Challenges faced by patients with dyslipidemia and systemic arterial hypertension in Brazil: a design of the patient journey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Non-communicable diseases like systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and dyslipidemia are poorly studied in terms of patient journey aspects. This semi-systematic review provides evidence synthesis for the management of SAH and dyslipidemia in Brazil and also discusses challenges faced by patients at the local level along with a suggested care approach by local experts. METHODS: A semi-systematic review using both structured literature databases (Embase and Medline) and unstructured scientific records (WHO, IPD, MOH and Google) on hypertension and dyslipidemia in the English language from 2010 to 2019 was performed by reviewers. After two-level screening based on pre-defined criteria, patient journey touchpoints and prevalence information were extracted from the included articles. Data gaps were bridged through the insights of local experts. RESULTS: Prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia in Brazil were 23% and 40.8%, respectively. Awareness of dyslipidemia was found in a larger proportion (58.1%) than in SAH (22.2%). Similarly, screening for hypertension (97%) and dyslipidemia (55.4%) were found to be effective, while treatment was (62.9%) and (30.0%) for hypertension and dyslipidemia, respectively. CONCLUSION: There were important gaps on patient awareness and treatment of dyslipidemia and hypertension. Limited patient education, regional disease distribution, and treatment allocation, along with limited resources for diagnosis and treatment are the key challenges.

Management of hypertension and dyslipidemia in Mexico: Evidence, gaps, and approach.

Hypertension and dyslipidemia are key risk factors for cardiovascular disorders and mortality worldwide. To understand the local health system challenges faced in the management of the two conditions, a semi-systematic approach was adopted for quantifying stages of the journey of care of adult Mexican patients, namely, awareness, screening, diagnosis, treatment, adherence, and control. A structured literature search was conducted for articles published in English from 2010 to 2019 in EMBASE and MEDLINE databases. The articles restricted to patient subgroups, or not having national representativeness, thesis abstracts, letters to the editor, editorials, or case studies were excluded. In addition, an unstructured unrestricted literature search was conducted, on websites of Incidence and Prevalence Database, World Health Organization, Country's Ministry of Health, and Google. Last search was run on 28 August 2020 for Hypertension and 12 November 2019 for Dyslipidemia. Weighted or simple means were calculated for the pooled data. Seven articles of 647 retrievals for hypertension and 11 articles of 1265 retrievals for dyslipidemia were included in the review. The prevalence of hypertension was estimated to be 24.1%, while 59.9% of patients had awareness, 97.5% underwent screening, 18.4% had diagnosis, 50% received treatment, 50% were adherent to treatment, and 49.9% had disease control. Prevalence of dyslipidemia was estimated as 36.7%, while 8.6% of patients had awareness, 48.1% underwent screening, 28% had diagnosis, 68.9% received treatment, 50% were adherent to treatment, and 30% had disease control. The study suggested that addressing the synergistic effect of hypertension and dyslipidemia could reduce cardiovascular risk associated with these conditions.

