Epidemiología de la apendicitis aguda en Colombia: Un análisis de las bases de datos administrativas del Ministerio de Salud / Epidemiology of acute appendicitis in Colombia: An Analysis of the Ministry of Health administrative databases

Introducción. La apendicitis aguda es una afección común, con un pico de incidencia entre los 10 y 20 años. La cirugía es el tratamiento preferido y la apendicectomía por laparotomía sigue siendo el estándar, aunque el abordaje laparoscópico ha mostrado menos complicaciones. El objetivo de este artículo fue caracterizar tanto la enfermedad como el tratamiento quirúrgico en Colombia, usando datos de bases oficiales. Métodos. Se accedió a la base de datos del Sistema Integrado de Información para la Protección Social (SISPRO) del Ministerio de Salud de Colombia en febrero de 2023. Se recogieron datos de los pacientes con diagnóstico de apendicitis y con procedimiento de apendicectomía entre 2017 y 2021, y se analizaron por edad, sexo y ubicación geográfica. Resultados. Entre 2017 y 2021 se diagnosticaron 345.618 casos de apendicitis (51,8 % mujeres), con pico de incidencia a los 15-20 años. Se realizaron 248.133 apendicectomías, el 16,7 % por laparoscopia. Los hospitales con más procedimientos reportados estaban en Bogotá, Yopal, Popayán y Florencia. La mortalidad fue de 0,56 % en hombres y 0,51 % en mujeres. Conclusión. La apendicitis es común, con pico a los 10-19 años. Las mujeres tienen mayor probabilidad de apendicectomía, debido a otras afecciones ginecológicas. El acceso a la apendicectomía disminuye la mortalidad; en estos pacientes, el 16 % fue laparoscópica, lo que sugiere que se necesita más entrenamiento y acceso a esta técnica. Este estudio aporta a la comprensión de la epidemiología de la apendicitis y apendicectomías en Colombia.

Introduction. Acute appendicitis is a common condition, with a peak incidence between 10 and 20 years of age. Surgery is the preferred treatment and laparotomy appendectomy remains the standard, although the laparoscopic approach has shown fewer complications. The objective of this article was to characterize both the disease and the surgical treatment in Colombia, using data from official databases. Methods. The Integrated Information System for Social Protection (SISPRO) database of the Ministry of Health was accessed in February 2023. Data with diagnosis of apendicitis and with appendectomy between 2017 and 2021 were collected. Analysis was done by age, gender, and geographic location. Results. Between 2017 and 2021, 345,618 cases of appendicitis were diagnosed (51.8% females), with peak incidence at 15-20 years of age. A total of 248,133 appendectomies were performed, 16.7% by laparoscopy. The hospitals with most reported procedures were located in Bogotá, Yopal, Popayán, and Florencia. Mortality was 0.56% in men and 0.51% in women. Conclusion. Appendicitis is common, peaking at ages 10-19. Women are more likely undergo appendectomy due to other gynecological conditions. Access to appendectomy improves mortality. In these patients, 16% were laparoscopic, suggesting that more training and access to this technique is needed. This study contributes to the understanding of the epidemiology of appendicitis and appendectomies in Colombia.

