ASYMPTOMATIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE DIAGNOSED DURING COLORECTAL CANCER POPULATION SCREENING IN CATALONIA: CHARACTERISTICS AND NATURAL HISTORY.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is usually diagnosed when symptomatic. Prognosis and evolution of preclinical IBD is largely unknown. However, colorectal cancer screening programs (CRCSP) detect a subset of IBD patients with no symptoms.

Bisphosphonate drug holidays in osteoporosis according to fracture risk profile.

Unlabelled: We analyzed the incidence of fractures and changes in bone mineral density and bone turnover markers in 264 patients who discontinued bisphosphonates. Fractures were recorded in 12.3%.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Renal ANCA Vasculitis: A Summary of the Consensus Document of the Catalan Group for the Study of Glomerular Diseases (GLOMCAT).

The document provides a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) with renal involvement, focusing on granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). It outlines the definitions, clinical presentation, histopathological classification, monitoring strategies, induction and maintenance treatments, as well as special considerations for relapsing, refractory, and frail patients with renal AAV. The document was prepared by the Catalan Group for the Study of Glomerular Diseases (GLOMCAT), which comprises nephrologists with extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of AAV patients.

Swallowed drug-filled packet impaction and appendiceal neoplasm: Two rare causes of bowel obstruction detected in the same patient.

Bowel obstruction, perforation and acute drug overdose due to packet rupture are known complication of "body-packing". We present the case of a 47-year-old man, who ingested drug-filled packets with acute bowel obstruction. A CT scan revealed multiple hyperdense ovoid bodies along distended and fluid-filled small bowel loops and an infiltrating appendiceal tumor with proximal packet retention.

Complementary and alternative medicine in HIV care: frequency of consumption, risks and interactions with antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: People living with HIV (PLWH) are common users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The main objective of this study was to study the frequency and patterns of CAM natural products use in a large cohort of PLWH and to identify potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and the impact on their antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence and efficacy.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter survey including 420 PLWH from different Spanish hospitals.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty or nothing for patients with displaced proximal humeral fractures: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The benefits of reverse shoulder arthroplasty compared to nonoperative treatment for patients presenting with complex proximal fractures have been rarely explored. The aim of this prospective study was to compare the functional results of reverse shoulder arthroplasty with those of nonsurgical treatment in patients with displaced proximal humeral fractures.

Methods: A multicentric prospective randomized control trial of patients older than 70 years who sustained an acute proximal humeral fracture (3 or 4 parts), with less than 3 weeks of evolution, and had no previous condition or surgery on the affected shoulder was conducted.

Reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy in surgical patients through a specific nationwide antimicrobial stewardship program. A prospective, interventional cohort study.

Background: Guidelines recommend 5-7 days of antibiotic treatment in patients with surgical infection and adequate source control. This nationwide stewardship intervention aimed to reduce the duration of treatments in surgical patients to <7 days.

Methods: Prospective cohort study evaluating surgical patients receiving antibiotics ≥7 days in 32 hospitals.

Sex and gender differences in acute stroke care: metrics, access to treatment and outcome. A territorial analysis of the Stroke Code System of Catalonia.

Introduction: Previous studies have reported differences in the management and outcome of women stroke patients in comparison with men. We aim to analyze sex and gender differences in the medical assistance, access to treatment and outcome of acute stroke patients in Catalonia.

Patients And Methods: Data were obtained from a prospective population-based registry of stroke code activations in Catalonia (CICAT) from January/2016 to December/2019.

High incidence of clinical fragility fractures in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis. A case-control study.

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of clinical fragility fractures in postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and analyze risk factors for fracture.

Methods: Incidence of clinical fragility fractures in 330 postmenopausal women with RA was compared to that of a control population of 660 age-matched postmenopausal Spanish women. Clinical fractures during the previous five years were recorded.

Determinants and Trends of the Use of Intravenous Thrombolysis for Minor Stroke: A Population-Based Study, 2016 to 2020.

Background: We analyzed the main factors associated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in patients with minor ischemic stroke.

Methods: Data were obtained from a prospective, government-mandated, population-based registry of stroke code patients in Catalonia (6 Comprehensive Stroke Centers, 8 Primary Stroke Centers, and 14 TeleStroke Centers). We selected patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) ≤5 at hospital admission from January 2016 to December 2020.

Factors associated with all-cause mortality at 90 days in hospitalized adult patients who received parenteral nutrition.

Objective: this study aimed to assess the main factors related to mortality in a cohort of hospitalized adult patients who required parenteral nutrition (PN) considering their characteristics, type of admission, procedures, nutritional data, and adverse events. Methods: a retrospective study was performed in a 400-bed university hospital. All adult inpatients that had received ≥ 4 days as first course of PN within 24 months were included.

Pre-operative prevalence of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 in hospitals in Catalonia during the first wave after the resumption of surgical activity.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of non-essential surgical procedures in March 2020. With the resumption of surgical activity, patients undergoing surgery were one of the first population groups to be systematically tested for PCR. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers after the resumption of non-essential surgical activity.

