A research review on clinical needs, technical requirements, and normativity in the design of surgical robots.

Nowadays robots play an important role in society, mainly due to the significant benefits they provide when utilized for assisting human beings in the execution of dangerous or repetitive tasks. Medicine is one of the fields in which robots are gaining greater use and development, especially those employed in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). However, due to the particular conditions of the human body where robots have to act, the design of these systems is complex, not only from a technical point of view, but also because the clinical needs and the normativity aspects are important considerations that have to be taken into account in order to achieve better performances and more secure systems for patients and surgeons.

Cost-effectiveness of kidney transplantation compared with chronic dialysis in end-stage renal disease.

To estimate the costs and effectiveness measured in quality-adjusted life years (QALY) of kidney transplantation compared with dialysis in adults suffering from end-stage renal disease from the perspective of the Colombian healthcare system, we designed a Markov model with monthly cycles over a five-year time horizon and eight transitional states, including death as an absorbing state. Transition probabilities were obtained from international registries, costs from different local sources [case studies, official tariffs (ISS 2001 + 35%) for procedures and SISMED for medications]. Data were validated by an expert panel and we performed univariate, multivariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Hyperproteic hypocaloric enteral nutrition in the critically ill patient: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate the impact of hyperproteic hypocaloric enteral feeding on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients, particularly on severity of organic failure measured with the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA).

Materials And Methods: In a double blind clinical trial, 80 critically ill adult patients were randomized to hyperproteic hypocaloric or to isocaloric enteral nutrition; all patients completed follow-up of at least 4 days. Prescribed caloric intake was: Hyperproteic hypocaloric enteral nutrition (15 kcal/kg with 1.