Relationship of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) index with antioxidant enzymes and with the oxLDL/HDL index.

INTRODUCTION: The low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) index is a predictive factor for atherosclerosis, which is associated with oxidative modifications. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of the index with oxidative stress markers. METHODS: 444 subjects were included and were clinically, anthropometrically and biochemically characterized; superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3), magnesium and oxidized LDL (oxLDL) index (oxLDL/HDL) were quantified. RESULTS: A decrease of 1.014 units in the LDL/HDL index was associated with a superoxide dismutase increase of 1 unit/mL (p = 0.030), while a decrease of 0.023 units was associated with a GPx3 increase of 1 nmol/min/mL (p < 0.0005). An increase of one unit in the index was associated with an increase of 0.831 in the oxLDL/HDL index (p < 0.05). After controlling for the effect of gender, age, smoking, obesity and insulin resistance, a reduction of 0.001 per index unit was associated with an increase of 1 µg/g of magnesium in the nails (p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: The LDL/HDL index shows an inverse relationship with the antioxidant status and a direct relationship with oxidation status, regardless of other cardiovascular and oxidative stress risk factors.

Relación entre el índice lipoproteínas de baja densidad (LDL)/lipoproteínas de alta densidad (HDL) con enzimas antioxidantes y el índice oxLDL/HDL.

INTRODUCTION: The low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) index is a predictive factor for atherosclerosis, which is associated with oxidative modifications. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of the index with oxidative stress markers. METHODS: 444 subjects were included and were clinically, anthropometrically and biochemically characterized; superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3), magnesium and oxidized LDL (oxLDL) index (oxLDL/HDL) were quantified. RESULTS: A decrease of 1.014 units in the LDL/HDL index was associated with a superoxide dismutase increase of 1 unit/mL (p = 0.030), while a decrease of 0.023 units was associated with a GPx3 increase of 1 nmol/min/mL (p < 0.0005). An increase of one unit in the index was associated with an increase of 0.831 in the oxLDL/HDL index (p < 0.05). After controlling for the effect of gender, age, smoking, obesity and insulin resistance, a reduction of 0.001 per index unit was associated with an increase of 1 µg/g of magnesium in the nails (p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: The LDL/HDL index shows an inverse relationship with the antioxidant status and a direct relationship with oxidation status, regardless of other cardiovascular and oxidative stress risk factors.

INTRODUCCIÓN: El índice de lipoproteínas de baja densidad (LDL)/lipoproteínas de alta densidad (HDL) es un factor predictivo de aterosclerosis, la cual está asociada con modificaciones oxidativas. OBJETIVO: Evaluar la asociación del índice con marcadores de estrés oxidativo. MÉTODO: Se incluyeron 444 sujetos, caracterizados clínica, antropométrica y bioquímicamente; se cuantificó superóxido dismutasa, glutation peroxidasa 3 (GPx3), magnesio e índice LDL oxidadas (oxLDL/HDL). RESULTADOS: La disminución en 1.014 unidades del índice LDL/HDL se asoció con aumento de 1 unidad/mL de superóxido dismutasa (p = 0.030) y la de 0.023 unidades con aumento de 1 nmol/minuto/mL de GPx3 (p < 0.0005). El aumento en 1 unidad del índice se asoció con aumento de 0.831 unidades en el índice oxLDL/HDL (p < 0.05). Después de controlar el efecto del sexo, edad, fumar, obesidad y resistencia a la insulina, la reducción de 0.001 por unidad del índice se asoció con aumento de 1 µg/g de magnesio en uñas (p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONES: El índice LDL/HDL presenta relación inversa con el estado antioxidante y relación directa con el estado de oxidación, independientemente de otros factores de riesgo cardiovascular y de estrés oxidativo.

Experiencia con el uso de olaparib en pacientes con cáncer de ovario.

