[Study of incidence of COVID-19 in Spain and its relationship to geographical province distribution]. / Estudio de la incidencia de COVID-19 en España y su relación geográfica provincial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine incidence of COVID-19 in relationship to geographical distribution among Spain. METHOD: Cluster analysis taking into consideration the incidence of COVID-19 in the provinces and autonomous cities of Spain in each of the first six waves of the pandemic. RESULTS: All the provinces of the Canary Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia form independent clusters. In Comunidad Valenciana, Galicia, País Vasco and Aragón two out of three provinces (three out of four in Galicia) were in the same cluster, with no other provinces. DISCUSSION: The incidence of COVID-19 in Spain in the first six waves forms clusters that reproduce the territorial division of Spain into autonomous communities. Although this could be explained by greater mobility within a community, it cannot be ruled out that this distribution is due to differences in screening, diagnosis, registration or reporting of COVID-19 cases.

Are there differences between ceftolozane/tazobactam and ceftazidime/avibactam in treating patients with complicated abdominal infections? Evidence from clinical trials.

Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) and ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) are new possibilities of antimicrobial treatment that combined a ß-lactam with a ß-lactamase inhibitor. The United States (US) and European regulatory agencies approved their clinical use in adults with complicated intra-abdominal infections. This study aims to know if one of the two antibiotics obtain better efficacy in adults with complicated intra-abdominal infections and by specific pathogens such as P. aeruginosa or E. coli. A search of all trials in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science comparing a C/T or CZA based antimicrobial regimen with other treatments in patients with intraabdominal infections until August 2021 was performed. To make indirect comparisons, we used a frequentist approach using the R package netmeta.The effects have been expressed through the relative risk (RR) with its confidence interval. Considering the clinical cure and failure rates between the different trial populations (mMITT, CE, ME) and the mortality at the end of the study, we have not found significant differences between CZA and C/T. In the case of Pseudomonas, the RR of treatment failure between these two antibiotics is 1 (95% CI 0.55-1.18). In the case of E. Coli, although it seems that CZA would have a worse result than C/T, differences did not reach statistical significance (RR1.06; 95% CI 0.9-1.14). In conclusion, we have not found statistically significant differences between ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam in treating cIAI. In regards to E. Coli, our results do not reach significance, but it would be possible that C/T and meropenem had better results than CZA. Perhaps new trials would allow a better profile of the role in different types of patients or infections caused by specific microorganisms in the future.

[Impact of pharmaceutical care in polymedicated patients admitted to a geriatric ward].

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was estimate the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and drug related problems (DRP) in an acute geriatric ward, and to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical intervention on their prevalence. METHODS: Quasi-experimental, interventional study in polymedicated patients (= 6 drugs) who were admitted to a Geriatric ward in 2018-2019. PIP were analyzed according to STOPP/START 2014 criteria and DRP on the Third Consensus of Granada. The PIP and DRP detected, and the possible actions to correct them, were sent to the physician in charge. The effect of the intervention was analyzed at hospital discharge; if the change of prevalence of PIP and DRP was =75%, the pharmaceutical intervention was considered to be accepted. RESULTS: Pharmaceutical intervention was performed on 218 patients, analyzing 1,837 prescriptions. On admission, PIP (90.8%) and DRP (99.5%) were observed. We carried out 1,227 interventions, 57.6% on DRP. More than half (53.6%) of the pharmaceutical interventions were accepted; the PIP according to the STOPP and START criteria was reduced by 49.7 and 22.1%, respectively; DRP decreased by 60.1%. The frequencies and medians of PRM and PPI according to the START and STOPP criteria decreased significantly at discharge. The variables most frequently associated with acceptance of the pharmaceutical intervention were the geriatrician at charge, the number of PPI START and the number of PPI STOPP. CONCLUSION: The detection of PIP and DRP of chronic treatment during hospital admission by the pharmacist, and in collaboration with the patient's doctor, helps to reduce the prevalence of PIP and DRP.

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the safety of dalbavancin.

BACKGROUND: Dalbavancin is a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide antimicrobial agent with activity against Gram-positive bacteria including anaerobes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Meta-analysis of randomized control trials and large case series (more than 20 patients), were identified by searching Pubmed and Cochrane databases through 14 December 2020. RESULTS: 3,073 patients from 6 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Treatment emergent adverse effects were described in 30.6% dalbavancin patients, and 38.1% patients with other treatments. Our meta-analysis supports favorable results for dalbavancin treatment (OR 0.79; 95%CI 0.66-0.94; p = 0.01). 2.74% dalbavancin patients had to discontinue treatment versus 2.49% patients on other antibiotics. 4.80% dalbavancin patients versus 5.30% patients with other treatments had severe adverse events. 0.31% in the dalbavancin group and 0.95% receiving other antibiotics died. There was no statistically significant difference in severe adverse effects with OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.52-1.14; p = 0.19. Dalbavancin therapy was shown to have statistically significant lower mortality rate (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.07-0.90; p = 0.03). Observational studies reported few side effects but included a heterogeneous population of patients concerning their diagnosis and the duration of antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Dalbavancin has comparable safety profile relative to other antibiotics and is well-tolerated.

