema de salud importante, tanto por su prevalencia como por la morbilidad que provoca sobre el aparato cardiovascular y la calidad de vida del paciente. Actualmente, la base del tratamiento es la administración de presión positiva continua durante el sueño (CPAP) que, si bien tiene una elevada eficacia, no es tolerada en muchos casos. Los tratamientos quirúrgicos han sido variados. En un principio se centraron en el sistema velofaríngeo con mejorías no superiores al 50% a largo plazo. En nuestro planteamiento terapéutico identificamos, mediante pruebas funcionales y de imagen, las regiones implicadas en cada caso. Entre ellas destaca la base de la lengua. La técnica que presentamos constituye una modificación a las ya descritas para el avance de la base lingual. Consiste en una fijación controlada de la misma a la cortical vestibular de la mandíbula con un punto de hilo de monofilamento pasado a través de dos orificios, sin necesidad de aditamentos especiales. Conseguimos una estabilización permanente con buenos resultados clínicos y polisomnográficos a largo plazo. Las complicaciones estuvieron en relación con problemas deglutorios en el postoperatorio inmediato

The persistent breach between evidence and practice in the prevention of surgical site infection. Qualitative study.

Despite the dissemination of guidelines for surgical site infection (SSI) prevention, a gap between the theoretical measures and their compliance persists. Accurate estimates of the implementation of preventative measures is crucial before planning dissemination strategies. A web-based survey was distributed to members of 11 Associations of operative nurses and surgeons. Questions aimed to determine their awareness of evidence, personal beliefs and actual use of the main preventative measures. Of 1105 responders, 50.5% receive no feed-back of their SSI rate. Responders show a moderate rate of awareness of the recommendations about not removing hair, hair clipping, skin antisepsis with alcoholic solutions, and normothermia. Antibiotic prophylaxis is given for more than 24 h by 18.8% of respondents. Screening for S. aureus is performed by 27.6%. Hair removal by shaving is used by 16.6% of responders. The most common antiseptic solutions are alcoholic chlorhexidine (57.2%) and aqueous povidone (23.3%). 62.8% of surgeons allow the solution to air dry before applying surgical drapes. Adhesive drapes in the surgical field are used routinely in 33.4% of cases. Perioperative normothermia, glucose control and hyperoxia are used in 84.3%, 65.9% and 23.3% of cases. Antimicrobial sutures and negative pressure therapy are used by 20.2% and 43.5% of teams, respectively. Prior to closing the incision, 83.9% replace surgical instruments always or selectively. Wound irrigation before closing is used in 78.1% of cases, mostly with saline. Check-lists, standardized orders, surveillance, feed-back and educational programs were rated most highly by respondents as a means to improve compliance with preventative guidelines, but few of these strategies were in place at their institutions. Gaps in the translation of evidence into practice remain in the prevention of SSI among different surgical specialities. Several areas for improvement have been identified, as some core prevention measures are not in common use

Pulmonary hypertension in Spanish patients with systemic sclerosis. Data from the RESCLE registry

[Introduction]: Our objective was to evaluate the pulmonary hypertension (PH) data for Spanish patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), define the PH types and determine the associated factors.[Method]: Descriptive study of PH-related data from the multicentre RESCLE registry. Estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (esPAP), measured via echocardiogram was considered elevated if ≥ 35 mmHg. Left heart disease (LHD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) were identified. When performed, data from right heart catheterisation (RHC) were collected.[Results]: esPAP was elevated in 350 of 808 patients (43.3%). One hundred and forty-four patients (17.8%) were considered to have PH (88 via RHC and the rest due to elevated esPAP along with evidence of significant LHD or ILD): PAH 3.7%, secondary to ILD 8.3%, secondary to LHD 2.8% and unclassified 3%. Prevalence of elevated esPAP was greater in diffuse SSc (dSSc) than in limited scleroderma (lSSc) (50.5 vs. 42.2%, p 0.046). In the group with elevated esPAP, a lower prevalence of anti-centromere antibodies (41.9% vs. 52.3%, p 0.006) and a greater prevalence of anti-topoisomerase-1 antibodies (ATA) (25.1% vs. 18.6%, p 0.04) were observed compared to the group with normal esPAP. Patients with elevated esPAP had a lower rate of digital ulcers (50.6% vs. 60.2%, p 0.007) and esophageal involvement (83.6% vs. 88.7%, p 0.07) and higher rate of renal crisis (4.6% vs. 1.8%, p 0.066).[Conclusions]: Prevalence of PAH was lower than expected (3.7%). Probability of having elevated esPAP was higher among patients with dSSc and among those with ATA

Harmonized D-dimer levels upon admission for prognosis of COVID-19 severity: Results from a Spanish multicenter registry (BIOCOVID-Spain study).

Coagulopathy is a key feature of COVID-19 and D-dimer has been reported as a predictor of severity. However, because D-dimer test results vary considerably among assays, resolving harmonization issues is fundamental to translate findings into clinical practice. In this retrospective multicenter study (BIOCOVID study), we aimed to analyze the value of harmonized D-dimer levels upon admission for the prediction of in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. All-cause in-hospital mortality was defined as endpoint. For harmonization of D-dimer levels, we designed a model based on the transformation of method-specific regression lines to a reference regression line. The ability of D-dimer for prediction of death was explored by receiver operating characteristic curves analysis and the association with the endpoint by Cox regression analysis. Study population included 2663 patients. In-hospital mortality rate was 14.3%. Harmonized D-dimer upon admission yielded an area under the curve of 0.66, with an optimal cut-off value of 0.945 mg/L FEU. Patients with harmonized D-dimer ≥ 0.945 mg/L FEU had a higher mortality rate (22.4% vs. 9.2%; p

Cardiac troponin and COVID-19 severity: Results from BIOCOVID study.

Myocardial injury is a common finding in COVID-19 strongly associated with severity. We analysed the prevalence and prognostic utility of myocardial injury, characterized by elevated cardiac troponin, in a large population of COVID-19 patients, and further evaluated separately the role of troponin T and I. This is a multicentre, retrospective observational study enrolling patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized in 32 Spanish hospitals. Elevated troponin levels were defined as values above the sex-specific 99th percentile upper reference limit, as recommended by international guidelines. Thirty-day mortality was defined as endpoint. A total of 1280 COVID-19 patients were included in this study, of whom 187 (14.6%) died during the hospitalization. Using a nonspecific sex cut-off, elevated troponin levels were found in 344 patients (26.9%), increasing to 384 (30.0%) when a sex-specific cut-off was used. This prevalence was significantly higher (42.9% vs 21.9%; P  In this multicentre study, myocardial injury was a common finding in COVID-19 patients. Its prevalence increased when a sex-specific cut-off and cardiac troponin T were used. Elevated troponin was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, irrespective of cardiac troponin assay and cut-offs to detect myocardial injury. Hence, the early measurement of cardiac troponin may be useful for risk stratification in COVID-19