INTRODUCTION: More than the twenty percent of ovarian cancers are hereditary, and most have BRCA mutations. The 30% of Mexican patients with the BRCA1 mutation have the BRCA1 gene exon 9-12del deletion founder mutation (BRCA1 ex9-12del). BRCA-mutated tumors are more sensitive to PARP inhibitors such as olaparib. OBJECTIVE: To show the clinical experience on the use of olaparib at Instituto Nacional de Cancerología in Mexico. METHOD: Ovarian cancer patients treated with olaparib from November 2016 to December 2018 were studied, and their characteristics, clinical response, progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicities were described. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were assessed, with BRCA1 mutation being found in 78.9%, out of which 21.1% were carriers of the ex9-12del founder mutation. The median of PFS was 12 months; for patients treated on second and third line it was > 15 months, and for those treated with a fourth and subsequent line it was 8.3 months. Patients with the founder mutation had better results. Toxicities were like those reported in previous studies. CONCLUSIONS: Olaparib offers greater PFS benefit as maintenance therapy after a first and second relapse. Patients with founder mutation have had sustained PFS.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Más del 20 % de los cánceres de ovario puede ser hereditario y la mayoría tiene mutaciones BRCA. El 33 % de las pacientes mexicanas con mutación BRCA1 tiene la mutación fundadora deleción del exón 9-12del del gen BRCA1 (BRCA1 ex9-12del). Los tumores BRCA mutados son más sensibles a inhibidores PARP como olaparib. OBJETIVO: Mostrar la experiencia clínica del uso de olaparib en el Instituto Nacional de Cancerología de México. MÉTODO: Se estudiaron las pacientes con cáncer de ovario tratadas con olaparib de noviembre de 2016 a diciembre de 2018 y se describieron sus características, respuesta clínica, supervivencia libre de progresión y toxicidades. RESULTADOS: Se evaluaron 19 pacientes, 78.9 % presentó mutación BRCA1, del cual 21.1 % era portador de la mutación fundadora ex9-12del. La mediana de supervivencia libre de progresión global fue de 12 meses, para las pacientes tratadas tratadas con olaparib de mantenimiento posterior a segunda y tercera línea fue de > 15 meses y para las de cuarta línea o más fue de 8.3 meses. Las pacientes con mutación fundadora presentaron mejores respuestas. Las toxicidades fueron similares a las de estudios con el uso de olaparib. CONCLUSIONES: Olaparib ofrece mayor beneficio en supervivencia libre de progresión como tratamiento de mantenimiento después de la primera y segunda recaída. Las pacientes con mutación fundadora han tenido respuesta sostenida.

Effects of Dietary Components During and After Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy, Radiotherapy, or Sequential Chemoradiotherapy to the Abdominopelvic Area.

Radiotherapy is a fundamental part of the treatment of pelvic neoplasms. Up to 90% of patients develop gastrointestinal symptoms as a result of acute injury to the small and large intestine, particularly in the mucosa. Radiotherapy leads to atrophy of the intestinal epithelium, acute crypt inflammation, inflammatory infiltration of the epithelium, malabsorption of lactose, and biliary salts as well as alterations in pancreatic enzymes and biliary salts, resulting in the malabsorption syndrome and dysbiosis. The most commonly reported symptoms of pelvic radiation disease include changes in bowel habits (94%), decreased fecal consistency (80%), frequency of bowel movements (74%), bowel urgency (39%), and fecal incontinence (37%). Although nutritional interventions with dietary modifications have been reported to prevent and treat gastrointestinal symptoms, the evidence remains inconclusive.

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Improves Memory and Action Naming in Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome.

