Depression and suicidal ideation in Mexican medical students during COVID-19 outbreak. A longitudinal study.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for populations at risk for mental health problems, such as healthcare professionals and medical students. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of the pandemic on mental health in a sample of Mexican medical students with and without a mental health diagnosis. METHOD: Longitudinal and descriptive study based on scales of suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms and risk of alcohol consumption, conducted in April and December 2020. RESULTS: Sample includes 247 medical students, 64.4% are women. Prevalence of depression increased between April and December from 19.84% to 40.08%. In the case of women from 23.67% to 42.60% (χ2 = 0.000) and in men from 11.54% to 34.62% (χ2 = 0.001). In April 16.92% of healthy students presented some sign of depression and in December the percentage increased to 40.80% (χ2 = 0.000). Regarding medicated students, the prevalence in April was 32.61% and in December it was 36.96% (χ2 = 0.662). In April, the medicated students with risk of suicidal ideation were 17 out of 46 (36.96%), compared to the students without a diagnosis of psychiatric illness were 29 out of 201 (13.43%) (χ2 = 0.000). For December, the non-medicated students at risk of suicidal ideation were 34 out of 201 (16.91%), and the medicated students were 12 out of 46 (26.09%) (χ2 = 0.149). CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic has increase the rate of depression in medical students, being more severe in women. Students under psychiatric treatment showed a higher prevalence of depression; however, the fact of being under treatment resulted in a protective factor for the increase in the prevalence of depression. It is important to deepen the understanding of the causes of depression and to disseminate among the university community the benefits of early detection and treatment of people with socio-emotional disorders.

Incisional hernia at the site of a stoma.

OBJECTIVE: Incisional hernia at the site where a patient had previously had a stoma has not been clearly studied. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence and associated factors that may lead to an incisional hernia related to the reversal of an intestinal stoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An analysis was made of 70 cases of intestinal reconnection. All patients received Cefotaxime or Ceftazidime during anaesthesia induction and two more doses at 1-8 h in the post-operative period. In all of the cases, closure of the stoma site was effected as a primary closure using no. 1 polyglycolic acid continuous suture. There followed wound lavage with iodopovidone, and the skin was closed with simple sutures using polypropylene 3/0. No drain was left in situ in any of the cases. The study considered the following aspects: demographic characteristics of the study group; illnesses giving rise to the need for stoma formation; the stoma site itself; clinical aspects, including body mass index (BMI); the incidence of incisional hernia; and any complications involving the surgical wound. RESULTS: At this hospital, the cause of requiring treatment with stoma formation was diverticular disease of the colon principally, and the age of the patients varied from 36 to 87 years (median 61). The incidence of incisional hernia at the stoma site was 22 cases (31.4%), presenting equally in both sexes and with greater frequency under the following circumstances: during the first year of follow-up and in patients with concomitant illnesses, principally diabetes. Local complications involving the surgical wound occurred in six cases (8.5%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of incisional hernia at the stoma site was found to be 31.4% in this study, which is a high incidence of hernias with simple repair.

Ipsilateral Aymand's and Richter's hernia, complicated by necrosing fascitis.

This study presents the case of a patient with necrobiosis or necrosing fascitis of the inguinal region, secondary to a complicated Amyand's hernia with a concomitant ipsilateral Richter's hernia. The patient was treated with open trans-abdominal surgery and hernia repair through the pre-peritoneal approach, plus anti-microbians, and thrice-daily wound cleansing and dressings to the inguinal region. Evolution was satisfactory. There are no reports in the literature of a case such as this.

Spermatic cord liposarcoma: a diagnostic challenge.

Spermatic cord liposarcoma (SCL) is a rare medical condition; to our knowledge there have been fewer than 100 cases reported in the literature worldwide. As a group, para-testicular tumors are relatively uncommon, and they must be differentiated from tumors of testicular origin with extension to the spermatic cord and its elements. SCL should be suspected in patients experiencing recurrent hernias of the inguinal region. Herein we present two cases of SCL recently diagnosed at our hospital. In both instances, the preoperative diagnosis was inguinal hernia.

Simplified technique for incisional hernia repair with mesh prosthesis.

This paper describes a simplified technique for the repair of incisional hernias. The previous scar is resected, and the peritoneal sac is carefully dissected until it is completely exposed. The sac is opened to liberate structures adherent to the sac or to the area immediately surrounding the defect. The peritoneum is closed and invaginated to form a sac bed underlying the entire extent of the defect, and the mesh is laid on this sac bed. The mesh is then fixed with "U" stitches, reinforcing these by inserting a second line from the edge of the defect to the mesh. Suture material used is polypropylene 1/0 or 2/0. This procedure has been carried out on 15 patients, and after 1 year of follow-up, there has been no recurrence of the hernia. Operating time was reduced, and the surgical technique was found to be easier. Placing a mesh prosthesis inside the hernia sac and fixing it to the abdominal wall with two lines of suturing simplifies the repair procedure, reduces operating time, and is effective in the repair of all incisional hernias. A study is required to compare this outcome with the different mesh repair techniques.

Abdominal wall hernia repair in patients with chronic renal failure and a dialysis catheter.

This paper describes the incisional hernia repair technique carried out on 50 patients with chronic renal insufficiency requiring continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The technique involved fixing a polypropylene mesh prosthesis to the deep face of lateral incisions into the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis muscle. Under general or epidural anaesthesia the old scar was resected and the hernial sac dissected, care being taken not to open the peritoneum. At 5 cm from either side of the hernia margin, the aponeurosis was incised longitudinally and the adjacent muscle separated. The mesh was sutured to the deep face of the aponeurosis, covering the hernial defect. A Tenckhoff catheter was left in the abdominal cavity. Peritoneal dialysis was given to all 50 patients in the immediate postoperative period, with no leaking of the dialysis fluid. One year later there has been no recurrence. Prosthetic mesh fixed to the deep face of the abdominal aponeurosis at incisions lateral to the hernia margins, without opening the peritoneum, is an effective treatment of incisional hernia repair for patients on peritoneal dialysis and allows early institution of dialysis.

Inguinal hernia repair with flap of the anterior sheath of the rectus muscle: preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: We have developed an alternative operative technique for the conventional repair of groin hernias using a prosthetic mesh. In our study of 75 patients with uncomplicated inguinal hernia, we used a triangular flap of the anterior sheath of rectus muscle to repair the hernia. The patients were monitored during a 5-year period. METHODS: A triangular flap was designed on the anterior sheath of rectus muscle. The flap was folded and sutured to the inguinal ligament with noncontinuous and nonabsorbable suture 00; the floor of the inguinal canal and the internal ring were reinforced with low tension sutures. RESULTS: The postoperative progress of the patients was satisfactory. We did not observe any severe complications, and 5 years after the procedure no patient was noted to have a recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The triangular flap of the anterior sheath of the rectus muscle is useful in reinforcing the inguinal canal floor with low tension sutures. Because the flap is in the same position as the prosthetic mesh in conventional inguinal hernia repair, we hope that the use of the flap will achieve the same results as the prosthetic mesh.