Publications by authors named "Rosa M Vivanco-Hidalgo"
Background: Digital health technologies (dHTs) offer a unique opportunity to address some of the major challenges facing health care systems worldwide. However, the implementation of dHTs raises some concerns, such as the limited understanding of their real impact on health systems and people's well-being or the potential risks derived from their use. In this context, health technology assessment (HTA) is 1 of the main tools that health systems can use to appraise evidence and determine the value of a given dHT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A growing body of evidence has reported positive associations between long-term exposure to air pollution and poor COVID-19 outcomes. Inconsistent findings have been reported for short-term air pollution, mostly from ecological study designs. Using individual-level data, we studied the association between short-term variation in air pollutants [nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter with a diameter of <2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Factors that shape individuals' vulnerability to the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 severity remain poorly understood. We evaluated whether the association between long-term exposure to ambient NO, PM, and PM and COVID-19 hospitalisation differs by age, sex, individual income, area-level socioeconomic status, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Methods: We analysed a population-based cohort of 4,639,184 adults in Catalonia, Spain, during 2020.
Introduction: It is unclear if SARS-CoV-2 has affected people living with HIV (PLWH) more.
Methods: We compared SARS-CoV-2 testing, test positivity, hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality between PLWH and the general HIV-negative population of Catalonia, Spain from March 1 to December 15, 2020.
Results: SARS-CoV-2 testing was lower among PLWH 3556/13,142 (27.
Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) is one of the main tools that health systems have to appraise evidence and determine the value of a given health technology. Although the existing HTA frameworks are useful tools for the evaluation of a wide range of health technologies, more and more experts, organizations across the world, and HTA agencies are highlighting the need to update or develop specific methodological frameworks for the evaluation of digital health technologies in order to take into account additional domains that cover these technologies' intrinsic characteristics.
Objective: The purpose of our scoping review is to identify the methodological frameworks that are used worldwide for the assessment of digital health technologies; determine what dimensions and aspects are being considered; and generate, through a thematic analysis, a proposal for a methodological framework that is based on the most frequently described dimensions in the literature.
Background: Reports on the impact of some antiretrovirals against SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity are conflicting.
Objectives: We evaluated the effect of tenofovir as either tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) against SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated clinical outcomes among people living with HIV (PLWH).
Methods: We conducted a propensity score-matched analysis in the prospective PISCIS cohort of PLWH (n = 14 978) in Catalonia, Spain.
Effect of Direct Transportation to Thrombectomy-Capable Center vs Local Stroke Center on Neurological Outcomes in Patients With Suspected Large-Vessel Occlusion Stroke in Nonurban Areas: The RACECAT Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA
May 2022
Importance: In nonurban areas with limited access to thrombectomy-capable centers, optimal prehospital transport strategies in patients with suspected large-vessel occlusion stroke are unknown.
Objective: To determine whether, in nonurban areas, direct transport to a thrombectomy-capable center is beneficial compared with transport to the closest local stroke center.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Multicenter, population-based, cluster-randomized trial including 1401 patients with suspected acute large-vessel occlusion stroke attended by emergency medical services in areas where the closest local stroke center was not capable of performing thrombectomy in Catalonia, Spain, between March 2017 and June 2020.
Introduction: It is unclear if SARS-CoV-2 has affected people living with HIV (PLWH) more.
Methods: We compared SARS-CoV-2 testing, test positivity, hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality between PLWH and the general HIV-negative population of Catalonia, Spain from March 1 to December 15, 2020.
Results: SARS-CoV-2 testing was lower among PLWH 3556/13,142 (27.
Background: Factors affecting outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in people living with HIV are unclear. We assessed the factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and severe outcomes among people living with HIV.
Methods: We did a retrospective cohort study using data from the PISCIS cohort of people with HIV in Catalonia (Spain) between March 1 and Dec 15, 2020.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to identify the best NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) cutoff points for defining minor intracerebral hemorrhage (mICH) in patients with primary ICH, focusing on their 3-month recovery outcomes.
- The optimal NIHSS cutoff for supratentorial mICH was found to be 6, while for infratentorial mICH, it was 4, with significant percentages of patients living independently at the 3-month follow-up.
- The research highlighted that using these NIHSS cutoff points effectively helps identify patients likely to have better recovery outcomes, emphasizing the importance of early assessment in managing ICH cases.
BackgroundSeveral clinical trials have assessed the protective potential of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Chronic exposure to such drugs might lower the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19).AimTo assess COVID-19 incidence and risk of hospitalisation in a cohort of patients chronically taking chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current strategies for preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are limited to nonpharmacologic interventions. Hydroxychloroquine has been proposed as a postexposure therapy to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), but definitive evidence is lacking.