PURPOSE: Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS-19) is a condition characterized by both physical and cognitive alterations in patients who have overcome COVID-19. Despite the high incidence of this disorder and the inconveniences it produces to those affected, there are few studies investigating the efficacy of cognitive stimulation in these patients. The aim of this study was to compare two groups of patients with PCS-19. One of them was treated with neuropsychological intervention for 6 months, whereas the other did not receive treatment. Both groups shared similar clinical characteristics and cognitive profiles. METHOD: The study included 15 participants. Eight (seven women and one man, with a mean age of 50.13 years) made up the experimental group and received neuropsychological rehabilitation sessions once a week with the aim of recovering or compensating for their impaired functions. The control group consisted of seven patients (six women and one man, with a mean age of 52.86 years) who did not undergo neuropsychological rehabilitation sessions. The neuropsychological assessment protocol included tests for all cognitive domains. RESULTS: In comparison with the assessment prior to the neuropsychological intervention, significant differences were found in the experimental group both in verbal memory and in the action naming task. As for the control group, improvements in action fluency performance were observed. Neither group showed significant improvement in pre- versus posttest Stroop scores. However, the control group did perform higher than the treatment group in the final assessment. CONCLUSION: Despite the small sample size, our results suggest that patients with PCS-19 may benefit from neuropsychological rehabilitation, as it may help them to improve several cognitive functions that do not recover spontaneously.

Extreme resistance to S-methoprene in field-collected Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) across the Chicago, IL region.

Insect growth regulators, like S-methoprene, are heavily relied upon worldwide for larval mosquito chemical control due to their target specificity and long-lasting effects. In this study, susceptibility to S-methoprene was evaluated in Culex pipiens, a globally important vector species. Populations from 14 sites throughout the Chicago area with a long history of S-methoprene use and two sites with minimal use in Wisconsin were examined. Using a bioassay methodology and probit analyses, LC50 and LC90 values were calculated and compared to a susceptible laboratory strain to develop resistance ratios, then categorized for resistance intensity. The resistance ratios observed required the addition of another category, termed 'extreme' resistance, indicating resistance ratios greater than 100. 'Low' to 'extreme' levels of resistance to S-methoprene were detected throughout Illinois populations, with resistance ratios ranging from 2.33 to 1010.52. Resistance was not detected in populations where S-methoprene pressure has been very limited. These 'extreme' resistance ratios observed have never been documented in a wild vector species mosquito population. The relationships between historical S-methoprene use, resistance detected with laboratory bioassays, and the potential for field product failure remain unclear. However, the profound resistance detected here demonstrates a potential critical threat to protecting public health from mosquito-borne diseases.

Cognitive impairment in young adults with post COVID-19 syndrome.

In this study, we aimed to examine different cognitive domains in a large sample of patients with post COVID-19 syndrome. Two hundred and fourteen patients, 85.04% women, ranged 26 to 64 years (mean = 47.48 years) took part in this investigation. Patients' processing speed, attention, executive functions and various language modalities were examined online using a comprehensive task protocol designed for this research. Alteration in some of the tasks was observed in 85% of the participants, being the attention and executive functions tests the ones that show the highest percentage of patients with severe impairment. Positive correlations were observed between the age of the participants in almost all the tasks assessed, implying better performance and milder impairment with increasing age. In the comparisons of patients according to age, the oldest patients were found to maintain their cognitive functions relatively preserved, with only a mild impairment in attention and speed processing, while the youngest showed the most marked and heterogeneous cognitive impairment. These results confirm the subjective complaints in patients with post COVID-19 syndrome and, thanks to the large sample size, allow us to observe the effect of patient age on performance, an effect never reported before in patients with these characteristics.

Prevalence and Clinical Conditions Related to Sarcopaenia among Older Persons Living in the Community.

(1) Background: In health care and in society at large, sarcopaenia is a disorder of major importance that can lead to disability and other negative health-related events. Our study aim is to determine the prevalence of sarcopaenia among older people attended in primary care and to analyse the factors associated with this age-related clinical condition; (2) Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted of 333 community-dwelling Spanish adults aged 65 years or more. Sociodemographic, clinical, functional, anthropometric, and pharmacological data were collected. Sarcopaenia was defined following European Working Group on Sarcopaenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria; (3) Results: Sarcopaenia was present in 20.4% of the study sample, and to a severe degree in 6%. The intensity of the association between sarcopaenia and frailty was weak-moderate (Cramer V = 0.45). According to the multinomial logistic regression model performed, sarcopaenia was positively associated with age and with the presence of psychopathology (OR = 2.72; 95% CI = 1.30-5.70) and was inversely correlated with body mass index (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.67-0.80; (4) Conclusions: Sarcopaenia commonly affects community-dwelling older persons and may be associated with age, body mass index, and psychopathology. The latter factor may be modifiable or treatable and is therefore a possible target for intervention.

