Tratamiento de los carcinomas epidermoides orales y orofaringeos mediante láser de CO2

Introducción: El efecto de la amplia longitud de onda del láser de CO2 es la vaporización térmica de los tejidos, consiguiendo una máxima concentración de energía con una mínima penetración en los mismos. En el campo de la cirugía oral generalmente se emplea para el tratamiento de los pequeños tumores mucosos de la cavidad oral y la orofaringe, por la escasa morbilidad que produce y la ausencia de necesidad reconstructiva del defecto creado. Objetivo: Analizar la evolución postoperatoria, en los pacientes tratados por carcinomas epidermoides orales y orofaringeos, tras la resección mediante láser de CO2. Compararla con la de los pacientes tratados mediante métodos quirúrgicos convencionales realizando la reconstrucción a través de la sutura directa o el empleo de colgajos locales, regionales o a distancia. Diseño del estudio: Estudio de carácter prospectivo que incluye a 70 pacientes tratados por carcinomas epidermoides orales y orofaringeos. Treinta y cinco pacientes fueron tratados mediante láser de CO2, en 10 se realizó cierre directo de la lesión y en los restantes 25 algún colgajo local, regional o a distancia. Se analizó la presencia de sintomatología dolorosa durante el postoperatorio, el grado de retracción cicatricial y la presencia de alteraciones funcionales en la deglución y habla en función de la resección y reconstrucción realizada. Resultados: Obtuvimos un menor grado de dolor y de retracción cicatricial postoperatoria mediante el empleo de láser de CO2, minimizando así las secuelas funcionales de habla (mejor articulación de la palabra) y deglución (recuperación funcional más eficaz y precoz). Conclusión: La resección mediante láser de CO2 se ha convertido en el tratamiento de elección de los pequeños tumores mucosos orales y orofaringeos, por la ausencia de necesidad reconstructiva, menor retracción cicatricial y buena evolución postoperatoria.Introduction: The effect of the wide long-wave CO2 laser is the thermal vaporization of the tissues, getting a maximum energy concentration with a minimum of tissue penetration. In oral surgery, it is generally used for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal small mucous tumors, due to the scarce morbidity that takes place and the absence of reconstructive necessity. Objective: To analyze the postoperative evolution, in the patients treated by oral and oropharyngeal epidermoid carcinomas, after CO2 laser resection. To compare it with that of the patients treated by means of conventional surgical methods, achieving the reconstruction through direct suture or the employment of local, regional or distance flaps. Methods: A prospective study was designed including 70 patients treated by oral and oropharyngeal epidermoid carcinomas. Thirty-five patients were treated by means of CO2 laser, in 10 cases direct wound-closure was realized, and in the remaining 25 patients some local, regional or distance flap were used. There were analysed the presence of postoperative pain, the degree of cicatricial retraction, and the speech and swallowing functional results. Results: We obtained a smaller painful degree and postoperative cicatricial retraction by the employment of CO2 laser. It permits minimizing the functional speech sequels (better words articulation) and swallowing (effective and precocious functional recovery). Conclusion: CO2 laser resection has become the elective treatment for small oral and oropharyngeal epidermoid carcinomas. The reasons are the absence of reconstructive surgery necessity, the scarce cicatricial retraction, and the excellent postoperative evolution

Professional interventions to implement guidelines to prevent hazardous alcohol consumption by patients in primary care settings (Protocol)

post-print90 K

Herschel observations of interstellar chloronium

Using the Herschel Space Observatory's Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI), we have observed para-chloronium (H2Cl+) toward six sources in the Galaxy. We detected interstellar chloronium absorption in foreground molecular clouds along the sight-lines to the bright submillimeter continuum sources Sgr A (+50 km/s cloud) and W31C. Both the para-H2-35Cl+ and para-H2-37Cl+ isotopologues were detected, through observations of their 1(11)-0(00) transitions at rest frequencies of 485.42 and 484.23 GHz, respectively. For an assumed ortho-to-para ratio of 3, the observed optical depths imply that chloronium accounts for ~ 4 - 12% of chlorine nuclei in the gas phase. We detected interstellar chloronium emission from two sources in the Orion Molecular Cloud 1: the Orion Bar photodissociation region and the Orion South condensation. For an assumed ortho-to-para ratio of 3 for chloronium, the observed emission line fluxes imply total beam-averaged column densities of ~ 2.0E+13 cm-2 and ~ 1.2E+13 cm-2, respectively, for chloronium in these two sources. We obtained upper limits on the para-H2-35Cl+ line strengths toward H2 Peak 1 in the Orion Molecular cloud and toward the massive young star AFGL 2591. The chloronium abundances inferred in this study are typically at least a factor ~10 larger than the predictions of steady-state theoretical models for the chemistry of interstellar molecules containing chlorine. Several explanations for this discrepancy were investigated, but none has proven satisfactory, and thus the large observed abundances of chloronium remain puzzling.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Effectiveness of a strategy that uses educational games to implement clinical practice guidelines among Spanish residents of family and community medicine (e-EDUCAGUIA project):A clinical trial by clusters