Risk Factors, Presentation, and Outcome in Acute Stroke according to Social Position Indicators in Patients Hospitalised in a Referral Centre in Bogotá 2011-2019.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of stroke is time-dependent and it challenges patients' social and demographic context for timely consultation and effective access to reperfusion therapies. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to relate indicators of social position to cardiovascular risk factors, time of arrival, access to reperfusion therapy, and mortality in the setting of acute stroke. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with a diagnosis of ischaemic stroke in a referral hospital in Bogotá was performed. A simple random sample with a 5% margin of error and 95% confidence interval was selected. Patients were characterised according to educational level, place of origin, marital status, occupation, duration of symptoms before consultation, cardiovascular risk factors, access to reperfusion therapy, and mortality during hospitalisation. RESULTS: 558 patients were included with a slight predominance of women. Diagnosis of diabetes was more common in women and smoking in men (n = 68, 28.4% vs. n = 51, 15.9%; p = 0.0004). Rural origin was associated with higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidaemia (hypertension n = 45, 73.8% vs. n = 282, 57.4%; p = 0.007; diabetes n = 20, 33.3% vs. 109, 19.5%; p = 0.02; dyslipidaemia n = 19, 32.7% vs. n = 93, 18.9%; p = 0.02). Mortality was higher in rural patients (n = 8, 14.2% vs. n = 30, 6.1%; p = 0.03). Lower schooling was associated with higher frequency of hypertension and dyslipidaemia (hypertension n = 152, 76.0% vs. n = 94, 46.3%; p ≤ 0.0001; dyslipidaemia n = 56, 28% vs. n = 35, 17.0%; p = 0.009) as well as with late consultation (n = 30, 15% vs. n = 59, 28.7%; p = 0.0011) and lower probability of accessing reperfusion therapy (n = 12, 6% vs. n = 45, 22%; p ≤ 0.0001). Formal employment was associated with a visit to the emergency department in less than 3 h (n = 50, 25.2% vs. n = 58, 18%, p = 0.04 and a higher probability of accessing reperfusion therapy (n = 35, 17.6% vs. n = 33, 10.2%; p = 0.01). Finally, living in a household with a stratum higher than 3 was associated with a consultation before 3 h (n = 77, 25.5% vs. n = 39, 15.6%; p = 0.004) and a higher probability of reperfusion therapy (n = 57, 18.9% vs. n = 13, 5.2%; p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Indicators of socio-economic status are related to mortality, consultation time, and access to reperfusion therapy. Mortality and reperfusion therapy are inequitably distributed and, therefore, more attention needs to be directed to the cause of these disparities in order to reduce the access gap in the context of acute stroke in Bogotá.

Cost-utility analysis of genomic profiling in early breast cancer in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: In Colombia, the best strategy to establish indication for adjuvant chemotherapy in early breast cancer (EBC) remains unknown. This study aimed to identify the cost-utility of Oncotype DX™ (ODX) or Mammaprint™ (MMP) tests to establish the necessity of adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: This study used an adapted decision-analytic model to compare cost and outcomes of care between ODX or MMP tests and routine care without ODX or MMP tests (adjuvant chemotherapy for all patients) over a 5-year time horizon from the perspective of the Colombian National Health System (NHS; payer). Inputs were obtained from national unit cost tariffs, published literature, and clinical trial database. The study population comprised women with hormone-receptor-positive (HR +), HER2-negative, lymph-node-negative (LN0) EBC with high-risk clinical criteria for recurrence. The outcome measures were discounted incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR; 2021 United States dollar per quality-adjusted life-year [QALY] gained) and net monetary benefit (NMB). Probabilistic (PSA) and deterministic sensitivity analysis (DSA) were performed. RESULTS: ODX increases QALYs by 0.05 and MMP by 0.03 with savings of $2374 and $554 compared with the standard strategy, respectively, and were cost-saving in cost-utility plane. NMB for ODX was $2203 and for MMP was $416. Both tests dominate the standard strategy. Sensitivity analysis revealed that with a threshold of 1 gross domestic product per capita, ODX will be cost-effective in 95.5% of the cases compared with 70.2% cases involving MMP.DSA showed that the variable with significant influence was the monthly cost of adjuvant chemotherapy. PSA revealed that ODX was a consistently superior strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Genomic profiling using ODX or MMP tests to define the need of adjuvant chemotherapy treatment in patients with HR + and HER2 -EBC is a cost-effective strategy that allows Colombian NHS to maintain budget.

Burden of disease of chronic pain in Ecuador.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the burden of disease related to chronic pain in Ecuador. METHODS: We used Global Burden of Disease (GBD) methods to estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) related to chronic pain in Ecuador related to lumbar pain, osteoarthritis, post-herpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, cancer-related pain, and other musculoskeletal pain. We estimated the prevalent cases by sex and age group using literature data. We only estimated years lived with disability using disability weights obtained from the GBD, with the assumption that no premature death would be related to pain. We used a prevalence-based approach to estimate cases by sex and age group using literature, without discounting or age adjustment. We calculated total DALYs and DALYs/100,000 inhabitants. RESULTS: Our estimated yielded a total of 3,644,108 patients with chronic pain. They would produce 256,090 DALYs or 1,483 DALYs/100,000 inhabitants attributable to chronic pain. Low back pain, osteoarthritis and cancer-related pain were the drivers of DALY production. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain is an important source of burden of disease. It is comparable to other important causes such as headaches, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others. Low back pain, osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal pain were the biggest contributors given their high prevalence.

