Quality of life, dependency and mental health scales of interest to nutritional studies in the population.

Quality of life, dependency and mental health are multidimensional constructs that cannot be observed directly yet can be deduced in an indirect manner through indicators or profiles generated from questionnaires. These questionnaires are based on the validity of information transmitted by the respondents about perceptions, feelings and attitudes. For this reason, the information is difficult to contrast with and translate to a measuring system.

Methodology for the estimation of use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

The objective of this article is to revise the methods used for the assessment of the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Analysing the advantages of using one method or the other, as well as the most frequent methodological difficulties and problems in medication and classification of each one of these indicators. The main sources of information available from European, National and Madrid Autonomous Community levels have been consulted to estimate the most relevant aspects of these forms of substance abuse.

Chinchón declaration; decalogue on low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS).

Multidisciplinary experts in the areas of nutrition and health met in Chinchón, Madrid, on November 25-26, 2013 under the auspices of the Fundación para la Investigación Nutricional (Nutrition Research Foundation) and with the collaboration of the Madrid Regional Government's Health Ministry, the International Sweeteners Association and the Carlos III Health Institute CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition. They analyzed the current status of scientific knowledge on low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) and developed a consensus Decalogue on their use; this constitutes the Chinchón Declaration. Sweeteners, including sugar, represent a subject of undeniable interest and are currently a popular topic, although areas relating to their safety and benefits remain unknown to segments of academia and the general public.

In-hospital mortality rates after CABG by autonomous regions in Spain.

Purpose: The paper's purpose is twofold: to provide a predictive model for estimating in-hospital mortality rates after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in Spanish autonomous regions (AR) after adjusting relevant factors; and to determine whether there is a difference between expected and observed mortality rates.

Design/methodology/approach: All patients registered in a minimum basic data set (MSBD) undergoing CABG between 2000 and 2004 were selected. After bivariate analysis to explore associations between in-hospital death and other variables, a multivariate analysis using logistic regression was conducted.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess satisfaction with hospital emergency care.

Objective: To develop and validate a questionnaire to determine satisfaction with the hospital emergency department.

Design: Cross-sectional study to validate a telephone questionnaire designed in Spanish by a panel of experts.

Setting: The emergency department of Hospital Gregorio Marañón, a tertiary level hospital of the Spanish national health system.

[Hospital care of patients with A/H1N1 influenza: evaluation of the first 1000 reported cases in Spain].

Introduction And Objectives: Influenza A is expected to have a great impact in countries in the northern hemisphere yet little has been reported about how this outbreak can affect hospital care. The aim of this study is to assess patients who demand care for flu symptoms and their outcome.

Material And Methods: From the beginning of the outbreak a specific protocol was established for the care of patients with potential influenza A in admission, emergency and hospitalization ward.

LQAS usefulness in an emergency department.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) applicability and usefulness in the evaluation of quality indicators in a hospital emergency department (ED) and to determine the degree of compliance with quality standards according to this sampling method.

Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive observational research in the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM) emergency department (ED). Patients older than 15 years, diagnosed with dyspnoea, chest pain, urinary tract colic or bronchial asthma attending the HGUGM ED from December 2005 to May 2006, and patients admitted during 2005 with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute meningitis were included in the study.

Laparoscopic hysterectomy in the treatment of endometrial cancer: a systematic review.

We sought to compare the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with or without lymphadenectomy and open surgery in women with endometrial cancer. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken. Bibliographic searches of the Health Technology Assessment, National Health Service Economic Evaluation, DARE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, Embase, Pascal Biomed, and Cinahl databases were made.

[Design and validation of a questionnaire of the hospital outpatient clinics in Madrid, Spain, 2006].

Background: In order to improve the quality of health care it is necessary to know the point of view of the patients through satisfaction surveys. Satisfaction surveys need some psychometric properties to guarantee its reliability and validity. The aim of this paper is to design and to validate a questionnaire to determine the satisfaction of patients of the hospital outpatient clinics.