Homeless people in Nicaragua: a point-in-time count in León

This work analyses the difficulties encounter to determine who should be considered a homeless person in a developing country, and the result of a Point-In-Time (PIT) count of homeless people done in the city of Leon (185,000 inhabitants), Nicaragua. Throughout the PIT count 82 un-duplicated persons living homeless were tallied (76% male; 23% female), 11% were under age. Half of the homeless detected seemed to have problems related to mental health, alcohol and drugs, and/or wounds, dermatological or dental problems. 69% showed a bad physical appearance, 74% had poor personal hygiene, and 80% had the dirty or very dirty clothesUniversidad de AlcaláThis research was supported by University of Alcalá in through the “Convocatoria de ayudas de la Universidad de Alcalá para el fomento de acciones de cooperación universitaria al desarrollo

Personas en situación sin hogar en León (Nicaragua): definición, número, características y necesidades básicas

48 p.La persistencia de personas en situación sin hogar es un fenómeno mundial que afecta a colectivos en situación de pobreza y exclusión social tanto en los países desarrollados como en los países en vías de desarrollo. Lamentablemente, la información sobre la situación de las personas en situación sin hogar en los países en vías de desarrollo resulta prácticamente inexistente. El documento de trabajo presenta los principales resultados obtenidos tras la realización de un conteo de personas en situación sin hogar (Point-in Time Count) realizado en León (Nicaragua). El conteo permitió detectar la presencia en la ciudad de 82 personas en situación sin hogar, de las que 47 respondieron a un breve cuestionario. Entorno a la mitad de las personas detectadas presentaban problemas de salud mental y/o relacionados con el consumo excesivo de sustancias psicoactivas (principalmente alcohol y pegamento inhalado). En su mayoría las personas en situación sin hogar tenían heridas, problemas dermatológicos y/o problemas dentales, además de presentar una mala higiene personal, llevando la ropa sucia o muy sucia. En Nicaragua resulta necesario disponer de información que permita impulsar el desarrollo de políticas públicas, dispositivos de atención y programas de intervención específicamente orientados hacia las personas en situación sin hogarHomelessness has considered a global phenomenon affecting groups in situations of poverty and social exclusion, in both the developed and developing worlds. However, information about the situation of homeless people in developing countries is practically non-existent. This work presents the main results of a point-in-time count of homeless people done in the city of Leon, Nicaragua. Throughout the point-in-time count, 82 un-duplicated persons living homeless were tallied, of which 47 responded to a small questionnaire. Around half of the homeless detected seemed to have problems related to mental health and/or related to excessive consumption of psychoactive substances (mainly alcohol and/or inhaled glue). Most of the homeless people had wounds, dermatological problems and / or dental problems, also showed a bad physical appearance, had poor personal hygiene, and had the dirty or very dirty clothes. In Nicaragua it is necessary to have information that enables the implementation of public policies, care devices and intervention programs specifically targeted at people in a homeless situatio

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variant transitions using differences in diagnostic cycle threshold values of target genes

Monitoring the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants is important to detect potential risks of increased transmission or disease severity. We investigated the identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants from real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) routine diagnostics data. Cycle threshold (Ct) values of positive samples were collected from April 2021 to January 2022 in the Northern Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (n = 15,254). Viral lineage identification from whole genome sequencing (WGS) was available for 4618 (30.3%) of these samples. Pairwise differences in the Ct values between gene targets (ΔCt) were analyzed for variants of concern or interest circulating in our area. A specific delay in the Ct of the N-gene compared to the RdRp-gene (ΔCt) was observed for Alpha, Delta, Eta and Omicron. Temporal differences in ΔCt correlated with the dynamics of viral replacement of Alpha by Delta and of Delta by Omicron according to WGS results. Using ΔCt, prediction of new variants of concern at early stages of circulation was achieved with high sensitivity and specificity (91.1% and 97.8% for Delta; 98.5% and 90.8% for Omicron). Thus, tracking population-wide trends in ΔCt values obtained from routine diagnostics testing in combination with WGS could be useful for real-time management and response to local epidemics