Evolution of quality indicators in acute stroke during the RACECAT Trial: Impact in the general population.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke patients not referred directly to a comprehensive stroke center (CSC) have reduced access to endovascular treatment (EVT). The RACECAT trial is a population-based cluster-randomized trial, designed to compare mothership and drip-and-ship strategies in acute ischemic stroke patients outside the catchment area of a CSC.

Aims: To analyze the evolution of performance indicators in the regions that participated in RACECAT.

Multidisciplinary models for pregnancy care in patients with rheumatic diseases: Clinical experiences and experts opinion.

Objectives: To describe different models of multidisciplinary pregnancy care for patients with inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases, and the steps to follow concerning their implementation.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted including: (1) a comprehensive literature search in PUBMED focused on multidisciplinary care models; (2) structured interviews with seven rheumatologists from multidisciplinary pregnancy clinics for patients with inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Data were collected related to the hospitals, medical departments, populations cared for, and multidisciplinary care models (type, material, and human resources, professional requirements, objectives, referral criteria, agendas, protocols, responsibilities, decision-making, research and educational activities, multidisciplinary clinical sessions, initiation/start, planning, advantages/disadvantages, and barriers/facilitators for implementation); (3) a nominal meeting group in which the results of searches and interviews were analyzed and the recommendations for the implementation of the multidisciplinary care models defined.

Non-invasive oxygenation support in acutely hypoxemic COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU: a multicenter observational retrospective study.

Background: Non-invasive oxygenation strategies have a prominent role in the treatment of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the efficacy of these therapies has been studied in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the clinical outcomes associated with oxygen masks, high-flow oxygen therapy by nasal cannula and non-invasive mechanical ventilation in critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients remain unclear.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we used the best of nine covariate balancing algorithms on all baseline covariates in critically ill COVID-19 patients supported with > 10 L of supplemental oxygen at one of the 26 participating ICUs in Catalonia, Spain, between March 14 and April 15, 2020.

Rheumatology manpower in the public system in Catalonia (Spain).

Objective: To determine the current state of Rheumatology in Catalonia and to update the information regarding previous studies.

Material And Methods Design: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Data collection from January to June 2017.

The Role of Vascular Imaging atReferral Centers in the Drip and Ship Paradigm.

Background: In drip-and-ship protocols, non-invasive vascular imaging (NIVI) at Referral Centers (RC), although recommended, is not consistently performed and its value is uncertain. We evaluated the role of NIVI at RC, comparing patients with (VI+) and without (VI-) vascular imaging in several outcomes.

Methods: Observational, multicenter study from a prospective government-mandated population-based registry of code stroke patients.

Impact of COVID-19 Infection on the Outcome of Patients With Ischemic Stroke.

Background And Purpose: We evaluated whether stroke severity, functional outcome, and mortality are different in patients with ischemic stroke with or without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

Methods: A prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study in Catalonia, Spain. Recruitment was consecutive from mid-March to mid-May 2020.

Increased posterior translation but similar clinical outcomes using ultracongruent instead of posterior stabilized total knee arthroplasties in a prospective randomized trial.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the posterior tibial translation after ultracongruent (UC) and posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with two different UC with different heights in the anterior lip, and two different PS designs. This study also aimed to compare the range of motion (ROM) and outcomes scores after the use of these TKA models. It was hypothesised less posterior tibial translation after PS than after UC TKA, and less posterior tibial translation with a higher anterior lip in the UC insert than with a lower one.

Efficacy and safety of switching to dolutegravir plus lamivudine versus continuing triple antiretroviral therapy in virologically suppressed adults with HIV at 48 weeks (DOLAM): a randomised non-inferiority trial.

Background: Simplified antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens are desirable for people with HIV. We investigated the efficacy and safety of switching from triple ART to dual dolutegravir plus lamivudine therapy.

Methods: DOLAM is a phase 4, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority trial, done at six HIV clinics in Catalonia, Spain.

One Versus 3-Week Immobilization Period for Nonoperatively Treated Proximal Humeral Fractures: A Prospective Randomized Trial.

Background: There is no consensus on the duration of immobilization for nonoperatively treated proximal humeral fractures (PHFs). The main objective of the study was to determine the differences in pain between PHFs that were treated nonoperatively with 3-week immobilization and those treated with 1-week immobilization.

Methods: A prospective randomized trial was designed to evaluate whether the immobilization time frame (1-week immobilization [group I] versus 3-week immobilization [group II]) for nonoperatively treated PHFs had any influence on pain and functional outcomes.

The technique of cement application has no influence on cement intrusion in total knee arthroplasty: randomized study comparing three different techniques.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the distance of intrusion of the cement into the bone in different areas both in the femur and the tibia in vivo, measured in the radiograph after implanting a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with three different cement techniques.

Methods: A prospective randomized study of 90 consecutive patients operated on at our institution with a cemented U2 Knee System TKA and medium viscosity Simplex P bone cement. After pulse lavage, the cement was applied on the bone surfaces (group 1), on the implant surfaces (group 2) or both on the bone and the implant surfaces (group 3).

Pre-operative prevalence of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 in hospitals in Catalonia during the first wave after the resumption of surgical activity.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of non-essential surgical procedures in March 2020. With the resumption of surgical activity, patients undergoing surgery were one of the first population groups to be systematically tested for PCR. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers after the resumption of non-essential surgical activity.