Clinical Benefits of Olaparib in Mexican Ovarian Cancer Patients With Founder Mutation BRCA1-Del ex9-12.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is gynecologic cancer with the highest mortality rate. It is estimated that 13-17% of ovarian cancers are due to heritable mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. The BRCA1 (BRCA1-Del ex9-12) Mexican founder mutation is responsible for 28-35% of the cases with ovarian cancer. The aim was to describe the PFS of OC patients treated with olaparib, emphasizing patients carrying the Mexican founder mutation (BRCA1-Del ex9-12). Methods: In this observational study, of 107 patients with BRCAm, 35 patients were treated with olaparib from November 2016 to May 2021 at the Ovarian Cancer Program (COE) of Mexico; patient information was extracted from electronic medical records. Results: Of 311 patients, 107 (34.4%) were with BRCAm; 71.9% (77/107) were with BRCA1, of which 27.3% (21/77) were with BRCA1-Del ex9-12, and 28.1% (30/107) were with BRCA2 mutations. Only 35 patients received olaparib treatment, and the median follow-up was 12.87 months. The PFS of BRCA1-Del ex9-12 was NR (non-reach); however, 73% of the patients received the treatment at 36 vs. 11.59 months (95% CI; 10.43-12.75) in patients with other BRCAm (p = 0.008). Almost 50% of patients required dose reduction due to toxicity; the most frequent adverse events were hematological in 76.5% and gastrointestinal in 4%. Conclusion: Mexican OC BRCA1-Del ex9-12 patients treated with olaparib had a significant increase in PFS regardless of the line of treatment compared to other mutations in BRCA.

Use of the vector index and geographic information system to prospectively inform West Nile virus interventions.

We sought to estimate West Nile virus (WNV) activity in mosquito populations weekly at the census tract level in Chicago, IL, and to provide this information graphically. Each week we calculated a vector index (VI) for each mosquito trap then generated tract estimates using geographic information systems. During June 29-September 13, 2008, a median of 527 (60%) of 874 possible tracts per week had a VI value. Overall, 94% of the weekly VI tract estimates were 0; among those with a VI estimate greater than 0, the median was 0.33 (range 0.003-3.5). Officials deemed risk levels and weather conditions appropriate for adulticide treatments on 3 occasions, resulting in the treatment of approximately 252 linear kilometers of residential streets and alleys. Our analysis successfully converted complex, raw surveillance data into a format that highlighted areas of elevated WNV activity and facilitated the determination of appropriate response procedures.

Características clínicas de pacientes diabéticos manejados ambulatoriamente en el Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social / Clinical characteristics of diabetic patients managed on an outpatient basis at the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security

La diabetes mellitus es una de las enfermedades crónicas endémicas no transmisibles que debido a su alta frecuencia se ha llegado a posicionar entre las principales enfermedades que afectan a cientos de millones de personas en todo el mundo, con incidencia, morbilidad y mortalidad en aumento. La información sobre atenciones ambulatorias, disponible en el Departamento de Actuariado y Estadística del Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social (ISSS), indica que en 2019 se brindaron 4 871 908 consultas y 170 230 fueron por diabetes mellitus (3,5 %). El 60,7 % de las atenciones (103 429) se brindaron a mujeres. Debido a la magnitud y proporciones de la diabetes en esta población, se hace necesario realizar en el ISSS investigaciones para actualizar la situación de su condición y que al mismo tiempo permita saber el origen de estas personas. El objetivo principal del estudio consiste en definir las características epidemiológicas y clínicas de pacientes diabéticos manejados de manera ambulatoria.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the chronic endemic noncommunicable diseases that, due to its high frequency, has come to position itself among the main diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, with increasing incidence, morbidity and mortality. The information on outpatient care, available at the Department of Actuarial Science and Statistics of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS), indicates that in 2019, 4,871,908 consultations were provided and 170,230 were for diabetes mellitus (3.5%). 60.7% of the services (103,429) were provided to women. Due to the magnitude and proportions of diabetes in this population, it is necessary to carry out research at the ISSS to update the situation of their condition and at the same time allow knowing the origin of these people. The main objective of the study is to define the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of diabetic patients managed on an outpatient basis

