Childhood Leukemia in Small Geographical Areas and Proximity to Industrial Sources of Air Pollutants in Three Colombian Cities.

Acute leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and has been associated with exposure to environmental carcinogens. This study aimed to identify clusters of acute childhood leukemia (ACL) cases and analyze their relationship with proximity to industrial sources of air pollution in three capital cities in Colombia during 2000-2015. Incident ACL cases were obtained from the population cancer registries for the cities of Bucaramanga, Cali, and Medellín.

[Association between delayed diagnosis and breast cancer in advanced clinical stage at the time of consultation in four oncology centers in Medellin- Colombia, 2017. Cross-sectional study].

Objective: To determine the association between delayed diagnosis and advanced clinical stage breast cancer, and to explore the factors that influence this delay.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of women over 18 years of age with breast cancer who attended 4 oncology centers in Medellín, Colombia, in 2017. The "Breast Cancer Delay Questionnaire" which includes sociodemographic and clinical variables as well as time intervals was used.

[Survival difference due to types of health coverage in breast cancer patients treated at a specialized cancer center in Medellín, Colombia].

The study aimed to estimate the effect of health insurance on overall survival and disease-free survival in breast cancer patients undergoing surgery at the Las Américas Oncology Institute in Medellín, Colombia, with data from the institutional registry. The variables were compared between subsidized coverage and contributive coverage with chi-squared test (χ2) or Student t test, Kaplan-Meier, and log-rank test. The target variable was adjusted with Cox regression.

Zidovudine/Lamivudine vs. Abacavir/Lamivudine vs. Tenofovir/Emtricitabine in fixed-dose combinations as initial treatment for HIV patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Introduction: Initial treatment of the HIV is based on the use of three drugs, two of which are nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitors. There are three combinations of these drugs which have been approved by different guidelines, each with divergent results in terms of efficacy and safety.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of these three combinations.

Development of a prediction rule for diagnosing postoperative meningitis: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE Diagnosing nosocomial meningitis (NM) in neurosurgical patients is difficult. The standard CSF test is not optimal and when it is obtained, CSF cultures are negative in as many as 70% of cases. The goal of this study was to develop a diagnostic prediction rule for postoperative meningitis using a combination of clinical, laboratory, and CSF variables, as well as risk factors (RFs) for CNS infection.

Colombian Rasch validation of KIDSCREEN-27 quality of life questionnaire.

Background: The family of KIDSCREEN instruments is the only one with trans-cultural adaptation and validation in Colombia. These validations have been performed from the classical test theory approach, which has evidenced satisfactory psychometric properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of KIDSCREEN-27 children and parent-proxy versions, through Rasch analysis.

Marking bourdaries as a strategy of social control: the case of homicidal violence in Medellin, Colombia.

As part of a research study undertaken in the period 2003-2011 to understand situations of homicidal violence based in perceptions regarding the act of violence and the surrounding context, we reflect on the meaning of "invisible bourdaries" in the neighborhoods of Medellin (Colombia). Using a qualitative approach that combines documentary sources and interviews, the experiences of 8 participants are analyzed. In the primary results we can see how control over neighborhoods is exercised by different actors through bourdaries not visible to ordinary people.