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias FIS Grant Number PI11/0477 ISCIII.-REDISSEC Proyecto RD12/0001/0012 AND FEDER Funding.Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed with the aim of helping health professionals, patients, and caregivers make decisions about their health care, using the best available evidence. In many cases, incorporation of these recommendations into clinical practice also implies a need for changes in routine clinical practice. Using educational games as a strategy for implementing recommendations among health professionals has been demonstrated to be effective in some studies; however, evidence is still scarce. The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a teaching strategy for the implementation of CPGs using educational games (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) to improve knowledge and skills related to clinical decision-making by residents in family medicine. The primary objective will be evaluated at 1 and 6months after the intervention. The secondary objectives are to identify barriers and facilitators for the use of guidelines by residents of family medicine and to describe the educational strategies used by Spanish teaching units of family and community medicine to encourage implementation of CPGs. Methods/design: We propose a multicenter clinical trial with randomized allocation by clusters of family and community medicine teaching units in Spain. The sample size will be 394 residents (197 in each group), with the teaching units as the randomization unit and the residents comprising the analysis unit. For the intervention, both groups will receive an initial 1-h session on clinical practice guideline use and the usual dissemination strategy by e-mail. The intervention group (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) strategy will consist of educational games with hypothetical clinical scenarios in a virtual environment. The primary outcome will be the score obtained by the residents on evaluation questionnaires for each clinical practice guideline. Other included variables will be the sociodemographic and training variables of the residents and the teaching unit characteristics. The statistical analysis will consist of a descriptive analysis of variables and a baseline comparison of both groups. For the primary outcome analysis, an average score comparison of hypothetical scenario questionnaires between the EDUCAGUIA intervention group and the control group will be performed at 1 and 6months post-intervention, using 95% confidence intervals. A linear multilevel regression will be used to adjust the model. Discussion: The identification of effective teaching strategies will facilitate the incorporation of available knowledge into clinical practice that could eventually improve patient outcomes. The inclusion of information technologies as teaching tools permits greater learning autonomy and allows deeper instructor participation in the monitoring and supervision of residents. The long-term impact of this strategy is unknown; however, because it is aimed at professionals undergoing training and it addresses prevalent health problems, a small effect can be of great relevance. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02210442.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

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

Prevalence of smoking in a psychiatric hospital and its relationship with respiratory symptoms and the prevalence of COPD

Luis Lores,1 Alfonso Monje,2 Manel Bergada,2 Elisabeth Arellano,1 Julian Rodr&iacute;guez-Larrea,3 Marc Miravitlles4 1Pneumology Department, Hospital General Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de D&eacute;u, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 2Mental Health Services, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de D&eacute;u, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 3Cardiology Department, Hospital General Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de D&eacute;u, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; 4Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d&rsquo;Hebron, CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Barcelona, Spain Purpose: Psychiatric patients present an elevated rate of smoking, and the smoking habit is related to a high morbidity and mortality in this collective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking in patients admitted for psychiatric disorders and its relationship with respiratory disease, the prevalence of COPD, and alterations in the quality of life.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted and detailed information on smoking and respiratory symptomatology was obtained. The study participants underwent the following tests: spirometry with bronchodilator test, Fagerstr&ouml;m test, determination of physical activity using the LCADL questionnaire, and evaluation of quality of life with the EuroQoL-5 Dimensions EQ-5D questionnaire.Results: Two hundred seventy-six patients (mean age 56.8 years) were included: 155 with schizophrenia (87.7% smokers), 46 with depressive or anxiety disorders (54.3% smokers), and 49 and 25 with intellectual disability and dementia (43.2% smokers), respectively. The mean Fagerstr&ouml;m test score was 5.75 points. Smokers presented with cough (47.6%), expectoration (41.4%), and chronic bronchitis (36.6%). The prevalence of COPD in the total population was 28.9%. The EQ-5D and LCADL scores were better in smokers because of their younger age and lesser psychiatric involvement. A high prevalence of smoking was observed in the psychiatric population studied, and 28.9% were diagnosed with COPD.Conclusion: Smokers presented many more respiratory symptoms and chronic bronchitis but did not present a worse quality of life or physical activity due to their younger age and milder psychiatric involvement. Keywords: smoking, psychiatric patients, spirometry, quality of life, COPD, physical activit