Mortalidad por COVID-19 asociada a comorbilidades en pacientes del Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social / Mortality due to COVID-19 associated with comorbidities in patients of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute

La infección respiratoria por coronavirus ha generado gran cantidad de muertes desde su inicio en China en diciembre 2019. Debido a que es una enfermedad desconocida, son necesarios estudios para mejorar el abordaje, especialmente a personas en riesgo. Las personas menores de 60 años sin comorbilidades tienen menor riesgo de muerte comparadas con las que tienen comorbilidades como diabetes, hipertensión y cáncer que presentaron un riesgo 3 veces mayor de muerte intrahospitalaria por COVID-19 y menor supervivencia a 15 días

The respiratory coronavirus infection has caused a large number of deaths since its onset in China in December 2019. Because it is an unknown disease, studies are needed to improve the approach, especially to people at risk. People under 60 years of age without comorbidities have a lower risk of death compared to those with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer, who had a 3 times higher risk of in-hospital death from COVID-19 and lower 15-day survival

Relationship of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) index with antioxidant enzymes and with the oxLDL/HDL index

Introduction: The low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) index is a predictive factor for atherosclerosis, which is associated with oxidative modifications. Objective: To assess the association of the index with oxidative stress markers. Methods: 444 subjects were included and were clinically, anthropometrically and biochemically characterized; superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3), magnesium and oxidized LDL (oxLDL) index (oxLDL/HDL) were quantified. Results: A decrease of 1.014 units in the LDL/HDL index was associated with a superoxide dismutase increase of 1 unit/mL (p = 0.030), while a decrease of 0.023 units was associated with a GPx3 increase of 1 nmol/min/mL (p < 0.0005). An increase of one unit in the index was associated with an increase of 0.831 in the oxLDL/HDL index (p < 0.05). After controlling for the effect of gender, age, smoking, obesity and insulin resistance, a reduction of 0.001 per index unit was associated with an increase of 1 µg/g of magnesium in the nails (p = 0.020). Conclusions: The LDL/HDL index shows an inverse relationship with the antioxidant status and a direct relationship with oxidation status, regardless of other cardiovascular and oxidative stress risk factors.

Antibiotic susceptibility of staphylococci isolates from patients with chronic conjunctivitis: including associated factors and clinical evaluation.

PURPOSE: To determine species of staphylococci in chronic conjunctivitis, their antibiotic susceptibility pattern, patient treatments, clinical course, and clinical conditions. METHODS: In this prospective study, 243 conjunctival cultures were taken from 191 patients with chronic conjunctivitis, we obtained staphylococci susceptibility patterns with E-test, and they were analyzed in coagulase-positive and negative. The minimum inhibitory concentration for 90% of isolates (MIC90) was determined for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Additionally, clinical follow-up and associated factors of all patients were analyzed depending on methicillin resistance (MR) or susceptibility (MS) bacterial state. RESULTS: One hundred and eight (44%) cultures were positive; 81 positive cultures were Gram-positive of which, 77 were staphylococci, 29 coagulase-positive with S. aureus as the most prevalent, 89% MS, and 11% MR. And 48 were coagulase-negative with S. epidermidis as the most isolated with 36% of MS and 64% of MR. Poor susceptibility was found in the staphylococcus coagulase-negative/MR group. Moxifloxacin and vancomycin show the best in vitro activity for all isolates. The MIC90 of moxifloxacin and vancomycin were 0.064/1.5, 0.64/3.0, and 1/3.0 for S. aureus-MS, S. epidermidis-MS, and S. epidermidis-MR, respectively. The most frequently associated factors found in patients with positive culture for staphylococcus were exposure to the health care system 23 (29.87%) of 77 patients and dry eye 23 (29.87%) of 77 patients. Both with a proportion of 3 in 10. CONCLUSION: Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most frequently isolated from the conjunctiva with 58.33% of MR; even though multiresistance was detected, their susceptibility to a fourth-generation fluoroquinolone, commonly used, such as moxifloxacin, was preserved.