Methods: We conducted an open-label, cluster-randomized trial involving asymptomatic contacts of patients with polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-confirmed Covid-19 in Catalonia, Spain.
Objective: To describe short-term and 5-year rates of mortality and poor outcome in patients with spontaneous aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) who received repair treatment.
Methods: In this prospective observational study, mortality and poor outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 3-6) were analyzed in 311 patients with aSAH at 3 months, 1 year, and 5 years follow-up. Sensitivity analysis was performed according to treatment modality.
Background: Stroke recurrence (SR) after an ischemic stroke is an important cause of death and disability. We conducted a hospital-based study to evaluate the role of biological age (b-Age: age-related DNA-methylation changes) as a risk factor for SR.
Methods: We included 587 patients in the acute phase of stroke, assessed at one tertiary stroke center (Hospital del Mar: Barcelona, Spain).
Background: No effective treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exist. We aimed to determine whether early treatment with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) would be efficacious for outpatients with COVID-19.
Methods: Multicenter open-label, randomized, controlled trial conducted in Catalonia, Spain, between 17 March and 26 May 2020.
Background and Purpose- The aim of the study was to determine the impact of individuals' socioeconomic status and their Primary Care Service Area Socioeconomic Index on survival after ischemic stroke. Methods- We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study in Catalonia, Spain. We included all patients with first ischemic stroke admitted to a public hospital between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To analyze the clinical differences between patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with and without atrial fibrillation (AF) and assess whether the effect of the antithrombotic pretreatment on outcome is modified by the presence of AF.
Methods: In this prospective observational study, researchers from 2 university hospitals included 1,106 consecutive patients with ICH. Clinical characteristics were described and stratified by presence of AF.
Background And Purpose: A number of environmental risk factors of acute ischemic stroke have been identified, but few studies have evaluated the influence of the outdoor environment on stroke severity. We assessed the association of residential ambient fine particulate matter air pollution (PM), noise, and surrounding greenspace with initial stroke severity.
Methods: We obtained data on patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke from a hospital-based prospective stroke register (2005-2014) in Barcelona.
Rationale: Ischemic stroke is among the leading causes of adult disability. Part of the variability in functional outcome after stroke has been attributed to genetic factors but no locus has been consistently associated with stroke outcome.
Objective: Our aim was to identify genetic loci influencing the recovery process using accurate phenotyping to produce the largest GWAS (genome-wide association study) in ischemic stroke recovery to date.
Stroke, and mainly ischemic stroke, is the second cause of death and disability. To confront the huge burden of this disease, innovative stroke systems of care are mandatory. This requires the development of national stroke plans to offer the best treatment to all patients eligible for reperfusion therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The relationship between ischemic stroke (IS), diabetes mellitus (DM), and sex is intriguing. The aim of this study was to assess the effect modification of sex in the association between DM and short- and long-term disability and mortality in first-ever IS patients.
Methods: In a retrospective, observational, hospital-based study of a prospective series including first-ever IS patients from January 2006 until July 2011, differences in 3-month and 5-year mortality, and disability between diabetic and non-diabetic patients [modified Rankin Scale (mRS) from 3 to 5] were analyzed by sex.
Objective: To assess the relationship between short-term exposure to outdoor ambient air pollutants (fine particulate matter [PM] and black carbon [BC]), ischemic stroke (IS) and its different subtypes, and the potential modifying effect of neighborhood greenspace and noise.
Methods: This time-stratified case-crossover study was based on IS and transient ischemic attacks (TIA) recorded in a hospital-based prospective stroke register (BASICMAR 2005-2014) in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Daily and hourly pollutant concentrations and meteorological data were obtained from monitoring stations in the city.
Objective: To analyze the effect of age-related DNA methylation changes in multiple cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites (biological age [b-age]) on patient outcomes at 3 months after an ischemic stroke.
Methods: We included 511 patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke assessed at Hospital del Mar (Barcelona, Spain) as the discovery cohort. Demographic and clinical data, including chronological age (c-age), vascular risk factors, initial stroke severity, recanalization treatment, and previous and 3-month modified Rankin Scale (p-mRS and 3-mRS, respectively) were registered.
Objectives: Epilepsy has been associated with cardiovascular comorbidity. This study aimed to assess the potential association between cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs), antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and etiology.
Material And Methods: A single-center retrospective epilepsy cohort from the decade of 2004-2013 was assessed.
Objective: To analyze the effect of previous antiplatelet (AP) and vitamin K antagonist (VKA) treatments on outcome in patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
Methods: In this prospective observational study, we analyzed 529 patients according to antithrombotic pretreatment: none, AP, or VKA. Very-early (24-hour) death, 3-month mortality, and functional independence were analyzed.