Poverty, quality of life and psychological wellbeing in adults with congenital heart disease in Chile.

The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life and psychological wellbeing of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) in Chile, and to identify other associated factors. The study enrolled 68 patients aged between 18 and 72 (median 29), 35 being females. They completed a questionnaire, which included a quality of life assessment tool (the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey), a number of psychological scales (the General Health Questionnaire, the Basic Psychological Needs Scales and the Beck Hopelessness Scale), a socioeconomic survey, and some clinical data.

[Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: 10 year experience with staged surgical management].

Unlabelled: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a lethal congenital heart disease in 95% of non-treated patients. Surgical staging is the main form of treatment, consisting of a 3-stage approach, beginning with the Norwood operation. Long term survival of treated patients is unknown in our country.

Effectiveness of asthma education with and without a self-management plan in hospitalized children.

Background. Formal education in primary care can reduce asthma exacerbations. However, there are few studies in hospitalized children, with none originating in Latin America.

[Empyema and pleural effusion in children].

Introduction: Pleural empyema (PE) is a serious complication of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Objectives: To describe the clinical profile of hospitalized patients with PE in the pediatric ward of the Catholic University Hospital between 2000-2005.

Patients And Methods: Retrospectively, all pediatric admission due to CAP and pleural effusion (86 children) were identified.

Role of reactive oxygen species in bradykinin-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.

In addition to the induction of cell proliferation and migration, bradykinin (BK) can increase c-fos mRNA expression, activate ERK 1/2 and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). It is not known, however, whether BK can induce cellular proliferation and extracellular matrix production via redox-sensitive signaling pathways. We investigated the role(s) of ROS in proliferation, migration and collagen synthesis induced by BK in VSMC derived from Sprague Dawley rat aorta.