Expanding the cone location and magnitude index to include corneal thickness and posterior surface information for the detection of keratoconus.

PURPOSE: To extend the capabilities of the Cone Location and Magnitude Index algorithm to include a combination of topographic information from the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces and corneal thickness measurements to further improve our ability to correctly identify keratoconus using this new index: ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex_X. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. METHODS: Three independent data sets were analyzed: 1 development and 2 validation. The AnteriorCornealPower index was calculated to stratify the keratoconus data from mild to severe. The ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex algorithm was applied to all tomography data collected using a dual Scheimpflug-Placido-based tomographer. The ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex_X formula, resulting from analysis of the Development set, was used to determine the logistic regression model that best separates keratoconus from normal and was applied to all data sets to calculate PercentProbabilityKeratoconus_X. The sensitivity/specificity of PercentProbabilityKeratoconus_X was compared with the original PercentProbabilityKeratoconus, which only uses anterior axial data. RESULTS: The AnteriorCornealPower severity distribution for the combined data sets are 136 mild, 12 moderate, and 7 severe. The logistic regression model generated for ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex_X produces complete separation for the Development set. Validation Set 1 has 1 false-negative and Validation Set 2 has 1 false-positive. The overall sensitivity/specificity results for the logistic model produced using the ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex_X algorithm are 99.4% and 99.6%, respectively. The overall sensitivity/specificity results for using the original ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex algorithm are 89.2% and 98.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex_X provides a robust index that can detect the presence or absence of a keratoconic pattern in corneal tomography maps with improved sensitivity/specificity from the original anterior surface-only ConeLocationMagnitudeIndex algorithm.

Endophthalmitis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. after penetrating keratoplasty, case report with an epidemiological investigation.

INTRODUCTION: An endophthalmitis following penetrating keratoplasty by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a devasting case with very poor visual outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the origin of an infection after a penetrating keratoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After an endophthalmitis an epidemiological study was undertaken with the approval of the ethics committee and support of a medical team comprised of an epidemiologist, infectologist, bacteriologist and ophthalmologists specializing in cornea. Factors that may have contributed to the risk of infection were assessed, for example, the processing and preservation of the cornea in the moment of the extraction, the characteristics of the donor, recipient and infecting bacterium, as well as the details pertaining to the surgical operation. RESULTS: No risks factors were found in the institution, in the eye bank facilities, in the donor or in the receptor. However, sterile technique could not be guaranteed in the morgue where the corneal extraction occurred, and other isolated cases of endophthalmitis post-keratoplasty had been documented involving tissues from the same morgue that had been processed by two eye banks in the same city. Characteristics of the multi-resistant Pseudomonas sp. demonstrated its origin from a hospital environment due to its previous exposure to a variety of antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Corneal extraction site must guarantee an antiseptic preparation and aseptic tissue donor recuperation; although in this study it was not feasible to accurately establish the infection source, all of the findings led to suspect a possible contamination at the morgue.

