Publications by authors named "Lluis Rodriguez"

Thyroid hormones may be a risk factor for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its progression to liver fibrosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, NAFLD, and liver fibrosis in the general population. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in subjects aged 18-75 years randomly selected from primary care centers between 2012 and 2016.

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Alterations in thyroid function may contribute to the development of liver fibrosis especially in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study aimed to investigate the risk of liver fibrosis according to low-normal thyroid function in the general population. We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study in subjects from 18-75 years randomly selected from 16 primary health care centers from 2017-2019.

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The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of early chronic kidney disease (EKD) (stages 1 and 2) and the factors associated. This was a populational study including individuals from 18-75 years randomly selected from 18 Primary Healthcare centers in the area of Barcelonès Nord and Maresme (Catalunya, Spain). Variables: anamnesis, physical examination, blood pressure, and analysis.

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Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in developed countries and is considered the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Recently hypothyroidism has been associated with NAFLD but has never been studied in Spain.

Objectives: To analyze the relationship between hypothyroidism (clinical and subclinical) and NAFLD.

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Background & Aims: Liver fibrosis is the main determinant of long-term outcome in chronic liver diseases. Little is known about the prevalence of liver fibrosis in the general population. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of liver fibrosis in the general adult population with unknown liver disease.

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Objective: To evaluate the acceptability/quality of abdominal ultrasound studies requested by primary care physicians in Barcelona; to develop ultrasound guidelines and assess their impact on acceptability.

Design: 2-phase study, one retrospective, descriptive phase evaluating the acceptability/quality of requests (pre-intervention phase) and another to assess the impact of guidelines on acceptability/quality (post-intervention phase).

Subjects: Requests for ultrasound studies from January-June 2010 from 10 primary care centers and the same number of requests from the same centers after the intervention.

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Objective: To analyze the utility of three indices to predict hepatic fibrosis in the detection of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as a non-invasive method in primary care.

Design: We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study with a populational base from 25 primary care centers in the province of Barcelona.

Participants: Healthy individuals aged 17 to 83 years randomly selected from the Primary Care Computer System.

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Background: Chronic liver diseases (CLDs) are significant causes of death in adults in many countries and are usually diagnosed at late stages. Early detection may allow time for treatment to prevent disease progression.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of screening for unrecognized CLDs in a primary care nurse consultancy and report findings from screening.

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Background And Objectives: To establish the factors associated with the presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and evaluate the influence of each component constituting the metabolic syndrome (MS) and the risk of developing NAFLD.

Patients And Methods: We performed a multicenter, population-based, observational, analytical study of cases and controls. A case was defined as any patient fulfilling the inclusion criteria and presenting NAFLD by abdominal echography for any reason.

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Objective: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent and it is considered the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The WHO, the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) have different criteria to define MetS. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between NAFLD and MetS using the three existing criteria.

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Background: The value of abdominal echography in primary care is great because it is innocuous, inexpensive, easy to perform and provides a great deal of information making this the first examination to be requested in cases of probable abdominal disease. However, too many abdominal echographies are probably requested overcrowding the Departments of Radiodiagnosis with not always justified petitions or with repetition of tests based on little clinical criteria.

Methods/design: The aim of the study is to evaluate the adequacy and quality of abdominal echographies requested by primary care physicians in the Maresme County (North of Barcelona), develop guidelines for indicating echographies and reevaluate this adequacy after implementing these guidelines.

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Background: Perioperative management of patients on anticoagulant therapy increases the complexity of elective inguinal hernia repair. We assessed the safety of our standardised anticoagulation protocol and investigated the outpatient and one day surgery rates.

Material And Methods: The records of 1184 patients undergoing elective inguinal hernioplasty between 2005 and 2007 were reviewed; 14 patients on chronic anticoagulation therapy were identified.

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Rituximab induces B-cell depletion; therefore, it has been used in the treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness of rituximab in the treatment of 89 patients with chronic ITP refractory to several treatments. All the patients had platelet counts <30 x 10(9)/l.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at why some patients didn't get stem cell transplants, even though they were referred for it.
  • Out of 129 patients, 37 (about 29%) didn’t have the transplant due to reasons like their disease getting worse or changes in treatment plans.
  • Most patients in the study were around 46 years old, and the researchers found that age and disease status were key differences between those who got the transplant and those who didn’t.
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