The efficacy of negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in the prevention of surgical site occurrences in open abdominal surgery: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: The secondary consequences of surgical site occurrences, especially surgical site infections, worsen the patient's outcomes while significantly increasing health care costs. The implementation of preventive measures to reduce this complication rate should be one of the priorities to improve health care.

Methods: A randomized, open-label clinical trial was conducted between March 2019 and March 2021 in a general surgery department.

FDI: A MATLAB tool for computing the fractal dimension index of sources reconstructed from EEG data.

Background: The fractal dimension (FD) is a valuable tool for analysing the complexity of neural structures and functions in the human brain. To assess the spatiotemporal complexity of brain activations derived from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, the fractal dimension index (FDI) was developed. This measure integrates two distinct complexity metrics: 1) integration FD, which calculates the FD of the spatiotemporal coordinates of all significantly active EEG sources (4DFD); and 2) differentiation FD, determined by the complexity of the temporal evolution of the spatial distribution of cortical activations (3DFD), estimated via the Higuchi FD [HFD(3DFD)].

Development of a Predictive Model for Skin-to-Skin Contact Immediately after Birth: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model for the establishment of skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted during the last trimester of 2022 and the first trimester of 2023 with women who had given birth in Spain. A questionnaire containing sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health variables referring to the mother and the newborn, as well as the Bond and Attachment questionnaire (VAMF, ) for the analysis of the mother-child bond and attachment, were administered.

Examining Neural Connectivity in Schizophrenia Using Task-Based EEG: A Graph Theory Approach.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disorder characterized by a range of symptoms and behaviors that have significant consequences for individuals, families, and society in general. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a valuable tool for understanding the neural dynamics and functional abnormalities associated with schizophrenia. Research studies utilizing EEG have identified specific patterns of brain activity in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia that may reflect disturbances in neural synchronization and information processing in cortical circuits.

Blood pressure telemonitoring and telemedicine, a Latin America perspective.

Purpose: To share a Latin-American perspective of the use of telemedicine, together with blood pressure measurements outside the medical office, as a potential contribution to improving access to the health system, diagnosis, adherence, and persistence in hypertension treatment.

Material And Methods: A document settled by a Writing Group of Mexico Hypertension Experts Group, Interamerican Society of Hypertension, Epidemiology and Cardiovascular Prevention Council of the Interamerican Society of Cardiology, and National Cardiologist Association of Mexico.

Results: In almost all Latin American countries, the health sector faces two fundamental challenges: (1) ensure equitable access to quality care services in a growing population that faces an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and (2) optimise the growing costs of health services, maintaining equity, accessibility, universality, and quality.

Validity and reliability of the Niigata PPPD Questionnaire in a Western population.

Purpose: To analyze the psychometric properties of the Niigata Questionnaire (NPQ) for use in a European population with persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD).

Methods: Observational study included 140 patients with different vestibular conditions. Construct validity, internal consistency and concurrent validity were analyzed.

Integration-segregation dynamics in functional networks of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia has been associated with dysfunction in information integration/segregation dynamics. One of the neural networks whose role has been most investigated in schizophrenia is the default mode network (DMN). In this study, we have explored the possible alteration of integration and segregation dynamics in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia with respect to healthy controls, based on the study of the topological properties of the graphs derived from the functional connectivity between the nodes of the DMN in the resting state.

B-Mode Ultrasound, a Reliable Tool for Monitoring Experimental Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently used for the study of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in animal models. However, ultrasound is an inexpensive, non-invasive and rapid technique that could facilitate the diagnosis and follow-up of ICH. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of B-mode ultrasound as an alternative tool for monitoring of ICH volume and brain structure displacement in an animal model.

Spinal fusion achieves similar two-year improvement in HRQoL as total hip and total knee replacement. A prospective, multicentric and observational study.

Introduction: Total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) are surgical procedures with proven benefits. Although the literature reports outcomes of fusion of the lumbar spine comparable to those of THA/TKA in general health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) questionnaires, functional assessment is nevertheless needed for these results to be of use in clinical practice and management. Aim of our study was to prove that lumbar spinal fusion has similar if not better outcomes than THA/TKA using intervention-specific HRQoL questionnaires and functional assessment questionnaires.

Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants and Anogenital Distance in Children at 18 Months.

Background: Anogenital distance (AGD) is a measure of in utero exposure to hormonally active agents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and AGD.

Methods: POP levels were measured in pregnant women, and the AGD was recorded in 43 offspring at 18 months.

Clinical factors associated with inappropriate prophylaxis of venous thromboembolic disease in critically ill patients. A single day cross-sectional study.

Purpose: A poor implementation of VTE prophylactic measures recommended for critically ill patients has been observed in several epidemiological studies. The clinical factors associated with this have not been clearly established. The objective of our study was to identify which factors could be related to the inappropriate use of VTE prophylaxis.

Interference control commonalities in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

Background: Whereas deficits in executive functioning have been widely reported in schizophrenia and, somewhat less, in bipolar disorder, few studies have addressed this issue in people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Importantly, no studies to date have compared the ability to cope with interfering information in all three groups of patients. Impairment in executive control has been associated with reduced daily functioning.

Assessment of patient safety culture in clinical laboratories in the Spanish National Health System.

Introduction: There is increasing awareness of the importance of transforming organisational culture in order to raise safety standards. This paper describes the results obtained from an evaluation of patient safety culture in a sample of clinical laboratories in public hospitals in the Spanish National Health System.

