Endocarditis and ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic valve insufficiency secondary to late syphilis: Case report.

Venereal syphilis, caused by Treponema pallidum, is a major global health problem. Untreated latent syphilis can progress to tertiary syphilis, often leading to severe complications such as cardiac involvement, particularly syphilitic aortitis, which may manifest decades after the initial infection. We present a case of a 46-year-old woman who developed an ascending aortic aneurysm and severe aortic valve insufficiency due to late-stage syphilis.

Classification of Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases Through Clinical Characteristics in a Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: The use of clinical characteristics to differentiate obstructive lung diseases remains unclear, with limited supporting studies. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of signs and symptoms from clinical questionnaires in diagnosing obstructive lung diseases.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, or asthma-COPD overlap (ACOS) based on spirometry.

Boosting the Beat: A Critical Showdown of Levosimendan and Milrinone in Surgical and Non-Surgical Scenarios: A Narrative Review.

Acute heart failure, advanced cardiac failure, cardiac surgery, and sepsis are conditions that require simultaneous treatment to stimulate contractility and/or reduce systemic vascular resistance, with levosimendan and milrinone being treatment options. This research's aim is to review the current indications and evidence for these medications across various scenarios. Evidence suggests that levosimendan is a non-inferior alternative to dobutamine and superior to milrinone in treating low cardiac output syndrome following cardiac surgery.

Comparison of performances between risk scores for predicting mortality at 30 days in patients with community acquired pneumonia.

Background: Risk scores facilitate the assessment of mortality risk in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Despite their utilities, there is a scarcity of evidence comparing the various RS simultaneously. This study aims to evaluate and compare multiple risk scores reported in the literature for predicting 30-day mortality in adult patients with CAP.

Development of a web application to evaluate spirometric curve and clinical variables to support COPD diagnosis in primary care.

Introduction: Choric obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third mortality cause in the world, and the development of useful diagnostic tools is necessary to improve timely diagnostic rates in primary care settings.

Objective: To develop a web application displaying spirometric and clinical information - including respiratory symptoms and risk factors- to facilitate a COPD diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an expert consensus was carried out with three specialists using the Delphi method to choose the relevant variables for COPD diagnosis.

Survival at 3, 6 and 12 months in patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in Colombia: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The primary aim of this study is to assess the survival rates of individuals diagnosed with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) post-hospitalization in Colombia. Additionally, explore potential risk factors associated with decreased long-term survival.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a hospital in Colombia, evaluating survival at 3, 6 and 12 months in CAP patients, using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Performance of risk scores in predicting mortality at 3, 6, and 12 months in patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Risk scores (RS) evaluate the likelihood of short-term mortality in patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, there is a scarcity of evidence to determine the risk of long-term mortality. This article aims to compare the effectiveness of 16 scores in predicting mortality at three, six, and twelve months in adult patients with CAP.

One-year survival of patients admitted for sepsis to intensive care units in Colombia.

Background: Sepsis is a frequent cause of admission to intensive care units (ICUs). High mortality rates are estimated globally, and in our country, few studies have reported one-year survival. The objective of this study is to determine one-year survival in patients with sepsis admitted to the ICU in Colombia, compared with the survival of patients admitted for other conditions.

Clinical utility of rapid shallow breathing index in predicting successful weaning: secondary analysis of the COBRE-US trial.

Objective: To assess the predictive capacity of the Rapid Shallow Breathing Index (RSBI) for success in spontaneous breathing trials (SBT) and extubation in critically ill patients. We evaluated the association between RSBI, duration of mechanical ventilation, and ventilator-free time at 28 days.

Design: Prospective multicenter observational study.

Curve-Modelling and Machine Learning for a Better COPD Diagnosis.

Background: Development of new tools in artificial intelligence has an outstanding performance in the recognition of multidimensional patterns, which is why they have proven to be useful in the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Methods: This was an observational analytical single-centre study in patients with spirometry performed in outpatient medical care. The segment that goes from the peak expiratory flow to the forced vital capacity was modelled with quadratic polynomials, the coefficients obtained were used to train and test neural networks in the task of classifying patients with COPD.

Late-Presenting Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis as Cause of Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Case-Based Review.

Introduction: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (eGPA) is a necrotising vasculitis of small and medium calibre vessels, which affects mostly patients in their fourth to sixth decade of life, and it is a very uncommon aetiology for pulmonary fibrosis.

Clinical Case: A Hispanic 72-year-old female patient presents with a history of lower extremities pain, paraesthesia, oedema, and occasional macroscopic haematuria. During her hospitalisation, the patient presents, and images showed findings compatible with pulmonary fibrosis and alveolar haemorrhage, which require a biopsy, establishing the diagnosis of an eGPA.