El rol de la mujer en la ortopedia y traumatología en Colombia / Women's role in orthopedic and trauma surgery in Colombia

Introducción. A lo largo de los años se ha observado una importante brecha de género en la especialidad de ortopedia y traumatología. Su persistencia en otros países sugiere una evolución similar en Colombia. Objetivo. Determinar la distribución por sexo de los residentes de ortopedia y traumatología en Colombia en tres momentos fundamentales: la inscripción al proceso de selección, la admisión a la especialidad y la terminación del programa académico y obtención del correspondiente título. Metodología. Estudio transversal en el que se analizaron los datos registrados entre 2001 y 2021 en el Sistema Nacional de Información de la Educación Superior - SNIES para los programas de posgrado de ortopedia y traumatología. Resultados. En comparación con 2001, la proporción de mujeres egresadas de especialidades quirúrgicas en 2021 aumentó (26,56% vs. 44,84%). En el caso de los programas de postgrado en ortopedia y traumatología, entre 2007 y 2021, 16 979 individuos se postularon al proceso de admisión, 975 fueron admitidos y 702 se graduaron como ortopedistas, siendo la proporción de mujeres en cada etapa 22,47%, 22,56% y 16,80%, respectivamente. Además, en relación con el número de admitidos estratificado por sexo, el porcentaje de mujeres que se graduaron como ortopedistas fue notablemente menor que en los hombres (53,64% vs. 77,35%).Conclusiones. A pesar del aumento en la proporción de mujeres egresadas de las especialidades médicas, en el caso de ortopedia y traumatología, las mujeres siguen teniendo una participación muy baja en términos de aspirantes inscritos, admitidos y egresados

Introduction. Over the years, a significant gender gap has been observed in the orthopedics and trauma specialty. This gap has persisted in other countries, suggesting a similar trend in Colombia. Objective. To establish the gender distribution of orthopedics and trauma residents in Colombia at three critical moments: enrollment in the selection process, admission to the specialty, and completion of the academic program and awarding of the corresponding degree.Methodology. Cross-sectional study that analyzed the data registered between 2001 and 2021 in the National Information System for Higher Education (SNIES by its Spanish acronym) for postgraduate programs in orthopedics and trauma.Results. In 2021, the proportion of female graduates from surgical specialties increased compared to 2001 (26.56% vs. 44.84%). Between 2007 and 2021, 16 979 people applied for postgraduate programs in orthopedics and trauma, 975 were admitted, and 702 graduated as orthopedists, with the proportion of women at each stage being 22.47%, 22.56%, and 16.80%, respectively. Furthermore, when admissions were stratified by gender, the percentage of women graduating as orthopedists was significantly lower than that of men (53.64% vs. 77.35%).Conclusions. Despite an increase in the number of female graduates from medical specialties, women continue to have a very low participation rate in orthopedics and trauma in terms of applications, admissions, and graduation

SISPRO: La base de datos administrativa del sistema de salud colombiano / SISPRO: The administrative database of the Colombian healthcare system