A systematic review on the efficacy and safety of IL-6 modulatory drugs in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV2 coronavirus has led to an effort to find treatments that are effective against this disease that the World Health Organization calls COVID-19. In severe cases of COVID-19, there is an increase in cytokines, among which IL-6 seems to play an important role. A search has been performed for studies using IL-6 blocking drugs (tocilizumab, siltuximab, and sarilumab) in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Also, a search of ongoing trials registered at clinicaltrials.gov was performed. We found very little published clinical experience with these drugs, consisting mainly of case reports or case series with few patients. The results of clinical trials are necessary to clarify the role of these drugs in patients with COVID-19.

Palliative medicine for patients with advanced heart failure: New evidence. / Medicina paliativa en pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca avanzada: Nuevas evidencias.

Although heart failure is one of the most common clinical syndromes in medicine and has a high mortality rate, few patients have access to adequate palliative care for their clinical situation. Several trials have recently been published on the usefulness of starting palliative treatment along with cardiac treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. In this review, we analyse the aspects of diagnosing and controlling the symptoms of patients with advanced heart failure and provide a collection of clinical trials that have analysed the efficacy of a palliative intervention in this patient group. Physicians need to be equipped with strategies for recognizing the need for this type of intervention without it resulting in neglecting the active treatment of the patient's heart failure.

Enhanced efficiency of the placental barrier to cisplatin through binding to glycocholic acid.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cisplatin is a well known cytostatic drug, with high efficiency against several solid tumours, among which ovarian cancer diagnosed during pregnancy can be included. The existence of carrier proteins in the plasma membrane of the trophoblast determines vectorial bile acid transfer across the placenta. Thus, the aim of the present work was to elucidate whether the coupling of cisplatin to a bile acid moiety, such as cholylglycinate, could endow the resulting drug, Bamet-R2, with enhanced beneficial properties; namely, the ability of the placenta to prevent the passage of the drug toward the foetal compartment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On days 15 and 18 of gestation, pregnant rats were anaesthetised with ether and intravenous administration of 1 micromol cisplatin or Bamet-R2 was carried out. Following euthanasia on day 21 of pregnancy, samples from the placenta and maternal and foetal kidney, liver, brain, lung, heart, muscle and blood were collected and digested to measure tissue drug content by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy of platinum. RESULTS: In addition to the beneficial properties of Bamet-R2 as regards its much lower toxicity than cisplatin, this study revealed the markedly different abilities of cisplatin and Bamet-R2 to cross the placenta, which accounts for higher accumulation of cisplatin in foetal tissues: mainly kidney, lung and heart. Moreover, the amount of drug that was found in the placenta itself was several-folds higher in animals treated with cisplatin than in those receiving Bamet-R2. CONCLUSION: The ability of the placental barrier to more efficiently protect the foetal compartment from cisplatin when the drug was coupled to cholylglycinate suggests the potential usefulness of Bamet-R2 as an alternative cytostatic drug in the treatment of certain tumours during pregnancy.

Vertebral osteomyelitis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae.

Streptococcus agalactiae is a rare cause of vertebral osteomyelitis. We present four cases of spondylitis caused by this micro-organism and a review of 20 cases previously described in the literature. Only seven patients (29%) were under 50 years of age. Diabetes mellitus and neoplasms were the most frequent underlying conditions, although 37.5% of the patients did not have any predisposition. Neck or back pain was the most common symptom. Diagnosis depended mainly on magnetic resonance imaging. Blood cultures were positive in 50% of the patients. The duration of antibiotic therapy was 6 weeks for most patients. The outcome was favourable, with none of the patients suffering serious sequelae.

Efficacy of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine in the treatment of obesity: a meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the difference of weight loss among patients treated with placebo and with fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine after 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months of treatment. Placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trials, whose results were presented as weight loss by the placebo group and the drug-treated patient group, were selected for the analysis. For the pooled estimations, the method of the weighted means by the inverse of the variance was used. The association between the difference of means and several predictive variables was studied by means of weighted linear regression. Patients treated with fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine achieved a higher weight loss than those receiving placebo in all the periods studied. The greatest efficacy was observed after 3 months of treatment. Beyond this time, there is a decline in the effectiveness. Based on the efficacy data, treatments longer than 3 months would not be justified.

[Suicide attempt with diltiazem]. / Intento de autólisis con diltiacem.

We report a case of a patient, with no conduction abnormalities, who had took 1,800 mg of diltiazem in an attempted suicide. We haven't come across a similar case, which is not associated with other drugs, in bibliography we have consulted. She had conduction abnormalities at different levels, such as atrioventricular block and sinoatrial block, but after a few hours sinus rhythm returned without more complicated treatment. Serial electrocardiograms showed the different types of block. Although we didn't make an electrophysiologic study, we made vagal tests which were normal.

[Changes in the pattern of opioid analgesic consumption in Spain]. / Cambios en el patrón de consumo de analgésicos opioides en España.