Efficacy of Orbscan II and Pentacam topographers by a repeatability analysis when assessing elevation maps in candidates to refractive surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Anterior and posterior corneal elevations are measurements used to detect keratoconus suspects. PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of Orbscan II and Pentacam when assessing their elevation maps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The efficacy of the Orbscan II and Pentacam measuring the anterior and posterior corneal elevations were evaluated in a sample of 68 eyes. The concordance between the two devices and the coefficient of repeatability were measured following the parameters of the British Standard Institution by the Bland-Altman concordance analysis and the Lin concordance correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The coefficient of repeatability at the point of maximum anterior elevation was 68.29% with the Orbscan and 24.20% with the Pentacam. The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.64 (CI 95%: 0.48-0.76) with the Orbscan and 0.94 with the Pentacam (CI 95%: 0.91-0.96). The coefficient of repeatability at the point of maximum posterior elevation was 38.7% with the Orbscan and 68.0% with the Pentacam. The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.69 with the Orbscan (CI 95%: 0.55-0.80) with a precision of 0.71 and an accuracy of 0.97, and 0.24 with the Pentacam (CI 95%: 0.00-0.45) with a precision of 0.24 and an accuracy of 0.99. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of the point of maximum posterior elevation is better with the Orbscan II and less precise with the Pentacam. The random error can be reduced by using the mean of three assessments and can serve as a guide in the search of diagnostic devices with minimum absolute relative error in all measurements.

Endoftalmitis por Pseudomonas aeruginosa posterior a queratoplastia penetrante, reporte de caso con investigación epidemiológica / Endophthalmitis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa after penetrating

Introducción. Una endoftalmitis post-keratoplastia penetrante por Pseudomonas aeruginosa representa un caso devastador con muy pobre pronostico visual. Objetivo. Determinar el origen de una infección luego de una queratoplastia penetrante. Materiales y métodos. Se efectuó una investigación epidemiológica de un caso de endoftalmitis con el soporte de un equipo humano compuesto por epidemiólogo, infectólogo, bacteriólogo y oftalmólogos especialistas en córnea. Se evaluaron los aspectos en los cuales pudiera existir el riesgo de adquirirse la infección como en el momento de la extracción, el procesamiento y la preservación de la de la córnea, las características del donante, el receptor y la bacteria infectante, además de los detalles relacionados al evento quirúrgico. Resultados. No se encontraron riesgos en la institución, en las instalaciones del banco de ojos, en el donante ni el receptor. Se encontró que en el sitio de la extracción en la morgue no se podía garantizar una técnica esteril y se documento la presentación de otros casos aislados de endoftalmitis pos queratoplastia penetrante con tejidos de la misma morgue y procesados por dos bancos de ojos de la misma ciudad. Las características de la Pseudomonas multirresistente demostraban que venía de un medio hospitalario con exposición previa a múltiples antibióticos. Conclusiones. El sitio de la extracción de las corneas debe garantizar una preparación antiséptica y una recuperación aséptica del tejido donante pues en este estudio aunque no se pudo establecer con certeza la fuente de la infección, los hallazgos llevaron a sospechar una posible contaminación en la morgue.

Introduction. An endophthalmitis following penetrating keratoplasty by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a devasting case with very poor visual outcomes.Objective. To determine the origin of an infection after a penetrating keratoplasty. Materials and methods. After an endophthalmitis an epidemiological study was undertaken with the approval of the ethics committee and support of a medical team comprised of an epidemiologist, infectologist, bacteriologist and ophthalmologists specializing in cornea. Factors that may have contributed to the risk of infection were assessed, for example, the processing and preservation of the cornea in the moment of the extraction, the characteristics of the donor, recipient and infecting bacterium, as well as the details pertaining to the surgical operation. Results. No risks factors were found in the institution, in the eye bank facilities, in the donor or in the receptor. However, sterile technique could not be guaranteed in the morgue where the corneal extraction occurred, and other isolated cases of endophthalmitis post-keratoplasty had been documented involving tissues from the same morgue that had been processed by two eye banks in the same city. Characteristics of the multi-resistant Pseudomonas sp. demonstrated its origin from a hospital environment due to its previous exposure to a variety of antibiotics.Conclusions. Corneal extraction site must guarantee an antiseptic preparation and aseptic tissue donor recuperation; although in this study it was not feasible to accurately establish the infection source, all of the findings led to suspect a possible contamination at the morgue.