Publications by authors named "Villarroel G"

Article Synopsis
  • Poor habits like bad posture, weak abdominal control, and mouth breathing can result in a forward head position, affecting overall health, particularly in the jaw area.
  • There’s a significant link between forward head syndrome and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), with muscle issues being the primary concern, especially in the sternocleidomastoid and upper trapezius areas.
  • While some wear-and-tear changes in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) have been noted, there is not enough evidence yet to confirm that forward head syndrome directly causes these issues.
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Article Synopsis
  • Tracheostomy can provide crucial benefits for pediatric ICU patients, but it carries risks, particularly accidental decannulation (AD), which can be life-threatening.
  • A case-control study was conducted involving 140 tracheostomized children, identifying 41 cases of AD and 82 controls during their hospitalization from 2013-2018.
  • Key factors linked to an increased risk of AD included the child's ability to sit up and reach the midline, using a smaller tracheostomy tube (≤ 4.0 mm diameter), and having less nursing supervision in the hospital.
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Scope: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a high and growing prevalence globally. Mitochondria are fundamental in regulating cell energy homeostasis. Nevertheless, mitochondria control mechanisms can be exceeded in this context of energy overload.

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Background: Worldwide, the prevalence of obesity and related non-communicable chronic diseases is high and continues to grow. In that sense, anthocyanins (ANC) have shown beneficial health effects in preventing obesity and metabolic risk factors. Moreover, the demand for functional foods incorporating these compounds has risen significantly in the past years.

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Purpose: Congenital nasal obstruction can be a significant cause of respiratory distress in the newborn, given that they are considered to be obligate nasal breathers. Several different causes have been described, which can be broadly classified as anatomical/malformative, non-tumoral masses and cysts, benign and malignant neoplasia, inflammatory/infectious, traumatic/iatrogenic, and miscellaneous. The purpose of this review is to provide updated and useful clinical information for teams involved in neonatal care, especially in a hospital setting.

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Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae.

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Background: The lack of formal instruments to measure Burden in primary caregivers of Children in a hospital context is limited because mostly of published instruments are related to cancer survivors, ambulatory environment or general context for children with chronic conditions, but none of them adapted property to prolonged hospitalization context. This leaves the rising population of hospitalized chronic children's caregivers without a proper assessment. The aim of this study was to develop a version of the Revised Impact on Family Scale adapted to primary caregivers of chronic hospitalized children.

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Background: Low levels of serum CC16 were reported in asthmatic adults, but the studies on children were scarce and conflicting. The aim of this study was to compare serum CC16 levels in pre-school children with recurrent wheezing assessed using an asthma predictive index (API).

Methods: We performed a case-control study based on API, with all enrolled pre-school children who had recurrent wheezing episodes (>3 episodes/last year confirmed by a physician) and had presented at one paediatric clinic in Santiago, Chile.

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Background: In contrast to adult asthmatic patients, studies on the role of serum periostin levels in schoolchildren with asthma are still conflictive, and very few studies have been performed in pre-schoolers. The aim of this study was to compare serum periostin levels in recurrent wheezer pre-schoolers according to their asthma predictive index (API) condition.

Methods: We performed a case-control study enrolling pre-schoolers with recurrent wheezing episodes (>3 episodes confirmed by physician) presented at one paediatric clinic in Santiago, Chile.

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Background: Body contouring surgery (BCS) is becoming increasing popular for aesthetic and reconstructive purposes, particularly among patients with massive weight loss (MWL). However, data on quality of life (QoL) following the surgery are limited, especially long-term QoL.

Objectives: The authors evaluated the effect of BCS on QoL and the durability of this effect over time.

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Background: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has proven to be useful in the management of children with acute respiratory failure as a result of acute lower respiratory infection. Despite this, evidence addressing the initiation and/or discontinuation criteria of NIV in children remains limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and clinical impact of an NIV protocol in hospitalized children with acute respiratory failure because of acute lower respiratory infection.

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Background: The 6-minutes walking test (6WT) is the ideal submaximal test for the evaluation and follow-up of patients with chronic respiratory diseases. There are no reference values (RV) for Chilean children using the American Thoracic Society guidelines.

Aim: To generate 6WT reference values for Chilean children aged 6 to 14 years.

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