Caracterización general de los pacientes con EPOC de la Región del Maule: resultados preliminares del estudio MaulEPOC / General characterization of COPD patients from the Maule Region, Chile: preliminary results of the MaulEPOC study

El objetivo de esta comunicación fue evaluar el perfil epidemiológico de los pacientes con Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica (EPOC) de la Región del Maule. Para ello, se contó con 127 pacientes EPOC clínicamente estables derivados por parte del neumólogo o que fueron atendidos en el centro de diagnóstico terapéutico del Hospital Regional de Talca durante el año 2016. Los pacientes fueron sometidos a una serie de pruebas de función pulmonar y debieron contestar un cuestionario para conocer antecedentes clínicos y epidemiológicos. Tras el estudio, fueron clasificados de acuerdo al criterio GOLD que integra medidas de síntomas, disnea, espirometría y riesgo de exacerbaciones. El 56% de los pacientes fueron varones y el promedio de edad en ambos sexos fue de 71,4 años (IC 95% 67,89-71,28). Un 27% tuvieron un nivel de escolarización ≤ 4 años. El 25% fueron clasificados como GOLD A, el 33% B, el 9% C y el 33% D. El 61% de los pacientes presentaron una exposición significativa simultánea a humo de cigarrillo y humo de biomasa. Los pacientes EPOC de la Región del Maule son fundamentalmente varones, adultos mayores y, frecuentemente, con bajo nivel de escolaridad. Los principales factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de la enfermedad en esta cohorte fueron la exposición simultánea a humo de tabaco y de combustibles de biomasa. La mayoría de los pacientes se encuentran en los estadios más leves de la enfermedad. Nuestros hallazgos identificaron las principales áreas que deben ser intervenidas para mejorar el manejo de la EPOC en la Región del Maule.

This study aimed to assess the epidemiological profile of subjects from the Maule Region (Chile) suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We recruited 127 stable-COPD patients who were attended by a pulmonologist or treated at Hospital Regional de Talca during 2016. All patients underwent lung functional tests and answered a standardized questionnaire to obtain clinical and epidemiological data. Patients were classified according to the GOLD combined COPD assessment criteria, which included symptomatic assessment with the patient's spirometric classification and risk of exacerbations. GOLD A, B, C and D categories consisted of 25%, 33%, 9% and 33% of patients respectively. The mean age was 71.4 years (CI 95% 64.7-73.7) and 56% of the patients were male. A 27% of subjects completed 4 or less years of schooling. 61% of patients showed a significant combined exposure to both cigarette and biomass smoke. COPD patients from the Maule Region are mostly elderly male, often showing a low educational level. The main COPD risk factor in this cohort was the simultaneous exposure to cigarette and biomass smoke. Most patients are in the milder stages of COPD. Our findings identified the main areas that can be intervened to improve COPD management in the Maule Region.

Sudden birth versus sudden death of entanglement in multipartite systems.

We study the entanglement dynamics of two cavities interacting with independent reservoirs. Expectedly, as the cavity entanglement is depleted, it is transferred to the reservoir degrees of freedom. We find also that when the cavity entanglement suddenly disappears, the reservoir entanglement suddenly and necessarily appears. Surprisingly, we show that this entanglement sudden birth can manifest before, simultaneously, or even after entanglement sudden death. Finally, we present an explanatory study of other entanglement partitions and of higher dimensional systems.

A comparative double-blind study of terbinafine (Lamisil) and griseofulvin in tinea corporis and tinea cruris.

In a double-blind randomized study, 92 patients with culturally proven tinea corporis and/or tinea cruris were treated orally with either terbinafine (Lamisil) (125 mg b.i.d.) or griseofulvin (500 mg b.i.d.) for up to 6 weeks. The two groups of patients and distribution of the target lesions were similar, but the analysis of the clinical scores showed that the terbinafine group had slightly higher mean scores at baseline (P = 0.186). At the end of therapy the proportion of patients with negative microscopy and culture was 78% in the terbinafine group and 83% in the griseofulvin-treated group. At the assessment 8 weeks after the end of therapy the percentages of terbinafine- and griseofulvin-treated patients with negative mycology were 93 and 95%, respectively. There were three relapses after mycological cure in the griseofulvin group (8%) and two in the terbinafine group (4%). Griseofulvin-treated patients were treated for shorter periods than terbinafine-treated patients (i.e. 58% compared to 26% received only 2-4 weeks of therapy). In terms of overall effectiveness, there were no significant differences between the two treatments. Thirty-seven terbinafine patients (77%) compared to 36 griseofulvin patients (82%) had overall effective therapy. Eight terbinafine patients (16%) compared to 10 griseofulvin patients (20%) experienced at least one adverse event. Five patients in the terbinafine group and six in the griseofulvin group had to stop the treatment due to headaches or gastrointestinal disorders. One terbinafine patient had an elevation of liver function tests after 6 weeks of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A clinical double-blind trial comparing amorolfine cream 0.5% (RO-14-4767) with bifonazole cream 1% in the treatment of dermatomycoses.

In a double-blind parallel study, 40 patients with dermatomycoses (one cutaneous candidosis and 39 dermatophyte infections) were treated topically with amorolfine (RO-14-4767) cream (0.5%), a new antifungal compound, or with bifonazole cream (1%). The treatment was applied once daily and was continued until 1 week after resolution of the symptoms, the maximum duration of treatment was limited to 6 weeks. Assessment of results was based on both clinical and mycological parameters. The percentages of amorolfine- and bifonazole-treated patients who were clinically and mycologically cured were 83.33% and 78.95%, respectively. Two patients treated with amorolfine and one patient treated with bifonazole were withdrawn from the trial because of side-effects. There was no significant difference between the two creams in clinical and mycological cure rates and tolerance.