Assessing the reproducibility and predictive value of objective cough measurement for successful withdrawal of invasive ventilatory support in adult patients.

Background: Utilizing clinical tests, such as objective cough measurement, can assist in predicting the success of the weaning process in critically ill patients.

Methods: A multicenter observational analytical study was conducted within a prospective cohort of patients recruited to participate in COBRE-US. We assessed the capability of objective cough measurement to predict the success of the spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) and extubation.

[Construct validity of the TECS questionnaire for the quality of teamwork in surgery].

Objective: To assess the construct validity and reliability of the Trabajo en Equipo en Cirugía (TECS) questionnaire.

Method: The questionnaire was administered to 401 undergraduate students who were doing surgery practices at three universities. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the first 200 observations, and a confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining ones.

Performance of oxygenation indices and risk scores to predict invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality in COVID-19.

Background: Information on the performance of oxygenation indices (OIs) and risk scores in patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is limited. We determine the performance of the OIs and risk scores in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to predict the requirement of IMV and death at 28 days after admission.

Methods: A retrospective study of diagnostic tests in patients admitted to the emergency department, hospitalization, and intensive care unit diagnosed with COVID-19.

Intentional Lung Transplantation Due to ABO Incompatibility: A Case Report.

We present a case of a 16-year-old adolescent female with blood group O+ who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). The patient had to be hospitalized due to septic shock and respiratory failure, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and mechanical ventilation were applied. Faced with high urgency, she was promptly enlisted for a lung transplant, ultimately receiving a blood group A1 deceased donor lung through rescue allocation.

Long-term survival in venous thromboembolic disease: rivaroxaban vs. warfarin - propensity score matching study.

Background: Venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is characterized by obstruction of venous blood flow by a thrombus. Survival data, frequency of disease recurrence, and bleeding rate in patients on anticoagulant therapy with warfarin compared to rivaroxaban in the Latin American population are limited in VTE.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study with propensity score matching analysis was conducted in patients with pulmonary embolism and/or deep vein thrombosis anticoagulated with warfarin or rivaroxaban treated.

Comparison of the Diagnostic Performance of Five Clinical Questionnaires for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains one of the most prevalent pathologies in the world and is among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, partially due to underdiagnosis. The use of clinical questionnaires to identify high-risk individuals to take them to further diagnostic procedures has emerged as a strategy to address this problem.

Objective: To compare the performance of the COULD IT BE COPD, CDQ, COPD-PS, LFQ, and PUMA questionnaires for COPD diagnosis.

The effect of combining different sampling tools on the performance of electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy for the evaluation of peripheral lung lesions and factors associated with its diagnostic yield.

Background: We assessed the performance of Electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) as a standalone diagnostic technique and the performance of different sampling tools used during the procedure.

Methods: We recruited 160 consecutive patients who underwent ENB for peripheral lung lesions (PLL) at a tertiary care centre. The diagnostic performance of ENB and sampling tools was assessed using a logistic regression model and a ROC-curve in which the dependent variable was diagnostic success.

Utilization of spontaneous breathing trial, objective cough test, and diaphragmatic ultrasound results to predict extubation success: COBRE-US trial.

Background: The results of clinical and weaning readiness tests and the spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) are used to predict the success of the weaning process and extubation.

Methods: We evaluated the capacity of the cuff leak test, rate of rapid and shallow breathing, cough intensity, and diaphragmatic contraction velocity (DCV) to predict the success of the SBT and extubation in a prospective, multicenter observational study with consecutive adult patients admitted to four intensive care units. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to assess the tests' predictive capacity and built predictive models using logistic regression.

The Challenges of Spirometric Diagnosis of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the top causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although for many years its accurate diagnosis has been a focus of intense research, it is still challenging. Due to its simplicity, portability, and low cost, spirometry has been established as the main tool to detect this condition, but its flawed performance makes it an imperfect COPD diagnosis gold standard.

Signal processing and machine learning algorithm to classify anaesthesia depth.

Background: Poor assessment of anaesthetic depth (AD) has led to overdosing or underdosing of the anaesthetic agent, which requires continuous monitoring to avoid complications. The evaluation of the central nervous system activity and autonomic nervous system could provide additional information on the monitoring of AD during surgical procedures.

Methods: Observational analytical single-centre study, information on biological signals was collected during a surgical procedure under general anaesthesia for signal preprocessing, processing and postprocessing to feed a pattern classifier and determine AD status of patients.