Effect of zinc on oropharyngeal mucositis in children with acute leukemia undergoing chemotherapy

Oropharyngeal mucositis (OM) is one of the main side-effects of oncological therapy. There is no treatment to prevent its occurrence, but some zinc-based therapies have been proven to help in decreasing its intensity. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of zinc in OM in children with acute leukemia in the early stages of oncological treatment. This quasi-experimental study evaluated OM in 2 groups (control group: conventional hospital management, and experimental group: administration of 50 mg of zinc gluconate daily plus conventional hospital management). OM severity was recorded at a two-month follow-up. Forty-nine patients (26 in the control group and 23 in the experimental group) were included. The mean age of the patients was 11.1 ± 2.7 years; 65.3% had a diagnosis of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The incidences of OM in the control group and the experimental group were 46.2% and 26.1%, respectively, but the difference was not significant. Based on a negative binomial regression model, females had, on average, 1.5 more days with OM (p = 0.002), and patients assigned to the experimental group had, on average, 2 less days with OM than the control group (p = 0.001). The pain score was higher in the control group (p = 0.0009), as was the mean score on the WHO scale (p = 0.0012). Zinc facilitated a reduction in the severity and duration of OM; further studies focusing on children are needed to confirm the effects of this trace element

Clinical presentation of pediatric patients with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in a single center in Mexico City

BackgroundThe clinical spectrum of COVID-19 is broad, from asymptomatic to severe cases and death. The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical course of patients attended during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in a third-level pediatric hospital.MethodsDesign: prospective cohort study. Patients with viral respiratory disease or suspected cases of COVID-19 were evaluated at the Pediatric Hospital, National Medical Center XXI Century, Mexico City, from 21 March 2020 to 13 January 2021. Statistical analysis: Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used for comparisons; a logistic regression model was constructed to identify clinical or laboratory characteristics associated with critical disease. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 697 patients met the operational definition of viral respiratory disease or suspected cases of COVID-19 and underwent real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 testing. Patients with a positive result were included. Of the 181 patients (26%), 121 (66.8%) had mild disease and were treated as outpatients and 60 (33.1%) were hospitalized. A total of six patients met the criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Of the 60 inpatients, 65% were males, and 82% had one or more comorbidities. The main comorbidities were cancer (42%) and overweight (15%). The median hospital stay was 9 days. The inpatients had a higher frequency of fever, general malaise, dyspnea, chills, polypnea, and cyanosis than the outpatients (p < 0.05). Only 21.4% of the outpatients had one or more comorbidities, which were lower than in the hospitalized patients (p < 0.001). Laboratory data at admission were similar between critically ill and those with moderate and severe disease. The patients who developed pneumonia were at higher risk of critical disease, while older age was associated with a better prognosis. A total of 13 of the 60 inpatients died (mortality 7.1%). All but one had one or more comorbidities: four had cancer, four congenital heart disease, one chronic kidney disease and epilepsy, one Epstein–Barr virus-induced hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, one obesity, and one diabetes mellitus.ConclusionHospital mortality is high, especially in children with comorbidities. Despite 2 years having passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the epidemiological and clinical data on children are still helpful to improve their prognosis

A pharmaco-economic analysis of second-line treatment with imatinib or sunitinib in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours

Second-line treatments recommended by the National Cancer Center Network to manage advanced-stage gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) were evaluated to determine the cost and cost-effectiveness of each intervention in the Mexican insurance system, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Treatments examined over a 5-year temporal horizon to estimate long-term costs included 800 mg day−1 of imatinib mesylate, 50 mg day−1 of sunitinib malate (administered in a 4 week on/2 week rest schedule), and palliative care. The mean cost (MC), cost-effectiveness, and benefit of each intervention were compared to determine the best GIST treatment from the institutional perspective of the IMSS. As sunitinib was not reimbursed at the time of the study, a Markov model and sensitivity analysis were conducted to predict the MC and likelihood of reimbursement. Patients taking 800 mg day−1 of imatinib had the highest MC (±s.d.) of treatment at $35 225.61 USD (±1253.65 USD); while sunitinib incurred a median MC of$17 805.87 USD (±694.83 USD); and palliative care had the least MC over treatment duration as the cost was $2071.86 USD (±472.88 USD). In comparison to palliative care, sunitinib is cost-effective for 38.9% of patients; however, sunitinib delivered the greatest survival benefit as 5.64 progression-free months (PFM) and 1.4 life-years gained (LYG) were obtained in the economic model. Conversely, patients on imatinib and palliative care saw a lower PFM of 5.28 months and 2.58 months and also fewer LYG (only 1.31 and 1.08 years, respectively). Therefore, economic modeling predicts that reimbursing sunitinib over high dose imatinib in the second-line GIST indication would deliver cost savings to the IMSS and greater survival benefits to patients

The research protocol V: The calculation of sample size

Sample size refers to the number of participants to be included in a research study. If the calculation is carried out properly, not only conclusions will be established with statistical support and the potential risks to the subjects included in the investigation will be limited, but also the study can be properly planned to optimize economic and time costs. Calculation of sample size requires information that must be supported by the research protocol. This information includes that the objectives (descriptive study or a study to establish differences between groups) and hypotheses are well elaborated (with magnitude and direction), the scale of measurement of the outcome variable(s) must be defined, and type I error and type II error appropriately identified. This review describes how to specify the requirements needed for sample size calculation, including examples in clinical research designs

The research protocol. Part I

One of the principal aims in research is the publication of the study in scientific journals. This implies two challenges: the first one, the election of an adequate research design, and the second one, the concrete and simple wording of the results for the study to be accepted in the most appropriate journal according to the scope. Despite numerous supporting documents are available for both issues, the publication process is long, tiresome, and can discourage the most enthusiastic researcher. This is the first of a series of articles with the objective to describe the steps from the research question to the publication of the study. First of all, the importance of the research design will be addressed. The structure of the protocol is essential to achieve the objectives, and provides a way to organize the investigation in a logic, comprehensible and efficient manner

The research protocol IV: study variables

The variables in a research study are all that is measured, the information collected, or the data that is collected in order to answer the research questions, which are specified in the objectives. Their selection is essential to the research protocol. This article aims to point out the elements to be considered in the section of the variables. To avoid ambiguity, it is necessary to select only those that will help achieve the study objectives. It should subsequently be defined how they will be measured to ensure that the findings can be replicated; it is therefore desirable to include conceptual and operational definitions. From the methodological point of view, the classification of variables helps us understand how the relationship between them is conceptualized. Depending on the study design, the independent, dependent, universal, and confounding variables should be noted. Another indispensable element for planning statistical analyses is the scale of variable measurement. Therefore, one must specify whether the variables correspond to one of the following four: qualitative nominal, qualitative ordinal, quantitative range, or quantitative ratio. Finally, we should detail the measurement units of each variable

The research protocol II: study designs in clinical research

In clinical research that takes place in health-care areas, most of the studies are performed with human beings as research subjects. The main objectives of these studies are to know the characteristics of one or more groups, the behavior of human diseases, the etiology or causes of diseases, to identify the best diagnostic tools, or to establish the best treatment for a condition or disease in particular. Additionally, some studies are classified as basic bio-medical research; in these investigations, the subjects of study are laboratory animals, tissues, cells, or molecules. In general terms, the objectives of these studies are to understand the physiology, pathogenesis, or biological mechanisms that could explain functions or alterations in one or more systems or body organs. This article will only address clinical research designs