Publications by authors named "Maruxa Zapata Cachafeiro"

Article Synopsis
  • - Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a major global public health issue leading to hard-to-treat respiratory infections, highlighting the need for better prescription practices among healthcare professionals.
  • - The eHealthResp project offers an online course and mobile app to educate healthcare providers about proper antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), showing positive outcomes for those who participated.
  • - Study results indicate that primary care physicians and pharmacists utilized these digital tools effectively, with common cases indicating mild symptoms, suggesting a focus on managing self-limited infections, and emphasizing the need for broader participation and improved educational strategies.
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Objective: To analyse the implementation and identify and describe the community activities (CA) developed during 2018-2022, in the Primary Health Care (PHC) of the health area of Santiago de Compostela y Barbanza. In addition, the barriers and facilitators for its development will be determined.

Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

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Background: Promoting health via a community approach is one of the most effective strategies for reducing the current incidence of chronic diseases. Primary care (PC), through the implementation of community activities (CA), has the potential to achieve this goal. Yet the implementation of CA at health centers is not standardized and is often thanks only to the voluntariness of health professionals.

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The relation between use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and severity of COVID-19 has been the subject to debate since the outbreak of the pandemic. Despite speculations about the possible harmful or protective effects, the position currently most supported by the scientific community is that there is no association between use of NSAIDs and COVID-19 outcomes. With the aim of contributing to increase the body of evidence on this issue, we conducted a case-control study using real-world data to investigate the association between prior use of NSAIDs, by active ingredient and type (traditional NSAIDs and selective COX-2 inhibitors), and important COVID-19-related outcomes, including susceptibility, PCR + patient progression, and hospitalisation.

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Objective: To ascertain student nurses' degree of knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding the implementation of community activities (CA) in primary care.

Design: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

Sample: The study was conducted with 152 students seeking a nursing degree at the University of Santiago de Compostela (North Spain) in the 2022/2023 academic year.

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Background: At the time of the emergence of COVID-19, denialist and anti-vaccine groups have also emerged and are shaking public confidence in vaccination.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using online focus groups. Participants had not received any doses of vaccination against the disease.

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Objective: This study aims to explore dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding antibiotic use.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of dentists' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotic use, by searching the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science for all original paper published from January 1990 to July 2023, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines.

Results: The review included 37 papers, (7 qualitative and 30 quantitative studies).

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Introduction: Owing to controversy information surrounds effect of glucocorticoids on the evolution of COVID-19, we evaluate the effects of outpatient glucocorticoid use on the severity and progression of COVID-19 and risk of infection and analyse the effect of window of exposure and dose.

Methods: We conducted a population-based case - control study, involving 4 substudies: (i) Hospitalisation; (ii) Mortality, using subjects hospitalised with a PCR + as cases and subjects without a PCR + as controls; (iii) Progression, including subjects with a PCR + (hospitalised versus non-hospitalised); and (iv) Susceptibility, with all subjects with a PCR + and subjects without a PCR + . Adjusted odds ratios (ORa) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.

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Objectives: To assess the impact of prior chronic treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/ angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), both as a group and by active ingredient, on severity (risk of hospitalization and mortality), progression of and susceptibility to COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a multiple population-based case-control study in Galicia (north-west Spain). The study data were sourced from medical, administrative and clinical databases.

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Background: The association between use of antipsychotics and COVID-19 outcomes is inconsistent, which may be linked to use of these drugs in age-related diseases. Furthermore, there is little evidence regarding their effect in the nongeriatric population. We aim to assess the association between antipsychotic use and risk of disease progression and hospitalization due to COVID-19 among the general population, stratifying by age.

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Community health promotion activities are a useful tool for a proactive approach to healthy lifestyles. However, the implementation of these types of activities at health centers is not standardized. The aim of this review was to analyse the characteristics of community activities undertaken in the primary care setting and substantiate available evidence on their health impact.

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Introduction And Objectives: Hypercoagulability and thromboembolism are processes that arise from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and are responsible for a high degree of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related morbidity and mortality. This study sought to assess the effect of antiplatelet drugs on COVID-19 severity (risk of hospitalization and mortality), susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, and progression to severe COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study in a northwestern region of Spain in 2020.

