Quality Management System and Quality Assurance Programs in Radiotherapy in the Light of Regulations Applicable in México

Radiotherapy Quality Management Systems (qms) and Quality Assurance (qa) Programs have been proposed as an effective tool to ensure consistency between medical prescription and safe delivery of treatment to patients with minimal exposure to staff. In recent years in Mexico, there has been an increase in the acquisition of modern medical linear accelerators for the delivery of highly sophisticated radiotherapy treatments with specific qa requirements.This makes it necessary to review the current regulatory framework on Quality Management, to know if regulatory requirements are sufficient for the establishment, implementation and development of Comprehensive Quality Systems (qs) in radiotherapy centres. The objective of this work is to review the current national regulations in radiotherapy qms, in particular those referring to standard procedures, human and physical infrastructure, and the implementation of qs in the practice of health care institutions. Results show a first approach to the implementation of quality management systems and quality assurance programs in radiotherapy centres

Quality Management System and Quality Assurance Programs in Radiotherapy in the Light of Regulations Applicable in México

Radiotherapy Quality Management Systems (qms) and Quality Assurance (qa) Programs have been proposed as an effective tool to ensure consistency between medical prescription and safe delivery of treatment to patients with minimal exposure to staff. In recent years in Mexico, there has been an increase in the acquisition of modern medical linear accelerators for the delivery of highly sophisticated radiotherapy treatments with specific qa requirements.This makes it necessary to review the current regulatory framework on Quality Management, to know if regulatory requirements are sufficient for the establishment, implementation and development of Comprehensive Quality Systems (qs) in radiotherapy centres. The objective of this work is to review the current national regulations in radiotherapy qms, in particular those referring to standard procedures, human and physical infrastructure, and the implementation of qs in the practice of health care institutions. Results show a first approach to the implementation of quality management systems and quality assurance programs in radiotherapy centres

Salud de los trabajadores

Actividad física y su relación con los factores de riesgo cardiovascular de carteros chilenosAnálisis de resultados: riesgos psicosociales en el trabajo Suceso-Istas 21 en Cesfam QuellónAusentismo laboral por enfermedades oftalmológicas, Chile 2009Brote de diarreas por norovirus, posterremoto-tsunami, Constitución, Región del MauleCalidad de vida en profesionales de la salud pública chilenaCaracterización del reposo laboral en personal del SSMN durante el primer semestre de 2010Concentración de nicotina en pelo en trabajadores no fumadores expuestos a humo de tabaco ambientalCondiciones de trabajo y bienestar/malestar docente en profesores de enseñanza media de SantiagoDisfunción auditiva inducida por exposición a xilenoErgonomía aplicada al estudio del síndrome de dolor lumbar en el trabajoEstimación de la frecuencia de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en trabajadores de una empresa mineraExposición a plaguicidas inhibidores de la acetilcolinesterasa en Colombia, 2006-2009Factores de riesgo y daños de salud en conductores de una empresa peruana de transporte terrestre, 2009Las consecuencias de la cultura en salud y seguridad ocupacional en una empresa mineraPercepción de cambios en la práctica médica y estrategias de afrontamientoPercepción de la calidad de vida en la Universidad del BiobíoPesos máximos aceptables para tareas de levantamiento manual de carga en población laboral femeninaRiesgo coronario en trabajadores mineros según la función de Framingham adaptada para la población chilenaTrastornos emocionales y riesgo cardiovascular en trabajadores de la salu

First Case of Actinomycetoma in France Due to a Novel Nocardia Species, Nocardia boironii sp. nov.

8 páginas.-- 2 figuras.-- 43 referenciasBacterial mycetoma is a neglected disease mainly observed in tropical area countries and typically associated with rural conditions, making its presence in developed countries of temperate climate areas rare. However, we report the first case of an autochthonous mycetoma case in continental France that originated from a new Nocardia species. A Gram-positive filamentous bacterium (OFN 14.177T) was isolated from a pus sample from the mycetoma of a male French patient 92 years old suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The isolate was analyzed by a polyphasic taxonomic approach by coupling morphological, biochemical, physiological, and chemotaxonomic aspects to genomic and phylogenetic analyses. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) using four housekeeping genes (16S rRNA gene, secA1, hsp65, and sod) combined with phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strain OFN 14.177T is phylogenetically closer not only to Nocardia altamirensis but also to all other species comprising the Nocardia brasiliensis clade (i.e., N. brasiliensis, N. altamirensis, N. vulneris, N. iowensis, and N. tenerifensis), some of which present cutaneous tropism. The GC content of isolate OFN 14.177T was 68.2 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization analyses demonstrated 38.25% relative reassociation with N. altamirensis. The strain OFN 14.177T is different from the closest species at genetic and phenotypical levels, and the data obtained indicate that it should be recognized as a new species, which the name of Nocardia boironii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is OFN 14.177T ( EML 1451 DSM 101696). IMPORTANCE Bacterial mycetoma is an endemic infection in areas with tropical and subtropical climates. Thus, its presence in temperate climate areas remains rare. We report here the first case of autochthonous actinomycetoma in continental France originating from a Nocardia species other than N. brasiliensis, namely, Nocardia boironii. Considering the history of the patient, the infection source of strain OFN 14.177T may be from frequent contact with the soil over many years because of his gardening activities. The discovery of a French autochthonous Nocardia species responsible for actinomycetoma reveals the importance of considering the possibility of having autochthonous infections of this type in nontropical countries, not only imported cases from tropical countries. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the real incidence of this new species.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewe

Hoyosella altamirensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the order Actinomycetales isolated from a cave biofilm

6 páginas, 2 figuras, 2 tablas. Jurado, Valme et al.--A novel actinomycete, strain OFN S31T, was isolated from a complex biofilm in the Altamira Cave, Spain. A polyphasic study was carried out to clarify the taxonomic position of this strain. Phylogenetic analysis with 16S rRNA gene sequences of representatives of the genera Corynebacterium, Dietzia, Gordonia, Millisia, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Segniliparus, Skermania, Tsukamurella and Williamsia indicated that strain OFN S31T formed a distinct taxon in the 16S rRNA gene tree that was more closely associated with the Mycobacterium clade. The type strain of Mycobacterium fallax was the closest relative of strain OFN S31T (95.6 % similarity). The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid, arabinose and galactose, which are characteristic components of cell-wall chemotype IV of actinomycetes. The sugars of the peptidoglycan were acetylated. The polar lipid pattern was composed of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and diphosphatidylglycerol. Strain OFN S31T is characterized by the absence of mycelium and mycolic acids. Strain OFN S31T had MK-8 as the major menaquinone. The DNA G+C content was 49.3 mol%, the lowest found among all taxa included in the suborder Corynebacterineae. Based on morphological, chemotaxonomic, phenotypic and genetic characteristics, strain OFN S31T is considered to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Hoyosella altamirensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Hoyosella altamirensis is strain OFN S31T (=CIP 109864T =DSM 45258T). © 2009 IUMS.This work was supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). The authors acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Culture for the microbiological study of Altamira Cave and from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, project CGL2006-07424. The facilities provided by the Museum of Altamira are acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Nocardia altamirensis sp. nov., isolated from Altamira Cave, Cantabria, Spain

A novel actinomycete strain, OFN S17T, was isolated from a sample collected from Altamira Cave, Cantabria, Spain. This strain was identified by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The 16S rRNA, hsp65 and sod gene sequences of the strain were determined and compared with those of representative Nocardia species. The results showed that strain OFN S17T should be assigned to the genus Nocardia. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain OFN S17T was most closely related to the type strain of Nocardia tenerifensis (98.6, 96.2 and 96% similarity, respectively, for the 16S rRNA, hsp65 and sod gene sequences). The DNA G+C content was 64.4 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization analyses revealed 29% relative reassociation between the DNA of strain OFN S17T and N. tenerifensis DSM 44704T. The phenotypic and genotypic data show that strain OFN S17T merits recognition as a representative of a novel species of the genus Nocardia, for which the name Nocardia altamirensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is OFN S17T (=CIP 109606T =DSM 44997T). © 2008 IUMS.Peer Reviewe

First case of cerebral abscess due to a novel Nocardia species in an immunocompromised patient

Flateau, C. et al.-- 16 pages, 2 figures, 26 references.We report the first case of cerebral abscess due to a novel species of Nocardia in a heart transplanted patient, and describe antimicrobial susceptibility of this isolate. As our patient was intolerant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, we also discuss alternative therapeutic options in brain abscess due to Nocardia sp.Peer Reviewe

Pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms in caves

With today's leisure tourism, the frequency of visits to many caves makes it necessary to know about possible potentially pathogenic microorganisms in caves, determine their reservoirs, and inform the public about the consequences of such visits. Our data reveal that caves could be a potential danger to visitors because of the presence of opportunistic microorganisms, whose existence and possible development in humans is currently unknown.Funding from the project RNM-5137, Consejería de Innovación, Junta de Andalucía, is acknowledged. This is also a TCP CSD2007-00058 paper.Peer Reviewe