La hipertensión y la dislipidemia -especialmente la hipercolesterolemia- son factores de riesgo cardiovascular que impactan directamente en la prevalencia e incidencia de enfermedades cardiovasculares en todo el mundo y México no es la excepción. Para comprender los desafíos que enfrenta el sistema de salud de nuestro país, especialmente en lo relacionado con el diagnóstico, tratamiento y control de los factores de riesgo cardiovascular mencionados, realizamos un análisis semi-sistemático de la literatura con el objetivo de evaluar las fases del proceso de atención de pacientes adultos mexicanos en lo relacionado con el conocimiento, detección, diagnóstico, tratamiento, adherencia y control de hipertensión y dislipidemia. Se llevó a cabo una investigación bibliográfica semi-sistemática de los artículos publicados en inglés del año 2010 al año 2019; las bases de datos exploradas fueron EMBASE y MEDLINE. Se excluyeron del análisis los artículos sin representatividad nacional, así como los resúmenes de tesis, cartas al editor, editoriales o estudios de casos. Además, se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica sin restricciones, en los sitios Web de las bases de datos sobre Incidencia y Prevalencia, Organización Mundial de la Salud, Secretaría de Salud de México y Google. La última búsqueda sobre hipertensión se realizó el 28 de agosto del 2020 y sobre dislipidemia el 12 de noviembre del 2019. Se calcularon las medias ponderadas o simples para la recolección de datos. En la revisión, se incluyeron 7 artículos de 647 sobre hipertensión y 11 artículos de 1,265 sobre dislipidemia. Se estimó que la prevalencia de hipertensión en México es de 24.1%; 97.5% de la población reportó haber sido sometida a alguna prueba de detección; 59.9% tuvo conocimiento del diagnóstico; 18.4 % se reconocen con hipertensión; 50% reciben tratamiento; 50% es adherente al mismo, y finalmente solo un 49.9 % tienen control de la hipertensión. Se estimó que la prevalencia de dislipidemia en México es de 36.7%; 48.1% de la población reportó haber sido sometida a alguna prueba de detección; 8.6% tuvo conocimiento del diagnóstico; 28% se conocen con dislipidemia; 68.9% reciben tratamiento; 50% es adherente al mismo, y finalmente solo 30% tuvo control de la dislipidemia. La evidencia revisada hace evidente una gran área de oportunidad para mejorar los índices de diagnóstico, tratamiento y control de estos dos factores sinérgicos para el riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares.

Hypertension and Dyslipidaemia in Argentina: Patient Journey Stages.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) leads to one-third of all deaths in Argentina. To implement patient-centric strategies for reducing CVD burden, available data on hypertension and hypercholesterolemia patients at different stages of their journey: awareness, screening, diagnosis, treatment, adherence, and control were analysed. A semi-systematic review in peer-reviewed databases (EMBASE and MEDLINE) and unstructured sources such as Google Scholar, Argentine Ministry of Health, and World Health Organization websites was conducted till 06.07.2021 for hypertension and dyslipidemia. English articles published in 2010-2021, depicting patient journey data for hypertension or hypercholesterolemia of the nationally representative adult population of Argentina were included. Thesis abstracts, letters to the editor, editorials, and case studies were excluded. No limits were used for unstructured sources. Weighted or simple means were estimated for patient journey stages. Out of 296 and 1257 articles retrieved for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, respectively, five articles were retained for each of the conditions. The estimates for hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, respectively, were 46.6% and 30.7% for prevalence, 61.6% and 37.3% for awareness, 97.5% and ≥80% for screening, 64.1% and 28.9% for diagnosis, and 49.7% and 36.6% for treatment, and 19.9% and 20% for overall control. Adherence data were not available for hypercholesterolemia, while the same for hypertension was 50.4%. Various determinants are responsible for low adherence such as patient-level barriers, physician-related barriers, and health system-related issues. The review reveals that hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are poorly controlled in Argentina. Although further studies with more accurate data are needed to confirm these results, they should alert the medical community and the public health institutions to take urgent corrective actions.

Safety and feasibility of percutaneous retrograde coronary sinus delivery of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in patients with chronic refractory angina.

