Ciencia abierta y la producción científica de la Universidad de Camagüey en redes sociales académicas

Objetivo. Analizar la presencia de la comunidad científica de la Universidad de Camagüey y su producción científica en ResearchGate y Google Scholar, herramientas de elevado uso social, también se han extendido al contexto académico y tienen un papel esencial en el desarrollo de la ciencia abierta.Diseño/Metodología/Enfoque. La investigación se desarrolla a partir del análisis empírico del comportamiento de toda la actividad que se genera en ResearchGate y Google Scholar a través de los indicadores almétricos presentes en estos espacios digitales. Resultados/Discusión. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la existencia de los investigadores dicha institución y su labor científica y académica en ResearchGate y Google Scholar, así como el aprovechamiento de sus prestaciones para la difusión de resultados científicos. Además, se observó poca presencia de la comunidad científica de la institución en ambas plataformas. Conclusiones. Posicionar la producción científica de las universidades en plataformas de colaboración científica como las redes sociales académicas, esta es una práctica de vital importancia para visibilidad de la ciencia en la web y de cara a dar nuevos pasos en el desarrollo de la ciencia abierta.  A pesar de ello, la presencia de la Universidad de Camagüey en ResearchGate y Google Scholar es discreta y no se corresponden con la capacidad científico- investigativa de la institución académica. Originalidad/Valor. El enfoque de la investigación permite apreciar la sinergia entre ciencia abierta, investigación científica, comunicación científica y redes sociales académicas. A través de la estructura científica del centro, se analiza su comportamiento en ResearchGate y Google Scholar.

Clinical Audits in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Methodological Considerations and Workflow

Objectives: Previous clinical audits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have provided valuable information on the clinical care delivered to patients admitted to medical wards because of COPD exacerbations. However, clinical audits of COPD in an outpatient setting are scarce and no methodological guidelines are currently available. Based on our previous experience, herein we describe a clinical audit for COPD patients in specialized outpatient clinics with the overall goal of establishing a potential methodological workflow.Methods: A pilot clinical audit of COPD patients referred to respiratory outpatient clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (over 8 million inhabitants), was performed. The audit took place between October 2013 and September 2014, and 10 centers (20% of all public hospitals) were invited to participate. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The usefulness of formally scheduled regular follow-up visits was assessed. Two different databases (resources and clinical database) were constructed. Assessments were planned over a year divided by 4 three-month periods, with the goal of determining seasonal-related changes. Exacerbations and survival served as the main endpoints.Conclusions: This paper describes a methodological framework for conducting a clinical audit of COPD patients in an outpatient setting. Results from such audits can guide health information systems development and implementation in real-world settings.This study was financially supported by an unrestricted grant from Laboratorios Menarini, SA (Barcelona, Spain)

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Análisis de buenas prácticas en la agricultura: Sistemas productivos familiares del Corredor Seco Centroamericano

Este documento presenta los resultados del análisis realizado en terreno para contrastar ocho Buenas Prácticas en Agricultura previamente seleccionadas y sistematizadas, con casos prácticos de sistemas productivos familiares del Corredor Seco Centroamericano (CSC). El estudio ha sido implementado en el marco del proyecto “Buenas Prácticas Agrícolas (BPA) y Evaluación de Daños y Pérdidas (D&P) para la Gestión Integral del Riesgo a Desastres (GIRD) y la Agricultura Sostenible Adaptada al Clima (ASAC)”. La iniciativa se enmarca en la categoría de Proyectos de Conocimiento para el Desarrollo (PCD) del Plan de Transferencia, Intercambio y Gestión de Conocimiento para el Desarrollo de la Cooperación Española en América Latina y el Caribe – INTERCOONECTA

Metodología para el monitoreo y evaluación de buenas prácticas en agricultura para la adaptación al cambio climático y la gestión integral del riesgo de desastres