Material And Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers employed in the clinical laboratories of 27 public hospitals in 2012.

Expression of p16/Ki-67 in ASC-US/LSIL or Normal Cytology with Presence of Oncogenic HPV DNA.

Aim: To determine if positive dual staining of p16/Ki-67 in cytology samples from women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) or normal cytological reports with presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), helps in predicting the risk of developing high-grade cervical lesions during one-year of follow-up after a normal initial colposcopy.

Materials And Methods: One-hundred and sixty women with ASC-US, LSIL or otherwise normal cytology, but with the presence of high-risk HPV, were referred to the colposcopy Unit of our Hospital. Cytology and HPV testing were repeated and dual staining of p16/Ki-67 performed on a new cytological specimen, and subsequently patients were colposcopically assessed and prospectively followed-up for one year, after which the colposcopy was repeated.

Treatment of periprosthetic femoral fractures with modular stems.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyse the efficacy of modular femoral stems for the treatment of certain post-operative periprosthetic fractures in patients with hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Of a total series of 61 modular revision stems, 17 were used to address periprosthetic femoral fractures and 12 of these are the object of this study. The average follow-up was 3.

Influence of clinical and radiological variables on the extent and distribution of periprosthetic osteolysis in total hip arthroplasty with a hydroxyapatite-coated multiple-hole acetabular component: a magnetic resonance imaging study.

Polyethylene wear-induced osteolysis constitutes the most severe long-term complication of total hip arthroplasties (THA). Our aim was to assess through MRI the severity and growth pattern of osteolysis, as well as the influence clinical-radiographic variables exert. We analyzed 75 THA with an average evolution time of 13.

Evaluation of p16(INK4a) overexpression in a large series of cervical carcinomas: concordance with SPF10-LiPA25 PCR.

The aims of this study were to assess the overexpression of p16 in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cervical carcinoma tissue blocks and to determine its concordance with the human papillomavirus (HPV) status using the SPF10-LiPA25 polymerase chain reaction System and its correlation with the histologic type of invasive cervical cancer (ICC) and individual HPV genotypes. A total of 205 retrospectively collected ICC cases were analyzed by p16 immunohistochemistry. HPV detection was performed by polymerase chain reaction using SPF10 broad-spectrum primers, followed by deoxyribonucleic acid enzyme immunoassay and genotyping by reverse hybridization line probe assay (LiPA25).

Comparison of 2 different PCR-based technologies for the detection of human papilloma virus from paraffin-embedded tissue: genómica clinical arrays versus SPF(10)-LiPA(25).

The great interest in molecular epidemiology of human papilloma virus (HPV) in cervical cancer led us to perform a thorough evaluation of 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for the detection of HPV in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare HPV detection in FFPE samples that have histopathologic diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer using SPF10 broad-spectrum primers PCR followed by DNA enzyme immunoassay and LiPA25 (version 1: Labo Biomedical products, Rijswijk, The Netherlands version 1) and the Papillomavirus Clinical Arrays technique (Genómica, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain). In this study, 235 biopsies with histopathologic diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer were analyzed for the detection and genotyping of HPV by LiPA25 SPF10-PCR System (version 1) and Papillomavirus Clinical Arrays technique.

RS3PE syndrome: a clinical and immunogenetical study.

This study analyses the clinical, radiological, evolutive, and immunogenetical characteristics of a series of patients diagnosed with remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome. Reviewed were the clinical charts and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) profiles of all patients treated at a single teaching hospital fulfilling the features of this syndrome according to the definition of McCarty. Twelve cases were detected in ten men and two women aged from 62 to 85 years.

Clinical course, treatment, and multivariate analysis of risk factors for pyogenic liver abscess.

Background: Pyogenic liver abscess is a threatening condition. The purpose of this study was to audit the clinical behavior and to analyze the risk factors.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-three patients treated in five hospitals during the years 1985 to 1997 were studied.

Scapular hibernoma fortuitously discovered on myocardial perfusion imaging through Tc-99m tetrofosmin.

A 49-year-old man was hospitalized for precordial pain. The result of a resting electrocardiograph was normal. Tc-99m tetrofosmin stress myocardial imaging was performed and uptake in the area of the left scapula was seen.

Retinal cholesterol emboli during diagnostic cardiac catheterization.

Retinal embolism is a highly infrequent complication of cardiac catheterization of thrombotic, lipidic, and calcific etiology. We provide the first reported clinical case of retinal embolism caused by cholesterol crystal without systemic adverse effects as a severe complication of diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Cathet.

Neuroendocrine cells in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic carcinoma: effect of hormonal treatment.

The present study was undertaken to analyze the changes in neuroendocrine cells of the human prostate induced by neoplasms and the effect of hormonal treatment. Samples of human prostate (n = 47) were obtained during surgery or removal of organs for transplantation. The cases analyzed represent normal prostates (n = 4); benign prostatic hyperplasias (n = 10; prostatic carcinomas with Gleason scores of 2-4 (n = 5), 5-7 (n = 10), and 8-10 (n = 3), and prostatic carcinomas treated with hormonal therapy (n = 15).

Disappearance of DNA HPV in sequential specimens of occult cervical infection in a "normal" population.

Objective: The behaviour of occult infection in the uterine cervix was studied over one year in 175 women randomly selected, to determine if the infection persisted, disappeared or if the viral genotype became modified.

Study Design: An earlier study of the prevalence of HPV cervical infection detected 11 (6.2%) occult infections.