Análisis de los factores relacionados con la sobreestadificación y la positividad del ganglio centinela en las pacientes con diagnóstico inicial de carcinoma ductal in situ / Analysis of factors related to upstaging and sentinel node positivity in the initial diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ

Objetivo. Determinar el porcentaje de pacientes con diagnóstico inicial de carcinoma ductal in situ (CDIS) que presentó infiltración tras la excisión quirúrgica e identificar los factores relacionados tanto con la sobreestadificación como con la positividad del ganglio centinela (GC) en el estudio definitivo. Material y métodos. Análisis retrospectivo de 135 pacientes diagnosticadas mediante biopsia core de CDIS a las que se les realizó biopsia selectiva del GC de forma consecutiva de 2003 a 2011. La técnica fue mixta en el período inicial y posteriormente mediante administración intraperilesional de radiocoloides. En 2009 se introdujo una gammacámara portátil y se inició el estudio intraoperatorio molecular mediante amplificación de ácido nucleico de un solo paso. Resultados. Se produjo sobreestadificación en 45 de las 135 pacientes (33,3%), de las que 30 (22,2%) presentaron CDIS con microinfiltración y 15 (11,1%) carcinoma infiltrante. Los CDIS con microinfiltración mostraron mayor tamaño, mayor porcentaje de alto grado, de HER2 positivo y de Ki-67 alto que los CDIS (p < 0,001, p < 0,001, p = 0,002 y p = 0,031, respectivamente). Los porcentajes de positividad del GC fueron del 3,6% en el CDIS, del 6,9% en el CDIS con microinfiltración y del 20% en los carcinomas infiltrantes, correspondiendo a 8 pacientes, de las cuales 6 presentaron HER2 positivo y Ki-67 alto. Conclusiones. El porcentaje global de infraestimación fue alto, principalmente debido a la presencia de microinfiltración. Tanto esta como la afectación metastásica del GC mostró relación con el HER2 positivo y el Ki-67 alto, por tanto, disponer de estos datos en la biopsia percutánea podría ser relevante para establecer la indicación de realización de biopsia selectiva del GC en el CDIS

Objective. To determine the percentage of patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with infiltration after surgical excision and to identify the factors related to both upstaging and sentinel node (SN) positivity in the final study. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis was performed in 135 patients diagnosed with DCIS by core biopsy who subsequently underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy from 2003 to 2011. In the first period of the study, the technique was mixed and subsequently consisted of intra-perilesional radiocolloid administration. In 2009, a portable gamma camera was introduced and we began to use intraoperative one-step nucleic acid amplification. Results. Upstaging occurred in 45 of the 135 patients (33.3%), of which 30 (22.2%) had DCIS with microinfiltration and 15 (11.1%) had invasive carcinoma. Compared with DCIS, DCIS with microinfiltration were larger and showed a higher percentage of high grade, HER2 positivity and high Ki-67 (P < .001, P < .001, P = .002 and P = .031, respectively). SN positivity rates were 3.6% in DCIS, 6.9% in DCIS with microinfiltration, and 20% in invasive carcinomas, corresponding to 8 patients, of whom 6 showed HER2-positivity and high Ki-67. Conclusions. Overall underestimation was high, mainly due to the presence of microinfiltration. Both microinfiltration and metastatic SN involvement were associated with HER2-positivity and high Ki-67. Therefore, the availability of this information in core needle biopsy could be relevant in establishing the indication for sentinel lymph node biopsy in DCIS

Screening of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in domestic livestock and tsetse flies from an insular endemic focus (Luba, Equatorial Guinea).

