Colombian consensus recommendations for diagnosis, management and treatment of the infection by SARS-COV-2/ COVID-19 in health care facilities - Recommendations from expert´s group based and informed on evidence

La Asociación Colombiana de Infectología (ACIN) y el Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud (IETS) conformó un grupo de trabajo para desarrollar recomendaciones informadas y basadas en evidencia, por consenso de expertos para la atención, diagnóstico y manejo de casos de Covid 19. Estas guías son dirigidas al personal de salud y buscar dar recomendaciones en los ámbitos de la atención en salud de los casos de Covid-19, en el contexto nacional de Colombia

Síntesis de nanoestructuras de carbono mediante la Técnica de Deposición Química de Vapores: Una revisión general

The boom that nanotechnology has had over the last 3 decades is undeniable. Carbon nanostructured forms are mainly responsible for this interest in nanomaterials, since historically they paved the way to the study of nanomaterials with the discovery of fullerenes in 1985 and carbon nanotubes in 1991. Although there are various techniques to produce nanomaterials, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is particularly valuable as it allows the production of a great variety of carbon nanostructures, it is versatile, scalable, easy to implement and of a relatively low-cost. This review article highlights the importance of CVD and details its principles, conditions and operation parameters, as well as the main variations of this technique. Detailed conditions are described for the production of fullerenes, nano-onions, carbon nanotubes, nanospheres, graphene, and others, emphasizing the specific parameters for each synthesis.Es innegable el auge que ha tenido la nanotecnología en las últimas tres décadas. Responsables de este interés en los nanomateriales son principalmente las formas nanoestructuradas del carbono, ya que históricamente fueron las que inauguraron el estudio de los nanomateriales con el descubrimiento de los fullerenos en 1985 y los nanotubos de carbono en 1991. Aunque existen diversas técnicas para producir estos materiales, la deposición química de vapores (CVD, por sus siglas en inglés) es particularmente valiosa, ya que permite la producción de una gran variedad de nanoestructuras de carbono, es versátil, escalable, de fácil implementación y de relativamente bajo costo. En este artículo de revisión se destaca la importancia de CVD y se detallan sus principios, condiciones y parámetros de operación, así como sus principales variantes. Se realiza una descripción de la técnica utilizada para producir fullerenos, nano-cebollas, nanotubos de carbono, nanoesferas, grafeno y otras, recalcando los parámetros específicos para cada síntesis

The Effects of Alternate-Day Corticosteroids in Autoimmune Disease Patients

Introduction. Several studiesdemonstrated that the use of alternate-day corticosteroid therapy maintains control of autoimmune diseases due to the prolongation of their therapeutic effect beyond their metabolic effect, with a significant decrease in side effects in patients. For this reason, the current recommendation for the use of these medications is in a short cycle to avoid adverse effects when used frequently and for prolonged periods of time. Objectives. To learn variations in serum levels of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases treated with steroids on alternate days, as well as whether there are differences in the response to them depending on the type of disease. Study Design. A descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional study was conducted in which serum autoantibody levels were compared at the time of diagnosis and three months after alternate-day corticosteroid therapy. Results. We included 106 patients from three autoimmune connective tissue diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) and observed a statistically significant decrease in serum autoantibody levels both in patients with lupus and those with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, regardless of the sex of the patients, as well as the type of steroids used. Conclusions. Treatment with alternate-day corticosteroids achieved a statistically significant decrease in serum autoantibody levels in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

Second Colombian Consensus on the Management of Post-menopausal Osteoporosis: 2017 Update

La Asociación Colombiana de Osteoporosis y Metabolismo Mineral se reunió a principios de 2017 para actualizar el Consenso Colombiano de Osteoporosis, elaborado por primera vez en 2005, un paso que se consideró necesario en vista del subdiagnóstico de esta enfermedad, el impacto esperado del envejecimiento poblacional y los cambios en el tratamiento farmacológico que ha habido desde entonces. Se seleccionó un equipo técnico con especialistas de múltiples áreas y amplia trayectoria, repartidos en 4 grupos de trabajo: definición y epidemiología, diagnóstico, tratamiento farmacológico y medidas no farmacológicas. Luego de una revisión de la literatura científica, en reuniones de trabajo se generaron las definiciones y recomendaciones que se resumen en este documento.Q4Artículo de revisión184-210The Colombian Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism Association met in early 2017 to update the Colombian Consensus on Osteoporosis. This was first issued in 2005, and is seen as a necessary step in view of the underdiagnosed status of this disease, and the expected impact of population ageing. A technical team was formed with specialists with long experience across multiple disciplines, who were assigned to four working groups: definitions and epidemiology, diagnosis, pharmacological treatment, and non-pharmacological treatment. After a scientific literature review and a series of meetings, the definitions and recommendations are summarised in this article