Multidisciplinary radio-guided surgery team: Alternative to change the current paradigm.

INTRODUCTION: Given the constant increase in the healthcare demand for examinations related to radio-guided surgery (RGS), our hospital adopted new professional profiles in the RGS team, in order to partially reduce the time spent by nuclear medicine physicians on this task. AIM: To analyze the process of incorporating the profiles of Diagnostic Imaging Technician (DIT) and Sentinel Node Referent Nurse (SNRN), evaluating their deployment in the procedures linked to the technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Analysis of RGS activity during the period 2018-2022, focusing on pre-surgical and surgical procedures related to breast cancer (BC) and malignant melanoma (MM), as they are those pathologies on which the transfer of care competencies was concentrated. Chronological evolution of the competencies assumed by the different profiles during their integration into the RGS team. RESULTS: RGS's healthcare activity during the analyzed period experienced an increase of 109%. BC and MM were the pathologies that accounted for by far the greatest demand for care. The transfer of competencies in these two pathologies occurred in a progressive and staggered manner, with 74% (460/622) of the administration phase being carried out by the SNRN and 64% (333/519) of the surgeries by the DIT in 2022. CONCLUSIONS: The creation of a multidisciplinary RGS team that includes different professional profiles (nuclear medicine physician [MN], ERGC and TSID) is an effective strategy to respond to the increase in the complexity and number of all procedures related to RGS.

Sentinel node referent nurse: Description, validation and application in clinical practice.

INTRODUCTION: In 2019 the opportunity to add a nurse within the radioguided surgery (RGS) team was generated. The referent nurse model was adapted to, the sentinel node (SN) preoperative approaches. OBJECTIVES: To describe the process performed to define the sentinel node referent nurse (SNRN) profile, to validate its practical application and to establish its clinical implementation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Methodology of analysis and continuous improvement in the management of processes (cycle PDCA): definition and planning of the SNRN functions in the breast cancer protocol, performance of a pilot test with 20 patients and analysis of the data in order to validate the circuit and establish its final clinical implementation. RESULTS: New procedure flows-charts were elaborated, adding the figure of the SNRN, its function and nursing interventions during the process. In the pilot test a 58.3% reduction in subjective anxiety, a 75% decrease of the overall anxiety level, a 100% knowledge of the test and an acceptable patient perception of pain's level during the radiotracer administration were obtained. Regarding technical quality, 8/10 items assessed reached the level previously established by the RGS team. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing complexity of the SN biopsy technique has created the opportunity to implement nursing care in the presurgical SN localization process. The profile of the SNRN is ideal for carrying it out and has led to improvements in the nursing diagnoses and assessed items.

Information on nosocomial infections in the mainstream media: an opinion document.

This paper seeks to explore the reasons for the low impact of nosocomial infection in the mainstream media and the responsibilities of physicians and journalists in terms of this situation. To this end, a small group of 13 experts met for round-table discussions, including physicians with expertise in nosocomial infection, medical lawsuits and ethics, as well as journalists from major mainstream Spanish media outlets. The various participants were asked a series of questions prior to the meeting, which were answered in writing by one of the speakers and discussed during the meeting by the whole group, the aim being to obtain consensual conclusions for each of them. The document was subsequently reviewed, edited and forwarded to all co-authors for their agreement. The opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the participants and not necessarily those of the institutions in which they work or with which they collaborate.

Antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli from community-acquired urinary tract infections in relation to demographic and clinical data.

This prospective study determined the antibiotic susceptibility of 164 isolates of Escherichia coli from the urine of 164 patients (112 female, 52 male; mean age of 54.12 years) with community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI). Half of the isolates were from uncomplicated UTI and half from complicated UTI (52 males and 34 females). Overall, 57.3% of isolates were resistant to ampicillin, 25% to co-trimoxazole, 20.1% to nalidixic acid, 14% to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin, and 0% to fosfomycin and nitrofurantoin. Of the 82 isolates from complicated UTI, 16 (19.5%) were resistant to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin, compared with seven (8.5%) from uncomplicated UTI (p 0.043). Isolates from patients aged >50 years were significantly more resistant than those from patients aged <50 years for nalidixic acid (p 0.007) and the fluoroquinolones tested (p 0.015). Resistance to fluoroquinolones was 25% (13/52) in males and 9% (10/112) in females (p 0.006). For patients with and without previous antimicrobial therapy, there was a significant difference only for resistance to nalidixic acid (p < 0.001) and the fluoroquinolones (p 0.011). There were adequate susceptibility rates to fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin and the fluoroquinolones for empirical use in the treatment of acute uncomplicated UTI. In order to interpret cumulative susceptibility data from the primary healthcare setting, it is necessary to take into account the type of UTI (uncomplicated vs. complicated), previous antimicrobial therapy, and the sex and age of each patient.

[Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in the Regional Comunity of Extremadura. 1997-2001 (Extremadura Project to Prevent Blindness)]. / Prevalencia de retinopatía diabética en la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura. 1997-2001 (Proyecto Extremadura para Prevención de la Ceguera).

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), types and risk factors in a diabetic population in Extremadura. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, with prospective data collection, was performed between 1997 and 2001 on 3,114 randomly selected diabetic patients belonging to 13 Diabetologic Assistance Centers. We evaluated: age, gender, type, treatment, duration of diabetes and blood pressure levels. Two color fundus photographs were taken and ophthalmoscopy was performed on both eyes. Data were analyzed using SPSS (11.5). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 63.8 (SD13.4) years, 7.5% were type 1 diabetics, 31.1% were insulin-treated and 46.0% had elevated blood pressure. Prevalence of DR was 35.7%, macular edema: 5.6% and proliferative DR: 5.3%. Multivariate analysis showed that type 1 diabetics have a DR frequency 1.79 times higher than type 2 diabetics (ORaj 1.79; IC 95% 1.22-2.63; p=0.003). Patients who have been diabetic for 5-10 years have a frequency 2 times higher (ORaj 2.00; IC 95% 1.62-2.45; p<0.001), patients diabetic for more than 15 years have a frequency 5.48 times higher (ORaj 5.48; IC 95% 4.33-6.93; p<0.001) than patients who have been diabetic for less than 5 years. The frequency of DR in patients aged more than 60 years is 23% higher than those under that age. (ORaj 1.23; IC 95% 1.01-1.50; p=0.045). CONCLUSIONS: 37.5% of the diabetic population in Extremadura is affected by diabetic retinopathy. New analyses are necessary in this population to detect the existence of other high risk subgroups in order to reduce these high prevalence levels.