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Despite low sensitivity and implementation challenges, the tuberculin skin test (TST) remains the standard-of-care tuberculosis (TB) infection test in Mexico. Interferon gamma release assays (IGRA) may overcome TST-related challenges. Within the confines of the local programmatic setting, this cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of TB infection (TBI) and concordance of TST and IGRA in three high-risk populations in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
Household contacts (HHC) of individuals with TB, people who use drugs (PWUD), people deprived of liberty (PDL) and prison employees underwent evaluation for TBI using TST and QIAreach, a novel IGRA. Prevalence of infection, concordance of test results and reactivity trends of time-to-results (TTR) by TST-induration size were assessed.
In total, 214 of 411 (52.07%) people who had TST and 269 of 460 (58.48%) people who had IGRA tested positive for TBI. Frequency of infection varied across risk groups (HHC 29 (29.6%); PWUD 67 (70.53%); PDL 111 (56.06%) and prison employees 7 (35.0%), p20 mm, p=0.05).
All risk groups had a high frequency of TBI, necessitating locally tailored guidelines for screening, treatment and management of TBI to optimise care for vulnerable populations.
Evaluate the effect of IV line labels on nurses' identification of high-alert medications in a simulated scenario of multiple infusions for critically ill patients.
Randomised crossover simulation experimental study.
A study was conducted on 29 nurses working in intensive care for over 6 months. They were given two critical scenarios in a simulated environment, one with labels and the other without labels, involving multiple intravenous infusions. The nurses had to identify the medications infused into the critical patients' intravenous lines and disconnect a specific line. The data were collected and analysed to evaluate the errors made by the nurses in identifying and disconnecting the medications and the time they spent carrying out the tasks. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyse the variation in outcome before and after the intervention.
Approximately one-third of the study participants incorrectly identified the intravenous lines in both scenarios. There was no significant difference in the average number of errors between the scenarios with and without labels. However, the time taken to perform the tasks in the scenario with labels was 1 min less than in the scenario without labels, suggesting a potential efficiency gain.
The labels on the intravenous lines allowed for quick drug identification and disconnection. The professionals performed similarly in correctly recognising the high-alert medication intravenous lines, in the scenarios with or without labels.
The label can be used as a technology to prevent misidentification of high-alert medications administered to critically ill patients through intravenous lines, thereby enhancing medication safety in healthcare institutions.
No Public Contribution.
Bloodstream infection (BSI) due to multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli is a serious global health problem that has a profound impact on severely immunosuppressed neutropenic haematological patients. Prompt institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy is crucial for improving outcomes in these patients, and in an era of multidrug resistance, antimicrobial stewardship programmes are mandatory. Blood cultures, the current gold standard for the diagnosis of BSI, present two main drawbacks: the prolonged time to results and their low sensitivity, especially if the patient has received antimicrobial treatment before blood extraction. The aim of this study is to determine whether a molecular technique, the BioFire FilmArray Blood Culture Identification 2 (BCID2) panel, achieves higher sensitivity and specificity than conventional blood cultures for the microbiological diagnosis of BSI in haematological patients with febrile neutropenia.
This multicentre, prospective, observational study will be conducted at three reference university hospitals in Spain. The population will comprise haematological patients scheduled to undergo diagnostic blood cultures as standard care for the microbiological diagnosis of the febrile neutropenia episode. The BioFire FilmArray panel will be performed in patients with positive blood cultures at the time of blood culture positivity and in patients with negative blood cultures at 48 hours of incubation. The primary endpoint will be the sensitivity and specificity of the BioFire FilmArray BCID2 panel compared with conventional blood cultures. The secondary endpoints will be this same comparison in the subgroup of patients with recent (
The study protocol has been approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee at Bellvitge Hospital (reference number ICPS029/22) and the Institutional Review Boards at each participating site. All patients’ personal data will be processed, disclosed and transferred in accordance with Organic Law 3/2018 of 5 December 2018 and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016. All data will be collected, stored and processed anonymously. Results will be reported at conferences and in peer-reviewed publications regardless of whether the hypothesis is demonstrated. Any formal presentation or publication of data collected from this study will be considered as a joint publication by the participating investigators and will follow the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the BCID2 panel on the diagnostic yield of BSI in haematological patients with febrile neutropenia. Unlike previous studies, which focused on patients with documented BSI, our research will include all patients with febrile neutropenia.
