Mexican registry of pediatric cardiac surgery: First report

Background: Currently, there is a spreading worldwide tendency to characterize health issues and to propose alternative solutions via the creation of computerized databases. The aim of this study was to present the results in a computerized database of pediatric cardiac surgeries developed under the auspices of the Mexican Association of Specialists in Congenital Heart Diseases (Asociación Mexicana de Especialistas en Cardiopatías Congénitas A.C) and coordinated by the collegiate group of Pediatric Cardiology and Surgery as petitioned by the National Institutes of Health and High Specialty Hospitals Coordinating Commission. Methods: We analyzed all cases registered in the database during a 1-year observation period (August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012) by all major Health Ministry-dependent institutes and hospitals offering surgical services related to pediatric cardiopathies to the non-insured population. Results: Seven institutions participated voluntarily in completing the database. During the analyzed period, 943 surgeries in 880 patients with 7% reoperations (n = 63) were registered. Thirty-eight percent of the surgeries were performed in children <1 year of age. The five most common cardiopathies were patent ductus arteriosus (n = 96), ventricular septal defect (n = 86), tetralogy of Fallot (n = 72), atrial septal defect (n = 68), and aortic coarctation (n = 54). Ninety percent of surgeries were elective and extracorporeal circulation was used in 62% of surgeries. Global mortality rate was 7.5% with the following distribution in the RACHS-1 score categories: 1 (n = 4, 2%), 2 (n = 19, 6%), 3 (n = 22, 8%), 4 (n = 12, 19%), 5 (n = 1, 25%), 6 (n = 6, 44%), and non-classifiable (n = 2, 9%). Conclusions: This analysis provides a representative view of the surgical practices in cardiovascular diseases in the pediatric population at the national non-insured population level. However, incorporating other health institutions to the national registry database will render a more accurate panorama of the national reality in surgical practices in the population <18 years of age.

The logistic model for predicting the non-gonoactive Aedes aegypti females

OBJECTIVE: To estimate, using logistic regression, the likelihood of occurrence of a non-gonoactive Aedes aegypti female, previously fed human blood, with relation to body size and collection method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was conducted in Monterrey, Mexico, between 1994 and 1996. Ten samplings of 60 mosquitoes of Ae aegypti females were carried out in three dengue endemic areas: six of biting females, two of emerging mosquitoes, and two of indoor resting females. Gravid females, as well as those with blood in the gut were removed. Mosquitoes were taken to the laboratory and engorged on human blood. After 48 hours, ovaries were dissected to register whether they were gonoactive or non-gonoactive. Wing-length in mm was an indicator for body size. The logistic regression model was used to assess the likelihood of non-gonoactivity, as a binary variable, in relation to wing-length and collection method. RESULTS: Of the 600 females, 164 (27 percent) remained non-gonoactive, with a wing-length range of 1.9-3.2 mm, almost equal to that of all females (1.8-3.3 mm). The logistic regression model showed a significant likelihood of a female remaining non-gonoactive (Y=1). The collection method did not influence the binary response, but there was an inverse relationship between non-gonoactivity and wing-length. CONCLUSIONS: Dengue vector populations from Monterrey, Mexico display a wide-range body size. Logistic regression was a useful tool to estimate the likelihood for an engorged female to remain non-gonoactive. The necessity for a second blood meal is present in any female, but small mosquitoes are more likely to bite again within a 2-day interval, in order to attain egg maturation.

Population dynamics and biting rhythm of the anthropophilic sandfly Lutzomyia cruciata (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Southeast, Mexico

Flebotomo atraidos por cebo humano fueron conectados en un foco de leishmaniais cutanea localizada en el estado de Campeche, Mexico. Colectas fueron llevadas a cabo mensalmente de Febrero 1994 a Enero de 1995 entre las 18:00 a 22:00 h. Lutzomyia cruciata fue la unica especie capturada. El mayor pico plobacional fue encontrado en Marzo con picos similares en Febrero, Diciembre 1994 y Enero 1995. La tasa maxima de picadura de Lu. cruciata estuvo compreendida entre 18:00 e 19:00 h Las hembras hambientes de Lu. cruciata, fueron directamente relacionadas con niveles de humedad relativa entre 88 a 100 por cento. Bajas y altas temperaturas tuvieron un efecto negativo sobre la actividad de Lu. cruciata. Se discute el posible papel de Lu. criciata como vector de leishmaniasis en el estado de Campeche, Mexico