Access to evidence-based care: a systematic review of trauma and surgical literature costs across resource settings.

Background: Evidence-based medicine has become the foundation for surgeons around the world to provide the most effective surgical care. However, the article processing charges (APCs) and subscription fees for surgical journals may be a barrier, particularly for those in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Objectives: The objective of this study was to define the current options for producers and consumers of surgical literature, inclusive of trauma, across resource settings. Data sources: The Web of Science Core Collection database. Study appraisal and synthesis methods: A complete list of journals publishing surgical content between 2019 and 2020 was compiled. The most frequently indexed journals were reviewed using the individual journal websites to extract the type of access (ie, open, closed, hybrid), impact factors, publication languages, APCs, subscription pricing, and any discounts listed. Results: The literature search revealed 4759 unique journals. The 500 most frequently indexed were reviewed. The mean APC for a fully open access surgical journal was US$1574 and for a hybrid surgical journal was US$3338. The average costs for a 1-year subscription in a hybrid surgical journal were US$434 and US$1878 for an individual and institution, respectively. When considering purchasing power parity, APCs and subscription costs ranged from 2 to 15 times more expensive in LMICs when compared with those in the USA. Limitations: Primary search term was in English only, and only peer-reviewed journal articles were reviewed. Conclusions or implications of key findings: Although initiatives exist to support peer-reviewed journals in LMICs, there is an exorbitant cost for authors in these countries, as well as those in high-income countries that are not affiliated with a large institution, to either publish in, or access, a majority of surgical journals. Efforts to lower the overall cost of publishing must be made to provide greater access to medical literature. PROSPERO registration number: CRD4202140227. Level of evidence: Level IV.

Triple-negative breast cancer in Peru: 2000 patients and 15 years of experience.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies commonly identify the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with breast cancer at five years. Our study aims to describe the sociodemographic, clinicopathological characteristics and determine the long-term event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) of a Peruvian population with triple-negative breast cancer. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of new cases treated at a single institution in the period 2000-2014. The survival analysis included patients with stages I-IV. Survival estimates at 10 years were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the Log-rank test. We further used multivariate Cox regression analysis to calculate prognostic factors of recurrence and mortality. RESULTS: Among the 2007 patients included, the median age at diagnosis was 49 years (19-95 years). Most patients presented histologic grade III (68.7%), tumor stage II (34.2%), and III (51.0%) at diagnosis. Local and distant relapse was present in 31.9 and 51.4% of the patients, respectively. The most frequent sites of metastasis were the lungs (14.5%), followed by bone (9.7%), brain (9.6%), and liver (7.9%). The median follow-up was 153 months. At 3, 5, and 10 years, the EFS of the population was 55%, 49%, and 41%, respectively, while the OS was 64%, 56%, and 47%, respectively. Moreover, an N3 lymph node status was the most important prognostic factor for both disease relapse (HR: 2.54, 95% CI: 2.05-3.15) and mortality (HR: 2.51, 95% CI: 2.01-3.14) at ten years. An older age and higher T staging were associated with a worse OS, while patients who received radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy had better survival rates. CONCLUSION: The sociodemographic features of Peruvian patients with TNBC are similar to those of other populations. However, our population was diagnosed at more advanced clinical stages, and thus, EFS and OS were lower than international reports while prognostic factors were similar to previous studies.

Situación del estado ácido-base de pacientes incidentes a la emergencia de Medicina de un hospital nacional de Lima Perú y su asociación a variables clínicas / Situation of the acid-base disorders and their association with clinical variables in incident patients at the emergency room in a national hospital in Lima, Peru

Objetivos: Determinar la frecuencia de trastornos del estado ácido-base de pacientes admitidos al Departamento de Emergencia de un hospital general de Lima-Perú y su asociación con enfermedades prevalentes. Material y métodos: Estudio transversal descriptivo y analítico cuyo tamaño de muestra calculado fue en 108 pacientes a quienes el médico tratante solicitó estudio de gasometría arterial. La muestra fue obtenida por saturación hasta alcanzar el tamaño mínimo calculado. Resultados: El disturbio ácido-base más frecuentemente hallado fue el trastorno mixto de la acidosis metabólica asociado con la alcalosis respiratoria (50% casos) coexistiendo en pacientes con disfunción renal aguda o crónica y shock, seguido del disturbio único de alcalosis respiratoria (26,2% casos) asociada a enfermedad respiratoria y gastrointestinal. Conclusiones: Los trastornos mixtos de acidosis metabólica con alcalosis respiratoria son altamente relevantes y la alcalosis respiratoria es el fenómeno puro más frecuente. (AU)

Objectives: To determine the frequency of acid-base disorders and their association with prevalent diseases in patients admitted to the emergency department of a national hospital in Lima. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample size of 108 patients in whom the treating physician requested arterial blood gases determination. The sample was attained by saturation until reaching the targeted sample size. Results: The most common acid-base disorder was mixed metabolic acidosis (50%) co-existing in patients with acute or chronic renal dysfunction and shock, followed by respiratory alkalosis (26.2%) associated to respiratory and gastro-intestinal disorders. Conclusions: Mixed metabolic acidosis and respiratory alkalosis are the most frequent acid-base abnormalities observed in this setting, respiratory alkalosis is the most common single acid-base disorder found. (AU)