Esta iniciativa se focaliza en el Corredor Seco Centroamericano y las Zonas Áridas de República Dominicana, donde habita una población altamente vulnerable a la sequía y responde a las prioridades identificadas en la Estrategia de Agricultura Sostenible Adaptada al Clima (EASAC) y en el Plan Regional para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres (PRRD). La metodología aquí proporcionada pretende establecer una guía práctica que oriente al personal técnico de los países en el monitoreo y la evaluación de las BPA para la adaptación al cambio climático y la gestión integral del riesgo de desastres. La finalidad es validar y consolidar las estrategias de adaptación al cambio climático y la gestión integral del riesgo de desastres que ya se han puesto a prueba y replicarlas en contextos geográficos más amplios. El documento se compone de dos partes: la primera describe la metodología y la segunda recoge cada una de las herramientas que deberán utilizarse para el levantamiento de la información necesaria para la aplicación de la metodología

Guideline Adherence in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from a Clinical Audit.

Journal ArticleOBJECTIVES Previous clinical audits of COPD have provided relevant information about medical intervention in exacerbation admissions. The present study aims to evaluate adherence to current guidelines in COPD through a clinical audit. METHODS This is a pilot clinical audit performed in hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with more than 8 million inhabitants), including 9 centers (20% of the public centers in the area) between 2013 and 2014. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The performance of the outpatient clinics was benchmarked against three guidance documents available at the time of the audit. The appropriateness of the performance was categorized as excellent (>80%), good (60-80%), adequate (40-59%), inadequate (20-39%), and highly inadequate (<20%). RESULTS During the audit, 621 clinical records were audited. Adherence to the different guidelines presented a considerable variability among the different participating hospitals, with an excellent or good adherence for symptom recording, MRC or CAT use, smoking status evaluation, spirometry, or bronchodilation therapy. The most outstanding areas for improvement were the use of the BODE index, the monitoring of treatments, the determination of alpha1-antitrypsin, the performance of exercise testing, and vaccination recommendations. CONCLUSIONS The present study reflects the situation of clinical care for COPD patients in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics. Adherence to clinical guidelines shows considerable variability in outpatient clinics managing COPD patients, and some aspects of the clinical care can clearly be improved.This study was financially supported by an unrestricted grant from Laboratorios Menarini, SA (Barcelona, Spain).Ye

Determinants for changing the treatment of COPD: a regression analysis from a clinical audit.

Journal Article;INTRODUCTION This study is an analysis of a pilot COPD clinical audit that evaluated adherence to guidelines for patients with COPD in a stable disease phase during a routine visit in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics in order to identify the variables associated with the decision to step-up or step-down pharmacological treatment. METHODS This study was a pilot clinical audit performed at hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with over eight million inhabitants), in which 20% of centers in the area (catchment population 3,143,086 inhabitants) were invited to participate. Treatment changes were evaluated in terms of the number of prescribed medications and were classified as step-up, step-down, or no change. Three backward stepwise binominal multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate variables associated with stepping up, stepping down, and inhaled corticosteroids discontinuation. RESULTS The present analysis evaluated 565 clinical records (91%) of the complete audit. Of those records, 366 (64.8%) cases saw no change in pharmacological treatment, while 99 patients (17.5%) had an increase in the number of drugs, 55 (9.7%) had a decrease in the number of drugs, and 45 (8.0%) noted a change to other medication for a similar therapeutic scheme. Exacerbations were the main factor in stepping up treatment, as were the symptoms themselves. In contrast, rather than symptoms, doctors used forced expiratory volume in 1 second and previous treatment with long-term antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids as the key determinants to stepping down treatment. CONCLUSION The majority of doctors did not change the prescription. When changes were made, a number of related factors were noted. Future trials must evaluate whether these therapeutic changes impact clinically relevant outcomes at follow-up.This study was financially supported by an unrestricted grant from Laboratorios Menarini, SA (Barcelona, Spain).Ye