[Management of time used to treat the chronic patient: a new approach to improve quality of health care]. / Gestión del tiempo de asistencia al paciente crónico: un nuevo enfoque para mejorar la calidad asistencial.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic disease is the main epidemic of the 21st century. It takes up a large part of the social-health budgets that are dedicated to its care. The aim of this study is to analyze if the welfare quality in the management of the chronic patients improves by implementing non-contact care time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Intervention study conducted in the health care center of Orcasitas (January 2012 - September 2013) in patients with hypertension (357), diabetes (180) and/or ischemic heart disease (60). Health care quality was analyzed through the effectiveness in the program, Tracking Objectives in Primary Care. The intervention group had four physical 10minute consultations/year and three non-physical 10minute consultations/year. The patients in the control group were seen as usual. The data were compared using the McNemar test, chi-square and Cochran's Q test. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the effectiveness increased in the analyzed period by 46%, 54% and 55.9%, respectively, for processes of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia control in ischemic heart disease, whereas in the control group (community of Madrid) it was 2.54%, 1.78%, and 5.44%, respectively, for these processes (statistically significant differences [χ(2)=24.78; χ(2)=39.9 y χ(2)=67.3, P<.0001]). CONCLUSIONS: Thirty minutes/year of non-presential care represents a significant change in the level of control of chronic patients. These results should be considered in the approach strategies to chronic diseases.

[Small cell-sarcomatoid carcinoma of the urinary bladder]. / Carcinoma de célula pequeña-sarcomatoide de vejiga urinaria.

OBJECTIVES: Oat cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is extremely uncommon. To date, 87 cases have been reported in the literature. Histologically, these tumors are similar to oat cell carcinoma of the lung and in slightly more than half of the cases the tumor is associated with another carcinomatous component: urothelial, squamous carcinoma, adenocarcinoma or, more rarely, sarcomatoid carcinoma. A case of sarcomatoid small cell carcinoma is described herein. METHODS/RESULTS: We report a case of sarcomatoid small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in a 79-year-old female patient. The tumor was in the advanced stages and was unamenable to resection. The patient was treated with multi-drug systemic chemotherapy, but she died five months after diagnosis. Light microscopy disclosed a carcinomatous component similar to oat cell carcinoma of the lung that stained with epithelial and neuroendocrine markers. The sarcomatoid component was histologically nondescript and showed extensive immunoreactivity to mesenchymal and epithelial markers. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcomatoid small cell carcinoma of the bladder is rare. To our knowledge, only five cases have been previously reported. It is aggressive, metastasizes early and has a poor diagnosis. Surgical resection with adjuvant multidrug systemic chemotherapy is currently the best available treatment.

[Well-differentiated liposarcoma of the spermatic cord with dedifferentiation]. / Liposarcoma bien diferenciado de cordón espermático con desdiferenciación.

We report a case of well-differentiated liposarcoma with dedifferentiation of spermatic cord in a 73-year-old-man. Treatment was by orchiectomy without retroperitoneal lymph node dissection or adjuvant therapy. The patient has survived 10 months with no evidence of recurrence. Liposarcoma localized to the spermatic cord is rare; less than 70 cases have been previously reported. The literature is reviewed with special emphasis on the clinical significance of the dedifferentiation phenomenon.