No abstract available by Janaína de Pina Carvalho, Sarah Nascimento Silva, Tália Santana Machado de Assis, Endi Lanza Galvão, Mayra Soares Moreira, Mônica Viegas Andrade, Kenya Valéria Micaela de Souza Noronha, Gláucia Cota
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected infectious disease with a global distribution and a known health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impact. However, no utility-based HRQoL assessments for CL patients are available. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the health-related quality of life among patients with CL attending a Brazilian reference center. A retrospective interview-based longitudinal study was conducted using the EQ-5D-3L/VAS to assess the current health status during active disease, and retrospectively before the onset of disease symptoms. In addition, socioeconomic data were collected via a standardized questionnaire, and sociodemographic and clinical data were collected directly from medical records. A total of 143 patients with a mean age of 52 (±17) years were included, 73% of whom were men. The mean utility score before the onset of CL symptoms was 0.858. Comparison of responses related to health status before and after disease onset revealed significant losses (pPatient blood management (PBM), an evidence-based, patient-centred approach for optimising blood health, faces significant implementation challenges despite regulatory support, and this study explores its adoption within a Portuguese hospital to enhance education, develop tailored protocols and address healthcare system complexities, thereby contributing a unique perspective to the global discourse on PBM in Portuguese-speaking countries. This study will evaluate the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of implementing a PBM programme in elective surgical patients at a tertiary Portuguese hospital, with secondary objectives focusing on preoperative anaemia prevalence and aetiology, PBM protocol adherence, transfusion practices guided by viscoelastic tests and the impact of cell salvage techniques.
A baseline evaluation will be conducted in 2018, and postintervention assessments will follow from 2019 to 2024. The control group comprised patients who underwent selected elective surgeries—including cardiac, general, orthopaedic, urological and gynaecological procedures—during 2018 without exposure to targeted PBM interventions. The intervention group consisted of patients scheduled for the same elective surgeries, who were referred for preanaesthesia evaluation to identify the need for PBM interventions. These interventions, where indicated, were implemented during the preoperative phase and extended to the intraoperative and postoperative periods to ensure a comprehensive and standardised approach to PBM application. Data will be extracted from pseudoanonymised medical records, ensuring full compliance with ethical standards and data protection regulations. Statistical analyses will be performed using robust methods suitable for categorical and continuous variables, enabling the evaluation of temporal trends and the overall effectiveness of PBM interventions in improving clinical outcomes.
Our research has been ethically approved by the Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho Hospital Centre’s Ethical Health Committee (approval number 196/2023–1). We plan to disseminate our findings through posters, lectures at conferences and in scientific journals.
We aim the isolated and combined effects of sedentary behaviour exposure time and physical activity levels on muscle strength in older adults.
This prospective observational cohort study, analytical in nature, using exploratory survey methods and physical performance testing. With 5-year longitudinal follow-up (2015–2020).
A total of 459 older adults participated in the baseline, with a total of 224 being included/located again in the follow-up. We evaluate muscle strength using handgrip tests and sit-to-stand tests. The international physical activity questionnaire was used to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Generalised Estimation Equations tested both independent and combined effects, reporting results as β coefficients and confidence intervals.
Older adults exhibiting low sedentary behaviour displayed enhanced handgrip strength compared to those with high sedentary behaviour. Notably, older adults who were sufficiently active with low sedentary behaviour, sufficiently active with high sedentary behaviour, and insufficiently active with low sedentary behaviour showed increased handgrip strength compared to their counterparts who were insufficiently active with high sedentary behaviour. This trend was consistent for lower limb strength.
Interventions that encourage a reduction in sedentary behaviour and an increase in physical activity are essential to maintain muscle strength among older adults.
