Pediatric Oncology Palliative Care Programs in Central America: Pathways to Success.

Palliative care offers children who have life-limiting and life-threatening oncologic illnesses and their families improved quality of life. In some instances, impeccable symptom control can lead to improved survival. Cultural and financial barriers to palliative care in oncology patients occur in all countries, and those located in Central America are no exception.

Measurement of health-related quality of life in survivors of cancer in childhood in Central America: feasibility, reliability, and validity.

Cancer is the commonest cause of disease-related death in children over 5 years of age in various parts of Latin America, but the survival rates are improving. This study assessed the health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL) of more than 200 survivors of cancer in childhood in the countries of a Central American consortium devoted to pediatric hematology-oncology. Patients' self-reports and parental proxy assessments were collected using interviewer-administered Spanish-language questionnaires, and physicians provided assessments using self-complete questionnaires, based on the complementary Health Utilities Index (HUI) Mark 2 (HUI2) and Mark 3 (HUI3) health status classification systems.

Intrapartum prophylaxis with ceftriaxone decreases rates of bacterial colonization and early-onset infection in newborns.

Because of high rates of neonatal gram-negative sepsis in many Latin American countries, we prospectively enrolled 784 high-risk pregnant women in a study designed to evaluate the effect of a single 1-g dose of ceftriaxone (n = 390) vs. that of no antibiotic prophylaxis (n = 394) on oral, rectal, and umbilical colonization and fatality rates among newborn infants. The mean ceftriaxone concentration in cord blood samples was 26 microgram/mL (range, 9-40 microgram/mL).