Burnout, Discrimination, Abuse, and Mistreatment in Latin America Neurosurgical Training During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Discrimination, abuse, and mistreatment are prevailing problems reported in neurosurgical training programs globally. Moreover, the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may also show a negative impact on burnout levels in neurosurgery residents. This study aims to evaluate burnout, discrimination, and mistreatment in neurosurgical residents training in Latin America during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 era. METHODS: A 33-item electronic survey was sent to neurosurgery residents from Latin America from May 10 to 25, 2021. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. RESULTS: A total of 111 neurosurgery residents responded to the survey. Mean age was 29.39 ± 2.37 years; 22.5% were female and 36% were training in Mexico. Residents who reported experiencing discrimination for testing positive to COVID-19 had the highest levels of depersonalization (66.7%; P = 0.043) and emotional exhaustion (75%; P = 0.023). Female respondents reported higher rates of gender discrimination (80% vs. 1.2%; P = 0.001), abuse (84% vs. 58.1%; P < 0.005), and sexual harassment (24% vs. 0%; P < 0.001) than did male respondents. Residents training in Mexico reported lower rates of emotional or verbal abuse (59.2% vs. 32.5%; P = 0.007) and bullying (P < 0.005) than did those in other countries in Latin America. Older age was a protective factor for high depersonalization scores (odds ratio [OR], 0.133; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.035-0.500). Experiencing discrimination represented a risk factor for presenting high emotional exhaustion scores (OR, 3.019; 95% CI, 1.057-8.629). High levels of depersonalization were associated with a 7-fold increased risk of suicidal ideation (OR, 7.869; 95% CI, 1.266-48.88). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant burden on several aspects of health care workers' lives. Our results provide a broad overview of its impact on burnout, discrimination, and mistreatment as experienced by neurosurgery residents training in Latin America, laying the groundwork for future studies and potential interventions.

Infection with Helicobacter bilis but not Helicobacter hepaticus was Associated with Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The biliary tract cancer or cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) represents the sixth leading cause of gastrointestinal tumors in the Western world, and mortality varies across the world, with regions such as Chile, Thailand, Japan, and northeastern India presenting the highest rates. CCA may develop in the bile duct, gallbladder, or ampulla of Vater; and risk factors include obesity, parity, genetic background, geographical and environmental factors. Inflammation induced by bacterial infections might play a role in the pathogenesis of CCA. In this work, we investigated whether there is an association between extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECCA) and infection with S. typhi, H. hepaticus, or H. bilis in a Mexican population. METHODS: A total of 194 patients were included and divided into 91 patients with benign biliary pathology (controls) and 103 with ECCA (cases). Tumor samples were taken during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography by biliary brushing, followed by DNA extraction and PCR testing for infections. RESULTS: We found that 44/103 cases were positive for H. bilis, compared with 19/91 controls (p = 0.002; OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.49-5.32), and when analyzed by sub-site, H. bilis infection was significantly more associated with cancer in the common bile duct (p = 0.0005; OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.77-7.17). In contrast, H. hepaticus infection was not different between cases (17/103) and controls (13/91) (p = 0.82; OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.54-2.60). None of the samples were positive for S. typhi infection. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, infection with H. bilis but neither H. Hepaticus nor S. typhi was significantly associated with ECCA, particularly with tumors located in the common bile duct.