BACKGROUND: Chronic refractory angina is a challenging clinical problem with limited treatment options. The results of early cardiovascular stem cell trials using ABMMC have been promising but have utilized intracoronary or intramyocardial delivery. The goal of the study was to evaluate the safety and early efficacy of autologous bone marrow derived mononuclear cells (ABMMC) delivered via percutaneous retrograde coronary sinus perfusion (PRCSP) to treat chronic refractory angina (CRA). METHODS: From May 2005 to October 2006, 14 patients, age 68 +/- 20 years old, with CRA and ischemic stress-induced myocardial segments assessed by SPECT received a median 8.19*10(8) ± 4.3*10(8) mononuclear and 1.65*10(7) ± 1.42*10(7) CD34(+) cells by PRCSP. RESULTS: ABMMC delivery was successful in all patients with no arrhythmias, elevated cardiac enzymes or complications related to the delivery. All but one patient improved by at least one Canadian Cardiovascular Society class at 2 year follow-up compared to baseline (p < 0.001). The median baseline area of ischemic myocardium by SPECT of 38.2% was reduced to 26.5% at one year and 23.5% at two years (p = 0.001). The median rest left ventricular ejection fraction by SPECT at baseline was 31.2% and improved to 35.5% at 2 year follow up (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: PRCSP should be considered as an alternative method of delivery for cell therapy with the ability to safely deliver large number of cells regardless of coronary anatomy, valvular disease or myocardial dysfunction. The clinical improvement in angina, myocardial perfusion and function in this phase 1 study is encouraging and needs to be confirmed in randomized placebo controlled trials.

Management of hypertension and dyslipidemia in Mexico: evidence, gaps, and approach / Manejo de la hipertensión y dislipidemia en México: evidencia, brechas y aproximaciones

Abstract Hypertension and dyslipidemia are key risk factors for cardiovascular disorders and mortality worldwide. To understand the local health system challenges faced in the management of the two conditions, a semi-systematic approach was adopted for quantifying stages of the journey of care of adult Mexican patients, namely, awareness, screening, diagnosis, treatment, adherence, and control. A structured literature search was conducted for articles published in English from 2010 to 2019 in EMBASE and MEDLINE databases. The articles restricted to patient subgroups, or not having national representativeness, thesis abstracts, letters to the editor, editorials, or case studies were excluded. In addition, an unstructured unrestricted literature search was conducted, on websites of Incidence and Prevalence Database, World Health Organization, Country's Ministry of Health, and Google. Last search was run on 28 August 2020 for Hypertension and 12 November 2019 for Dyslipidemia. Weighted or simple means were calculated for the pooled data. Seven articles of 647 retrievals for hypertension and 11 articles of 1265 retrievals for dyslipidemia were included in the review. The prevalence of hypertension was estimated to be 24.1%, while 59.9% of patients had awareness, 97.5% underwent screening, 18.4% had diagnosis, 50% received treatment, 50% were adherent to treatment, and 49.9% had disease control. Prevalence of dyslipidemia was estimated as 36.7%, while 8.6% of patients had awareness, 48.1% underwent screening, 28% had diagnosis, 68.9% received treatment, 50% were adherent to treatment, and 30% had disease control. The study suggested that addressing the synergistic effect of hypertension and dyslipidemia could reduce cardiovascular risk associated with these conditions.

Resumen La hipertensión y la dislipidemia -especialmente la hipercolesterolemia- son factores de riesgo cardiovascular que impactan directamente en la prevalencia e incidencia de enfermedades cardiovasculares en todo el mundo y México no es la excepción. Para comprender los desafíos que enfrenta el sistema de salud de nuestro país, especialmente en lo relacionado con el diagnóstico, tratamiento y control de los factores de riesgo cardiovascular mencionados, realizamos un análisis semi-sistemático de la literatura con el objetivo de evaluar las fases del proceso de atención de pacientes adultos mexicanos en lo relacionado con el conocimiento, detección, diagnóstico, tratamiento, adherencia y control de hipertensión y dislipidemia. Se llevó a cabo una investigación bibliográfica semi-sistemática de los artículos publicados en inglés del año 2010 al año 2019; las bases de datos exploradas fueron EMBASE y MEDLINE. Se excluyeron del análisis los artículos sin representatividad nacional, así como los resúmenes de tesis, cartas al editor, editoriales o estudios de casos. Además, se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica sin restricciones, en los sitios Web de las bases de datos sobre Incidencia y Prevalencia, Organización Mundial de la Salud, Secretaría de Salud de México y Google. La última búsqueda sobre hipertensión se realizó el 28 de agosto del 2020 y sobre dislipidemia el 12 de noviembre del 2019. Se calcularon las medias ponderadas o simples para la recolección de datos. En la revisión, se incluyeron 7 artículos de 647 sobre hipertensión y 11 artículos de 1,265 sobre dislipidemia. Se estimó que la prevalencia de hipertensión en México es de 24.1%; 97.5% de la población reportó haber sido sometida a alguna prueba de detección; 59.9% tuvo conocimiento del diagnóstico; 18.4 % se reconocen con hipertensión; 50% reciben tratamiento; 50% es adherente al mismo, y finalmente solo un 49.9 % tienen control de la hipertensión. Se estimó que la prevalencia de dislipidemia en México es de 36.7%; 48.1% de la población reportó haber sido sometida a alguna prueba de detección; 8.6% tuvo conocimiento del diagnóstico; 28% se conocen con dislipidemia; 68.9% reciben tratamiento; 50% es adherente al mismo, y finalmente solo 30% tuvo control de la dislipidemia. La evidencia revisada hace evidente una gran área de oportunidad para mejorar los índices de diagnóstico, tratamiento y control de estos dos factores sinérgicos para el riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares.

RESCUE-HF Trial: Retrograde Delivery of Allogeneic Umbilical Cord Lining Subepithelial Cells in Patients With Heart Failure.

Cell therapy is an evolving option for patients with end-stage heart failure. First-generation cell therapy trials have had marginal success. Our goal was to evaluate retrograde delivery of allogeneic umbilical cord subepithelial cells (UCSECs) in patients with heart failure. A prospective open-label dose escalation study of the safety and feasibility of UCSECs infused retrogradely into the coronary sinus was performed. Patients received a single dose of either 100 million (M), 200M, or 400M cells. The patients were followed for 2 years. Twenty-four patients were successfully enrolled in the study. The patients had UCSEC infusion without procedure-related complications. The ejection fraction in patients receiving UCSECs demonstrated improvement compared to baseline; from 25.4% (±5.5) at screening to 34.9% (±4.1) at 12 months. End-systolic diameter decreased significantly from 59.9 (±5.3) mm to 52.6 (±2.7) mm (p < 0.05). Retrograde UCSEC delivery was safe and feasible in all three dosage groups. Patients receiving 200M and 400M UCSECs showed signs of early improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and remodeling. This study provides the basis for a larger clinical trial in heart failure (HF) patients using the middle or high dose of UCSECs.

Primer reporte en el Perú de toxocariasis ocular: análisis de 21 casos / First report in the Peru of toxocariasis ocular: analysis of 21 cases

El estudio retrospectivo de Toxocariasis Ocular realizado en Lima entre 1990-1996, nos permitió evaluar a 21 pacientes, de los cuales 8 fueron menores de 10 años y 13 mayores de esa edad. Once casos fueron varones y diez mujeres. 79 por ciento de los pacientes poseían perros y/o gatos (60 por ciento perros). La causa más frecuente de consulta fue la disminución de la agudeza visual y el estrabismo. Demoraron en consultar un promedio de 72,14 meses. En el examen de fondo de ojo se encontró granuloma de polo posterior en el 42,8 por ciento de los casos, uveítis en el 42,8 por ciento, granuloma periférico unido a papila o a mácula en el 14,3 por ciento y granuloma periférico aislado en el 4,8 por ciento. El Test de Elisa para Toxocariasis se realizó en 20 pacientes donde resultó positivo el 100 por ciento. La cifra absoluta de eosinófilos fue normal en el 41,67 por ciento de los casos, estuvo levemente aumentando el en 25 por ciento y fue muy alta en el 33,3 por ciento de ellos. La mayoría de los pacientes fueron tratados con albendazol, algunos con tiabendazol y corticoides. En los controles post-tratamiento se comprobó mejoría en algunos de los casos, las bandas fibrosas persistieron sin variación, y se tuvieron como complicaciones: desprendimiento de retina, catarata, ruptura de coroides. En ninguno de los pacientes se realizó enucleación ocular.