ABSTRACT
Background: Sarcopenia is a musculoskeletal disease involving the reduction of muscle mass, strength, and performance. Handgrip strength (HGS) measurements included in frailty assessments are great biomarkers of aging and are related to functional deficits. We assessed the association between potential influencing factors and HGS asymmetry in older Peruvian adults. Methods: We used a database of the Peruvian Naval Medical Center "Cirujano Santiago Távara" located in Callao, Peru. All the patients included were ≥60 years old and had an HGS measurement in the dominant and non-dominant hand. Results: From a total of 1468 patients, 74.66% had HGS asymmetry. After adjustment, calf circumference weakness (aPR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.01 - 1.15), falls risk (aPR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02 - 1.16), and an altered Lawton index (aPR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.84 - 0.99) were associated with HGS asymmetry. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that HGS asymmetry should be measured along with other geriatric assessments used to evaluate health outcomes in the elderly to enhance health promotion and prevention aimed at preserving muscle strength to curb functional limitations in the elderly.
ABSTRACT
A 47-year-old man presented to his local hospital in Peru after a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. His family reported a history of prior stroke of unclear etiology. This case report discusses the approach to a first seizure (including in tropical regions like Peru), the relationship between stroke and seizures, the approach to stroke in the young, and how to diagnose rare diseases in resource-limited settings.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study aimed to report the incidence of technical complications and immediate complete angiographic occlusion, identify associated factors with failure of complete occlusion and identify predictors of technical complications in a single-center experience of pediatric arteriovenous malformations (AVM) treated with endovascular treatment with intent to cure. METHODS: Patients between 1 and 18 years of age undergoing endovascular embolization between 2011 and 2020 were included. RESULTS: A total of 120 embolizations were performed in 69 patients. The most frequent clinical presentation was intracerebral hemorrhage (76.8%). Immediate obliteration of the malformations was achieved in 40 (58%) cases. The technical complication rate was 15%. AVM nidus size between 3 and 6 cm (OR: 3.91; 95% CI 1.1-13.85; p = 0.035) and the presence of multiple feeders (OR: 5.08; 95% CI 1.41-18.28; p = 0.074) were predictive of failure of immediate complete occlusion. The location of the temporal lobe (OR: 7.83; p = 0.048), deep venous drainage (OR: 4.67; p = 0.112), and the presence of an intranidal aneurysm (OR: 3.58; p = 0.134) were predictors of technical complications. CONCLUSIONS: Embolization of pediatric AVMs with intent to cure shows a high rate of technical complications and acceptable immediate occlusion rates. Nidus size and the presence of multiple feeders were predictive of failure of complete occlusion, while temporal lobe location, deep venous drainage, and the presence of an intranidal aneurysm were predictors of technical complications. Further studies are needed to determine the best therapeutic approach in the pediatric population.
Subject(s)
Embolization, Therapeutic , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations , Child , Humans , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/diagnostic imaging , Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations/therapy , Retrospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
To determine the association between tobacco consumption and self-reported visual impairment. We performed a cross-sectional study based on an original cohort study. A non-probabilistic sampling was performed to invite 413 patients of 60 years or more from 11 high-altitude Andean communities (altitude higher than 1500 m above sea level) of Peru between 2013 and 2017. Demographic data and information on tobacco consumption were collected. Associations were determined using a Poisson regression model with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Of the 413 participants, 141 (34.14%) were men and 49 (11.86%) were tobacco users. In the adjusted model, tobacco users presented a high probability of visual impairment with a prevalence ratio of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.18-1.97). We also found that having two or more comorbidities 2.19 (95% CI: 1.53-3.15), receiving health assistance in a pharmacy 3.75 (95% CI: 1.97-7.16), and coffee consumption 1.67 (95% CI: 1.26-2.21) were factors significantly associated with self-reported visual impairment. We determined that in Peruvian high-altitude Andean communities, visual impairment was more frequent in individuals reporting tobacco consumption, taking alternative medicine, going directly to a drug store without primary care physician consultation, having more than one comorbidity, and coffee consumption.
ABSTRACT
La enfermedad de Creutzfeldt-Jacob (ECJ) es la enfermedad por priones más común con una incidencia anual de 1 caso por un millón de habitantes. La ECJ tiene un mal pronóstico y el promedio de vida es de 4-6 meses. Solo se han reportado en la literatura 11 casos de ECJ en Perú. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 66 años con el diagnóstico probable de ECJ esporádico con sobrevida de 25 meses. Identificamos que el tiempo entre el inicio de la enfermedad hasta las mioclonías y hasta el mutismo acinético, la ausencia de hallazgos imagenológicos tempranos, el compromiso tardío de corteza y ganglios basales y la implementación de tratamientos de soporte son factores que podrían explicar a la sobrevida prolongada.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the commonest human prion disease with a reported annual incidence rate of one per million worldwide. CJD has a bad prognosis, and the mean length of survival is 4-6 months. Only 11 cases have been reported in the literature from Peru. Thus, we report a case of a 66-year-old male patient with the diagnosis of probable sporadic CJD in whom the survival duration was of 25 months. We identify that the time from disease onset to myoclonus and to reach the akinetic mutism state, the absence of early imaging findings, the delayed cortical and basal ganglia involvement and the supportive therapies implemented were factors that could contribute for the long survival in this patient.