BACKGROUND: Sleeping sickness is spread over 36 Sub-Saharan African countries. In West and Central Africa, the disease is caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, which produces a chronic clinical manifestation. The Luba focus (Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea) has not reported autochthonous sleeping sickness cases since 1995, but given the complexity of the epidemiological cycle, the elimination of the parasite in the environment is difficult to categorically ensure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The aim of this work is to assess, by a molecular approach (Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR), the possible permanence of T. b. gambiense in the vector (Glossina spp.) and domestic fauna in order to improve our understanding of the epidemiological situation of the disease in an isolated focus considered to be under control. The results obtained show the absence of the parasite in peridomestic livestock but its presence, although at very low rate, in the vector. On the other hand, interesting entomological data highlight that an elevated concentration of tsetse flies was observed in two out of the ten villages considered to be in the focus. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that even in conditions of apparent control, a complete parasite clearance is difficult to achieve. Further investigations must be focused on animal reservoirs which could allow the parasites to persist without leading to human cases. In Luba, where domestic livestock are scarcer than other foci in mainland Equatorial Guinea, the epidemiological significance of wild fauna should be assessed to establish their role in the maintenance of the infection.

[Dialysis and transplant. Spain in 2005]. / Informe de Situación de Diálisis y Trasplante en España, 2005.

In 2005, renal replace treatment (dialysis and transplant) was necessary for about 40,000 people, without being known the number accurate and either their basic characteristics, such as: time in treatment, modality or treatment changes. The presented data cover the 76% of the Spanish population and are the result of the cooperation among technicians of registries, nephrologists and transplant coordinations. 4,125 people started RRT in 2005, the total estimated acceptance rate for renal replacement therapy in adults in Spain was 126 pmp and regarding other European countries it locates us in an intermediate area. The incidence rate seems to keep stable in the last years although there were some differences among communities (from 104 pmp in Castile and Leon to 186 pmp in Canary Islands). Diabetes Mellitus is the most diagnosed cause of renal failure in 2005, more than 20% of patients, followed by vascular diseases. The estimated prevalence of renal replacement therapy in Spain at the end of 2005 was 903 pmp, with important variations among communities (from 806 pmp in Cantabria to 1056 pmp in Valencia Region). The 47% of prevalent RRT patients had a functioning transplant. Mortality on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis was 13.7% and 10.8% respectively. Mortality on transplant was 1.3%, one of the lowest values registered so far. Mortality on renal replacement therapy was around 5% among patients from 45 to 64 years, 11% between 65 and 74 years and 19% among the patients older than 75 years.

Genotypic diversity of imipenem resistant isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate relevant clinical and microbiological features of Acinetobacter baumannii in Spanish hospitals and to establish the genotypic diversity of imipenem resistant isolates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seven Spanish hospitals collected 354 consecutive isolates that were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by standard methods. Further genetic analysis was determined by PFGE in a subset of 135 isolates from three hospitals selected because each of them presented high-, medium-, and low imipenem resistance rates. RESULTS: Most isolates were from males (61.9%), age >65 years (52.3%), admitted to ICU (35.6%), and isolated from the respiratory tract (31.1%). Rates of carbapenem- and sulbactam resistance were 44.9% and 39.9%, respectively. Colistin was active against multiresistant isolates. Rates of imipenem resistance varied according to individual hospital (average: 43.8%; range: 13.5%-85.0%), medical department (more prevalent in ICU), and clinical sample (higher in isolates from the respiratory tract). Of the 135 isolates studied by PFGE (64 of them imipenem-resistant), 115 (85.1%) were distributed among 14 clusters and 20 were unrelated. Of the imipenem-resistant isolates, 45 (70.3%) belonged to six clusters that also had imipenem- susceptible isolates; 14 constituted four exclusive clusters, and five were unrelated. CONCLUSIONS: Acquisition of imipenem resistance in A. baumannii is likely due to both clonal and non-clonal dissemination; resistance rates strongly vary between different hospitals and even between different hospital departments.

Health-related quality of life of family caregivers of dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and burden on family caregivers of chronic dialysis patients and to analyze which factors were associated with it. METHODS: A cross-sectional multicentric study was carried out with 221 patient/caregiver pairs. General population Short Form 36 (SF-36) norms were used to estimate gender and age standardized physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores. The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSS), the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and sociodemographic and clinical data were also collected. RESULTS: The PCS and MCS of caregivers were slightly worse than that of the Spanish population. Multiple regression analysis showed that: (1) lower PCS was associated with younger age and higher ZBI of the caregiver (R2=0.15); (2) lower MCS was associated with higher ZBI and lower FSS of the caregiver, and lower MCS of the patient (R2=0.29); (3) higher ZBI was associated with lower FSS, PCS and MCS of the caregiver, and to older age and lower PCS and MCS of the patient (R2=0.49). Of caregivers 28.3% had a MCS < or = 42; logistic regression analysis showed that a MCS < or = 42 was associated to higher ZBI and lower FSS scores (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL of dialysis patient family caregivers is slightly worse than that of the Spanish population of the same age and gender. Younger family members, who are the primary carers of older dialysis patients with poor HRQOL, experienced a higher burden, had a worse HRQOL and had a higher risk of clinical depression; this was worse if low social support was perceived.