RESUMEN Colombia es reconocida en la región por la universalidad tanto de su sistema de salud como de sus sistemas de información. Si bien el Sistema de Información Integral para la Protección Social (SISPRO) tiene como finalidad cumplir una función administrativa dentro del sistema de salud, se están reconociendo sus usos en investigación. SISPRO está compuesto por varias bases de datos diferentes: las estadísticas vitales, el registro individual de prestaciones en salud (RIPS) y la clasificación única de trámites en salud (CUPS), entre otras. Las estadísticas vitales registran los nacimientos y las defunciones, junto con la ubicación geográfica, la edad de la madre o la causa de la muerte, entre otra información. Los RIPS son la base de datos más utilizada en investigación en salud, ya que permiten establecer el número de contactos que las personas tienen con el sistema de salud (más de 2 mil millones en el último quinquenio) y conocer los principales diagnósticos registrados en cada uno de estos contactos. Con RIPS, ha sido posible establecer la prevalencia de esclerosis múltiple o estimar la carga de enfermedad de la epilepsia en Colombia. RIPS también tiene información útil sobre el costo de la atención médica. Finalmente, los CUPS permiten cuantificar los procedimientos de salud, por ejemplo, podemos estimar en 1879 el número de procedimientos de trombólisis de vasos intracraneales en Colombia entre 2017 y 2021. La calidad de la información es una gran limitación en toda base de datos administrativa, sin embargo, SISPRO representa una gran oportunidad para utilizar los registros oficiales para generar conocimiento, comprender la distribución geográfica de las enfermedades y contribuir al diseño de políticas públicas en nuestra población.

Burden of disease of chronic pain in Colombia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the burden of disease of chronic pain in Colombia. METHODS: We estimated disability adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to chronic pain using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) method. We identified diagnostic codes related to chronic pain considering lumbar pain, osteoarthritis, post-herpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, cancer-related pain, and others. We estimated the prevalent cases by sex and age-group using local administrative databases and literature. We assumed that pain would not cause premature death, so we only estimated years lived with disability using disability weights obtained from the GBD. We used a prevalence-based approach, without discounting or age-group adjustment. We calculated total DALYs and DALYs/100,000 inhabitants. RESULTS: We estimated a total of 5,545,019 patients with chronic pain. We calculated 491,626 DALYs or 976 DALYs/100,000 inhabitants attributable to chronic pain. Low back pain, osteoarthritis, and cancer-related pain were the most important groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study estimates that chronic pain contributes a significant quantity of DALYs, especially related to low back pain, osteoarthritis, and cancer-related pain. Chronic pain should be considered in the public health agenda.

Cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities in people living with HIV: A cross-sectional multicenter study from Colombia comorbidities in a Colombian PLWHIV population.

INTRODUCTION: HIV is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). There is insufficient information regarding comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors in the Colombian HIV population. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities in patients from the HIV Colombian Group VIHCOL. METHODS: This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in the VIHCOL network in Colombia. Patients 18 years or older who had at least 6 months of follow-up were included. A stratified random sampling was performed to estimate the adjusted prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities. RESULTS: A total of 1616 patients were included. 83.2% were men, and the median age was 34 years. The adjusted prevalence for dyslipidemia, active tobacco use, hypothyroidism, and arterial hypertension was 51.2% (99% CI: 48.0%-54.4%), 7.6% (99% CI: 5.9%-9.3%), 7.4% (99% CI: 5.7%-9.1%), and 6.3% (99% CI: 4.8%-7.9%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this Colombian HIV cohort, there is a high prevalence of modifiable CVD risk factors such as dyslipidemia and active smoking. Non-pharmacological and pharmacological measures for the prevention and management of these risk factors should be reinforced.

Corruption and its relation to prevalence and death due to noncommunicable diseases and risk factors: a global perspective.

Objective: To describe the relation between corruption indicators and statistics on noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors by continent. Methods: An ecological study was conducted to examine the relation of the GINI coefficient, the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), and the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with noncommunicable diseases, using the Spearman's rank correlation test. Results: There is a moderate and positive correlation between Corruption Perception Index and cause of death due to noncommunicable diseases and risk factors for these diseases (r = 0.532), prevalence of schizophrenia (r = 0.526), bipolar disorder (r = 0.520), and eating disorders (r = 0.677). There is a moderate negative association between the GINI index and cause of death due to noncommunicable diseases (r = -0.571) and smoking prevalence (r = -0.502), and between the Corruption Perception Index and mortality caused by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases between the exact ages of 30 and 70 years (r = -0.577) and malnutrition prevalence (r = -0.602). Conclusions: This study indicates a correlation between corruption and noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors. This suggests that the high prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and risk factors could be related with political practices that negatively impact the population. Further research should study the weight of these associations, to take action on the way corruption is impacting on the health of societies.