BACKGROUND: Data from different sources have proved an infrautilization of opioid analgesics in Spain. A descriptive study has been conducted in order to know the utilization of these drugs and changes in the pattern of use in the last few years. MATERIAL AND METHOD: To know the consume of narcotic analgesic drugs, N02A group of the Anatomic Therapeutic Classification, a search was developed in the ECOM database from the Spanish Ministry of Health. This database contains information of drug preparations prescribed throughout the National Health Care System. RESULTS: The consumption of opioid analgesics in Spain has been multiplied by 5.2 during this period. It has increased from 94.7 defined daily dose per 1,000,000 inhabitants in 1985 to 489.4 in 1994. The most consumed drug in 1994 was dihydrocodeine, followed by tramadol. The number of defined daily dose per inhabitant and day of parenteral administration have decreased during the last years. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of new analgesic opioid drugs with better pharmacokinetic profiles has contributed to an increase of their consume in Spain.

[Diagnostic criteria of the sustained weight test for the detection of arterial hypertensive patients]. / Criterios diagnósticos de la prueba del peso sostenido en la detección de pacientes con hipertensión arterial.

BACKGROUND: Like other exercise tests, the sustained weight test (SWT) is based on the cardiovascular reactivity to physical exercise. However, the validity, feasibility and reproducibility criteria inherent to this test are not well defined. Our goals were to describe the systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) values which allow a diagnosis of hypertension with this test and to validate the criteria for diagnosis of hypertension. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We designed a transversal study with a sample of 547 people. Hypertensive and normotensive individuals were selected considering 140 mmHg for SAP and/or 90 mmHg for DAP as reference values. Subsequently, the SWT test was applied and values of 140/95 mmHg and 150/100 mmHg were identified to define two normotensive and two hypertensive groups, respectively. Finally, we determined the validity, feasibility and reproducibility of the method. RESULTS: The correlation of DAP and SAP before and after the SWT test was fairly high. Values of sensitivity, specificity, predictive positive value and predictive negative value with the 140/95 mmHg approach were 93.3, 87.9, 71.4 and 97.6%, respectively, while these were 89.6, 95.6, 87 and 96,6% when using the 150/100 mmHg approach, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate a high correlation between the arterial pressure measured by the SWT method and that measured by the international method. Likewise, we have shown an appropriate validity, feasibility and reproducibility of the SWT test for diagnosis of arterial hypertension in the community.

[Safety of meningococcal A and C vaccine. Data from the Spanish drug surveillance system. Meningococcal Vaccine Research Group of the Spanish System of Drug Surveillance]. / Seguridad de la vacuna antimeningocócica A+C. Datos recogidos por el Sistema Español de Farmacovigilancia. Grupo de Investigación sobre la vacuna antimeningocócica del Sistema Español de Farmacogigilancia.

OBJECTIVE: Data on meningococcal vaccines safety are scanty. In 1997 several vaccination campaign took place in Spain. Thus, this situation was used to improve our knowledge about the safety profile of this vaccine. METHODS: An inquiry was carried out to the Regional Centers of the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System to know the number of vaccinated people and the type and number of suspected cases of adverse reactions. RESULTS: There were 133 identified cases of suspected adverse reactions associated with meningococcal A and C vaccine until June 1st, 1998. Most of them affected the skin (25,3%) or nervous system (similar proportion). Those of allergic reactions accounted for 35,2%. Two cases were considered as severe, although they were resolved without secuelae. CONCLUSIONS: Serious risks were not detected. The Spanish Pharmacosurveillance System as an epidemiological surveillance resource has been useful to know the safety problems associated with antimeningococcal vaccine in the community.

[Recording cardiorespiratory arrest by the Utstein method]. / Registrar la parada cardiorrespiratoria. El estilo Utstein.

The author introduces a "Case History Form to Serve to Follow the Process of Cardiorespiratory Arrest" drawn up by means of the recommended guidelines for uniform data communication in cases of cardiorespiratory arrest outside the hospital, following the Utstein method. At the same time, given that there still are no set guidelines in the hospital milieu, the author includes a form on which to record the subsequent actions carried out during cardiorespiratory arrest. This case history form was presented orally at a Congress on Resuscitation in Seville.

[The application of do not resuscitate orders and withholding treatment in patients admitted to Internal Medicine in a first level hospital]. / La aplicación de las órdenes de no reanimación y la limitación del esfuerzo terapéutico en pacientes ingresados en Medicina Interna en un hospital comarcal.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the practice and associated factors of limiting therapeutic effort and do not resuscitate (DNR) order in a general Internal Medicine ward in a regional hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective search was performed to find patients who received do not resuscitate orders and patients who died, among those admitted to Internal Medicine between January and May 2011 at the Hospital of Villarrobledo. The limitation in therapeutic effort (LTE) in this group is described. RESULTS: A total of 106 cases were analyzed, 80 of them received DNR (10.28% of admissions during this period). Fifty four patients received other LTE. The information on the reasons and communication with the patient and family was incomplete in most cases. No differences were found between patients who died with and without LTE or with and without DNR orders. CONCLUSIONS: The information on the reasons that lead to LTE/DNR orders decisions should be improved, as well as the information on the people involved in these decisions.