Different evaluations of the health related quality of life in dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Sometimes patients on dialysis treatment cannot express their health-related quality of life (HRQoL); and therefore, it is necessary to use the assessment made by their carers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agreement between dialysis patients' HRQoL and the assessment made by their carers, and to investigate which variables were associated with the differences found. METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-two pairs of patients and carers were selected from 14 dialysis units. Patients' HRQoL was evaluated by the patients themselves and by their family carer (FAM), nurse (NUR) and physician (PH) using the Karnofsky scale (KS) and the EuroQOL5D (EQ5D) scale. Patients and their family carers answered the Medical Outcome Survey 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the family carers answered the Zarit burden interview. Physicians scored the patients' comorbidity index and nurses evaluated the Barthel index (BI). RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) between the ratings provided by patients and their carers were: KS: 0.80(FAM), 0.76(NUR) and 0.62(PH); EQ5D: 0.42(FAM), 0.48(NUR) and 0.29(PH). The agreement between the EQ5D dimension scores varied from moderate for mobility and self-care to insignificant for pain and anxiety/depression. The variables associated to the size of the differences found were the Zarit burden interview score and the mental component score (MCS) (SF-36) of the carer, the physical component score (PCS) (SF-36), the BI score and patient comorbidity, and the physician's age and experience. CONCLUSIONS: Family carers and health care providers of dialysis patients are reasonably aware of the patient's level of function and well being and can be useful sources of proxy HRQoL information. Nevertheless, discrepancies can occur, depending in part on the different characteristics of patients and their caregivers.

[Hepatopulmonary syndrome: relationship with liver dysfunction and systemic hemodynamic disorder]. / Síndrome hepatopulmonar: relación con el grado de disfunción hepática y el trastorno hemodinámico de la cirrosis hepática.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) causes an increased alveolar to arterial gradient of oxygen and in advanced phases hypoxemia, as the result of pulmonary vasodilation. In liver cirrhosis, it has been demonstrated the existence of splachnic vasodilation and also in other vascular beds. Our main objectives were to know the hemodynamic status, the renal function and the condition of some humoral systems in patient diagnosed of HPS. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We studied consecutively 32 cirrhotic patients Divided in two groups, a group of 18 cirrhotic patients with normal gaseous exchange (NGE), and another group of 14 cirrhotic patients diagnosed of HPS by contrast-enhanced transthoracic echocardiography and/or lung and brain scintigraphy with 99Tc albumin macroaggregates. They were all in rest in bed, upon alcohol and tobacco abstinence and on a diet of 50 mEq of sodium. Cardiovascular drugs were all withheld during 4 days in order to reach steady state. RESULTS: Patients of the HPS group were characterized by a more advanced index of Child-Pugh and presence of clubbing and vascular spiders. They presented a greater degree of hypoxemia in a sitting position, greater hypocapnia and smaller transference factor values (TLCO). They also showed a hyperkinetic circulatory condition characterized by smaller arterial blood pressure, greater cardiac index, smaller vascular resistances and greater femoral flows, with smaller clearance of creatinine, elimination of urinary sodium, urinary volume/24 h and an increased plasmatic volume, accompanied with a greater activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis and a greater urinary elimination of nitrites and nitrates. CONCLUSIONS: The pulmonary vasodilation that explains the HPS is a constitutive part of the systemic vasodilation occurring in liver cirrhosis, and it is related to the degree of liver dysfunction as measured by the classification of Child-Pugh. The greater activation of the renin-aldosterone system and the rise of the plasmatic volume express a highest grade of arterial underfilling caused by an increment in the nitric oxide production.