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Evidence of the effect of statins on patients with coronavirus disease (2019) COVID-19 is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between chronic use of statins-both overall and by active ingredient-and severe outcomes of COVID-19 (risk of hospitalization and mortality), progression to severe outcomes, and susceptibility to the virus. We conducted a population-based case-control study with data from electronic records to assess the risk of (1) hospitalization: cases were patients admitted due to COVID-19 and controls were subjects without COVID-19; (2) mortality: cases were hospitalized patients who died due to COVID-19 and controls were subjects without COVID-19; (3) progression: cases were hospitalized COVID-19 subjects and controls were nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients; and (4) susceptibility: cases were patients with COVID-19 (both hospitalized and nonhospitalized) and controls were subjects without COVID-19.

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Purpose: To investigate the association between the use of antidepressants and the risk of upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding (UGIB).

Methods: A Case-control study was conducted in a Brazilian hospital complex. Cases were defined as patients with a diagnosis of UGIB and controls as patients admitted for reasons unrelated to gastrointestinal bleeding, gastric concerns, or complications associated with low-dose aspirin (LDA) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use.

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The World Health Organization has proposed that a search be made for alternatives to vaccines for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, with one such alternative being selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This study thus sought to assess: the impact of previous treatment with SSRI antidepressants on the severity of COVID-19 (risk of hospitalisation, admission to an intensive care unit [ICU], and mortality), its influence on susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and progression to severe COVID-19. We conducted a population-based multiple case-control study in a region in the north-west of Spain.

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Background: Dentist play an important role in misuse of antibiotics. Identification of the dental activities linked to the misuse of antibiotics is important for improving dentists' prescribing quality. The aim of the study was to quantify the magnitude of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by dentists in Spain and identify the characteristics, knowledge and attitudes that influence prescribing quality.

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Introduction: Little is known about the role played by anticoagulants in COVID-19.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of previous anticoagulant treatment on risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19, progression to severe COVID-19 and susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

Methods: We conducted a multiple population-based case-control study in northwest Spain, in 2020, to assess (1) risk of hospitalization: cases were all patients admitted due to COVID-19 with PCR confirmation, and controls were a random matched sample of subjects without a positive PCR; (2) progression: cases were hospitalized COVID-19 subjects, and controls were all non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients; and (3) susceptibility: cases were patients with a positive PCR (hospitalized and non-hospitalized), and the controls were the same as for the hospitalization model.

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Background: Vaccine hesitancy decreases adult vaccination coverage and has been recognized by WHO as a major health threat. Primary care physicians (PCP) play a key role in vaccination by giving vaccine counselling to their patients. The aim of this systematic review is to identify the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and barriers (KBAB) associated with own vaccination and patient recommendation in primary care physicians.

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Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health problems. Health authorities, patients, and health professionals, including dentists, are all involved in its development. COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on dental care may have had repercussions on antibiotic prescribing by dentists.

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Background: Inappropriate antibiotic use constitutes one of the most concerning public health issues, being one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance. Hence, to tackle this issue, it is important to encourage the development of educational interventions for health practitioners, namely by using digital health tools. This study focuses on the description of the development and validation process of the eHealthResp online course, a web platform directed to physicians and pharmacists, with the overall goal of improving antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections, along with the assessment of its usability.

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Background: Interindividual genetic variations contribute to differences in patients' response to drugs as well as to the development of certain disorders. Patients who use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may develop serious gastrointestinal disorders, mainly upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (UGIH). Studies about the interaction between NSAIDs and genetic variations on the risk of UGIH are scarce.

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Bleeding in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) users limited their prescription. This first multicenter full case-control study (325 cases and 744 controls), explored the association of e-NOS intron 4 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (UGIH) in NSAID exposed and unexposed populations and assessed any interaction between this polymorphism and NSAIDs. NSAID users carrying e-NOS intron 4 wild type genotype or VNTR polymorphism have higher odds of UGIH than those unexposed to NSAIDs [Odds Ratio (OR): 6.

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Background: Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) secondary to peptic ulcer disease is a medical digestive emergency and could be one of the most serious adverse drug reactions.

Objective: To identify the frequency of diagnosis of NVUGIB secondary to peptic ulcer disease.

Methods: Prospective and epidemiological study conducted in a tertiary referral Brazilian hospital, from July 2016 to December 2019.

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Framework: The inappropriate use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections is dispersed worldwide, thus being a strong contributor to antibiotic resistances. As the use of educational interventions among health practitioners is shown to have an impact on judicious antibiotic use, an online course (eHealthResp) has been developed, especially targeted to pharmacists and physicians. Thus, the main goal of this study is to validate the contents of the online course eHealthResp.

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Objectives: This study sought to assess the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of a multifaceted intervention aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in primary care.

Design: Large-sized, two-arm, open-label, pragmatic, cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Setting: All primary care physicians working for the Spanish National Health Service (NHS) in Galicia (region in north-west Spain).

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