Publications by authors named "Maria Jose Farfan-Bajana"
Hemorrhagic fevers caused by South American Mammarenaviruses: A comprehensive review of epidemiological and environmental factors related to potential emergence.
Travel Med Infect Dis
March 2025
South American hemorrhagic fevers (SHF), a group of zoonotic diseases caused by various virus families including Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, and Flaviviridae, are primarily confined to geographic areas where their host species reside. Transmission to humans occurs through direct contact with infected animals, especially rodents, and when infected, humans can transmit diseases to other humans through person-to-person interactions and other means, leading to illnesses that range from mild to life-threatening conditions. Diseases such as Argentine hemorrhagic fever, caused by the Junin virus, Brazilian hemorrhagic fever, caused by the Sabia virus, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, caused by the Guanarito virus, and Chapare hemorrhagic fever, are responsible for most hemorrhagic fevers excluding hemorrhagic consequences of diseases such as those caused by dengue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Social isolation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked interest in its psychological and neurobiological consequences. The pandemic has been associated with an increase in anxiety, depression, and stress, according to some cross-sectional studies. This study aims to analyze changes in the levels of anxiety, depression and stress by comparing the confinement phase to the post-confinement period in the Ecuadorian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Compared with conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are less harmful in some studies. However, recent research may indicate the opposite. This study aimed to determine whether e-cigarette use is related to myocardial health in adults in the U.
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- - The study aimed to evaluate Ecuadorian physicians' knowledge and perceptions of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients post-COVID-19, highlighting its importance for improving respiratory function and well-being.
- - An online survey of 295 physicians revealed that while a majority recognized the need for respiratory follow-up in COVID-19 patients (81.4%), only 18.3% were aware of specific rehabilitation guidelines.
- - Overall, 93.6% of participants believed pulmonary rehabilitation is beneficial for patients with a history of COVID-19, but there is still uncertainty regarding the proper follow-up and implementation of rehabilitation strategies.
Purpose: Depression is inadequately recognized and managed, and physicians' attitudes toward this condition and its treatment may play a part in this. This study aimed to assess Ecuadorian physicians' attitudes toward depression.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted using the validated Revised Depression Attitude Questionnaire (R-DAQ).
Allergies to seafood are common all over the world. The prick-to-pricktest is used to diagnose allergic reactions. In this article, a femalepatient suffered an anaphylactic reaction 5 minutes following a Prick-to-Prick skin test.
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- There is increasing evidence that interventions like pulmonary rehabilitation can help improve respiratory function and reduce hospital stays for COVID-19 survivors.
- A study of 282 Ecuadorian physicians showed over half felt the diagnosis and treatment of long-term COVID-19 pulmonary issues is unclear, but 94.3% agreed that pulmonary rehabilitation is important for long-term care.
- Most physicians supported the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation for patient recovery, but emphasized the need for clear guidelines on assessing and treating chronic pulmonary effects.
Article Synopsis
- - The study explores the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to enable self-management education.
- - Conducted between 2018 and 2019 across multiple Latin American countries, the survey involved 435 patients, revealing high access to smartphones and internet, with one-to-one ICTs (like WhatsApp and email) being the most frequently used for communication.
- - Results indicate that older adults and those with lower education levels are less likely to engage with ICTs, despite a general preference for one-to-one ICTs for receiving information about OSA and engaging with healthcare providers.
Diabetes mellitus affects 422 million people around the world, positioning it as a major health problem. According to the WHO(World Health Organization), 90% corresponds to type 2. The shared-decision making (SDM) is a method used to facilitate patient control, medication, maintenance, and assessment of health status according to their priorities and preferences.
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- - The study investigates the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and daytime sleepiness among Ecuadorian bus drivers, addressing its implications for traffic safety in the transportation industry.
- - Out of 340 bus drivers, 18.5% were identified as high-risk for OSA, with a weak correlation suggesting that higher scores on the STOP-Bang assessment are linked to increased daytime sleepiness and a slight rise in accident rates.
- - The findings highlight the need for further research on managing undiagnosed OSA in drivers to potentially enhance road safety and reduce accident occurrences.
Background: Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare inherited disorder that leads to copper accumulation in the liver, brain, and other organs. WD is prevalent worldwide, with an occurrence of 1 per 30,000 live births. Currently, there is no gold standard diagnostic test for WD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Limited large-scale studies have been conducted to investigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccine in Latin America, particularly among the healthcare worker (HCW) population in Ecuador. The objective of this study was to assess a cohort of Ecuadorian healthcare workers for adverse reactions following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Methods: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study to assess the potential adverse reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine among a sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, from March to May 2021.