The findings of this study underscore the importance of addressing both sedentary behaviour and physical activity levels in clinical interventions aimed at preserving muscle strength in older adults. Routine assessments of physical activity and sedentary behaviour could help tailor personalised exercise programs, potentially enhancing functional independence and reducing the risk of frailty and disability in older patients.
Patients were involved in the sample of the study.
This study was conducted in accordance with the Strengthening Research in Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.
Objetivo principal: Identificar en la literatura las acciones de la enfermería en láser y estomaterapia.Metodología:Revisión integradora de la literatura realizada en abril de 2022, mediante consulta de las Bases de Datos Biblioteca Virtual en Salud (BVS) a partir de los cruces de los descriptores, se realizó una encuesta bibliográfica en las siguientes bases de datos: Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe en Ciencias de la Salud (LILACS) y Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina (MEDLINE). Resultados principales: Se incluyeron once artículos en la muestra, que destacan el uso de la terapia láser de baja intensidad en la cicatrización de heridas con efectos positivos, su uso por parte de la enfermera profesional y la especialización en estomaterapia, poniendo al profesional en el punto de mira. Conclusión principal:La importancia del uso de las nuevas tecnologías en la cicatrización de heridas, como el láser siendo la enfermera el pilar de esta atención, pudiendo especializarse en el área de la estomaterapia, pero es necesario profundizar en la investigación en esta área por parte de las enfermeras.
Objetivo principal: Conocer la percepción de la persona sometida a una cirugía general programada sobre su preparación preoperatoria. Método: Estudio cualitativo y exploratorio. Se realizaron diez entrevistas semiestructuradas con personas que se habían sometido a una cirugía general programada en los últimos seis meses en un hospital universitario de la región central de Portugal. Para analizar los datos se utilizó la técnica del análisis de contenido. Resultados principales: Surgieron cinco unidades temáticas, percepción de la experiencia quirúrgica, sentimientos/emociones percibidas, necesidades de información, expectativas sobre los cuidados de enfermería preoperatorios y perspectivas sobre la existencia de una consulta de enfermería, que se subdividieron en varias categorías y subcategorías. Conclusión principal: Algunas personas siguen viendo la experiencia quirúrgica como algo traumático y consideran el entorno quirúrgico como un generador de estrés. Este estudio refuerza la relevancia del personal de enfermería en la preparación de las personas en situaciones perioperatorias y puede proporcionar importantes contribuciones a la estructuración de una consulta de enfermería.
Objetivo: Explorar los aspectos principales de la conciliación de medicamentos en los servicios de urgencias. Metodología: Revisión panorámica de la literatura que sintetice los conocimientos existentes sobre la conciliación de medicamentos en los servicios de urgencias. Para ello se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de artículos originales publicados en revistas específicas de la ciencia enfermera y ciencias de la salud durante los últimos 10 años, e indexadas en bases de datos y otros recursos en español e inglés, como son: Cuiden Plus, Pubmed, IBECS, SCIELO y Google académico. En cada base de datos, se introdujeron una serie de palabras claves relacionadas con el tema y basadas en las nomenclaturas MeSH y DeCS. Resultados: Se encontraron 5 artículos que identifican áreas claves en la conciliación de medicamentos en urgencias. En este sentido, las personas mayores de 65 años, polimedicadas y pluripatológicas son las más susceptibles de padecer un error en la medicación, sucediendo entre un 79,3 y un 95,8%. La omisión de la medicación es la discrepancia no justificada más frecuente (23,8 - 71,7%). A pesar del tipo de error y la frecuencia que se produce en un perfil de paciente vulnerable de antemano, en raras ocasiones les produce daño. Las barreras principales para una correcta conciliación se observan en la incorrecta anamnesis y registro en la historia clínica, así como la ausencia de un listado único de medicamentos. Los estudios realizados en urgencias se han centrado en el farmacéutico como profesional para detectar dichos errores. Conclusión: La caracterización de los errores en la conciliación de medicamentos facilita diseñar estrategias específicas que prevengan dichos errores o detectarlos precozmente con el fin de reducir los efectos adversos y la descompensación de patologías con consecuencias para la salud de la población y para el sistema sanitario.
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