RESUMEN
Purpose: The role of marks in the University Admission Test (UAT) plus the marks from pre-university academic records in predicting academic achievement at the end of the Medicine undergraduate degree program is not completely known. This study was undertaken to compare the performance of marks in the UAT alone with those of the UAT plus marks from the National High School Exam (ENEM in Brazil) regarding students' outcomes at the end of the Medicine undergraduate degree program. Methods: Fifty-one (51) students from the last semester (12th) of our Medicine undergraduate degree program were included in the study. They were divided into a group of those who used the marks obtained in the UAT plus the marks obtained in the ENEM (ENEM group, n=9), and those who only used the marks in the UAT (non-ENEM group, n=42). We compared the academic achievement of the non-ENEM group with that of the ENEM group regarding the mean marks obtained in the clerkship, in the Progress Test (PT), and in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Results: The mean scores obtained in the disciplines of the clerkship were higher in the non-ENEM group compared to the ENEM group (7.32 ± 0.41 vs 6.98 ± 0.31, p= 0.01). Both groups obtained similar mean marks in the OSCE and in the PT. A moderate correlation was observed between the marks in the clerkship with those of the UAT from the non-ENEM group (p=0.00006; r=0.45). Conclusion: Marks of the UAT alone appear to be associated with a higher academic achievement in the clerkship than marks of the UAT plus scores obtained from the ENEM at the end of the Medicine undergraduate degree program.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of three contraceptive pills containing ethinylestradiol (EE) (20 or 30 mcg) in combination with drospirenone (DRSP) and levonorgestrel (LNG) on plasma concentration of adhesion molecules vascular cell adhesion molecule -1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and E-selectin. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 72 participants (18-30 years old) distributed into three groups that used oral contraceptives containing EE 20 or 30 mcg combined with DRSP 3 mg or EE 30 mcg/LNG 150 mcg for at least 6 months. The control group was comprised of nonusers of contraceptives. Soluble VCAM-1, soluble ICAM-1 and soluble E-selectin were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, a significant decrease was found in VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 concentrations with use of DRSP/20 EE and LNG/30 EE. CONCLUSIONS: DRSP/20 EE and LNG/30 EE induce favorable changes in endothelial function.