Results of an early access treatment protocol of daratumumab monotherapy in spanish patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma

Daratumumab is a human CD38-targeted monoclonal antibody approved as monotherapy for heavily pretreated relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. We report findings for the Spanish cohort of an open-label treatment protocol that provided early access to daratumumab monotherapy and collected safety and patient-reported outcomes data for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. At 15 centers across Spain, intravenous daratumumab (16mg/kg) was administered to 73 patients who had ≥3 prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory drug, or who were double refractory to both. The median duration of daratumumab treatment was 3.3 (range: 0.03–13.17) months, with a median number of 12 (range: 1–25) infusions. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in 74% of patients and included lymphopenia (28.8%), thrombocytopenia (27.4%), neutropenia (21.9%), leukopenia (19.2%), and anemia (15.1%). Common (>5%) serious treatmentemergent adverse events included respiratory tract infection (9.6%), general physical health deterioration (6.8%), and back pain (5.5%). Infusion-related reactions occurred in 45% of patients. The median change from baseline in all domains of the EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-C30 was mostly 0. A total of 18 (24.7%) patients achieved a partial response or better, with 10 (13.7%) patients achieving a very good partial response or better. Median progression-free survival was 3.98 months. The results of this early access treatment protocol are consistent with previously reported trials of daratumumab monotherapy and confirm its safety and antitumoral efficacy in Spanish patients with heavily treated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma

Retraction of complaints among female victims of intimate partner violence living in poverty in Nicaragua

Retraction among female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who report their abuser is a major problem in all societies. This article describes a study of 136 female victims of physical IPV living in poverty in Nicaragua, one of the countries with the lowest levels of development in Central America. The paper analyses the aspects that differentiate women living in poverty who retracted after reporting IPV from those who did not. The results show that retraction is widespread among female victims of IPV living in poverty in León (Nicaragua). Although it is difficult to predict the retraction behaviour of the respondents, some differences between the women who retracted their complaint and those who did not were observed. A combination of five variables (including personal circumstances and beliefs about the intimate partner relationship and family) was the best alternative for discriminating between women who had retracted and those who had not.Universidad de AlcaláThis research was supported by University of Alcalá in through the “Convocatoria de ayudas de la Universidad de Alcalá para el fomento de acciones de cooperación universitaria al desarrollo

Results of an early access treatment protocol of daratumumab monotherapy in spanish patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma

Daratumumab is a human CD38-targeted monoclonal antibody approved as monotherapy for heavily pretreated relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. We report findings for the Spanish cohort of an open-label treatment protocol that provided early access to daratumumab monotherapy and collected safety and patient-reported outcomes data for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. At 15 centers across Spain, intravenous daratumumab (16mg/kg) was administered to 73 patients who had ≥3 prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory drug, or who were double refractory to both. The median duration of daratumumab treatment was 3.3 (range: 0.03–13.17) months, with a median number of 12 (range: 1–25) infusions. Grade 3/4 treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in 74% of patients and included lymphopenia (28.8%), thrombocytopenia (27.4%), neutropenia (21.9%), leukopenia (19.2%), and anemia (15.1%). Common (>5%) serious treatmentemergent adverse events included respiratory tract infection (9.6%), general physical health deterioration (6.8%), and back pain (5.5%). Infusion-related reactions occurred in 45% of patients. The median change from baseline in all domains of the EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-C30 was mostly 0. A total of 18 (24.7%) patients achieved a partial response or better, with 10 (13.7%) patients achieving a very good partial response or better. Median progression-free survival was 3.98 months. The results of this early access treatment protocol are consistent with previously reported trials of daratumumab monotherapy and confirm its safety and antitumoral efficacy in Spanish patients with heavily treated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma