[Cost effectiveness of calcium supplement in reducing preeclampsia-related maternal mortality in Colombia].

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of administering calcium (1200 mg per day) starting in week 14 of pregnancy to all pregnant women compared to not supplying it to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia. Methods A decision tree was built in TreeAge® with outcome measured in life years gained (LYG) associated with the reduction in maternal deaths. Costs were included from the perspective of the health system in Colombia and expressed in Colombian pesos in 2014 (COP).

[Quantifying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urine samples taken from traffic police working in Bogota's metropolitan area].

Objective: Quantifying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in urine samples taken from a population of traffic police working in the metropolitan area of Bogotá who were occupationally exposed to 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 3-hydroxy-benzo[a]pyrene (3-BaP) metabolites from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) having toxicological interest, related to their detection, and a degree of exposure to particulate material having a size less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and/or other factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was made of 524 traffic police, 413 of whom were engaged in operational and 111 in administrative functions. Urine samples were taken from all the individuals included in the study for determining PAH metabolites by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

[Quantifying the chemical composition of crack-cocaine (bazuco) samples seized in Colombia during the first half of 2010].

Objectives: Quantifying crack-cocaine (known locally as bazuco or smokable cocaine base paste-PBC) use and identifying other components in study conditions regarding samples of crack-cocaine seized in Colombia and held by the Colombian Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science Narcotics Laboratory in Bogota during the first half of 2010.

Methods: A cross-sectional, exploratory analytical study was carried out for chemically characterizing crack-cocaine samples by the gas chromatography analytical methodology using ion trap mass spectrometry developed and validated in the Universidad National de Colombia's Medicine Faculty's Toxicology Laboratory in Bogota.

Results: A 4 % to 70 % w/w cocaine base concentration was found in the 109 samples tested (37 % w/w mean); 73 % of the samples had 20 % to 50 % w/w concentration.