Phase angle as a prognostic indicator in critically ill children: A systematic review.

Phase angle (PhA) may reflect the integrity of cellular membranes, hydration status, and total body cell mass. Studies have shown that PhA can be used as a good predictor for evaluation of disease severity in critically ill adults. However, there is a lack of studies assessing the association between PhA and clinical outcomes in critically ill children. This systematic review described the association between PhA at pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission with clinical outcomes in critically ill children. The search was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE and LILACS until July 22, 2022. Studies that evaluate the association between PhA at PICU admission in critically ill children and clinical outcomes were eligible. Data regarding population, study design, setting, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) protocol used, PhA classification, and outcome analysis were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Among the 4669 articles screened, five prospective studies were included. The studies have shown association between lower values of PhA at PICU admission with longer PICU and hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, septic shock, and higher mortality risk. Small sample size, different clinical conditions, and methodological differences of the studies regarding BIA equipment and cutoffs of PhA were observed. Although the studies have limitations, the PhA has a potential role in predicting clinical outcomes in critically ill children. Larger studies with standardized PhA protocols and other relevant clinical outcomes are necessary.

Molecular modeling and LC-MS-based metabolomics of a glutamine-valproic acid (Gln-VPA) derivative on HeLa cells.

Glutaminase plays an important role in carcinogenesis and cancer cell growth. This biological target is interesting against cancer cells. Therefore, in this work, in silico [docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations] and in vitro methods (antiproliferative and LC-MS metabolomics) were employed to assay a hybrid compound derived from glutamine and valproic acid (Gln-VPA), which was compared with 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON, a glutaminase inhibitor) and VPA (contained in Gln-VPA structure). Docking results from some snapshots retrieved from MD simulations show that glutaminase recognized Gln-VPA and DON. Additionally, Gln-VPA showed antiproliferative effects in HeLa cells and inhibited glutaminase activity. Finally, the LC-MS-based metabolomics studies on HeLa cells treated with either Gln-VPA (IC60 = 8 mM) or DON (IC50 = 3.5 mM) show different metabolomics behaviors, suggesting that they modulate different biological targets of the cell death mechanism. In conclusion, Gln-VPA is capable of interfering with more than one pharmacological target of cancer, making it an interesting drug that can be used to avoid multitherapy of classic anticancer drugs.

Challenges of In-House Development and Implementation of a CPOE for Oncology.

Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA) is an academic tertiary care hospital highly specialized that has started the process of informatization of chemotherapy protocols. The objective is to describe the development of a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) oriented to the oncology adult patient and the members of the healthcare team that works with him (physicians, pharmacists, nurses and administrative staf) to improve the process and prevent errors at a critical point in the patient's health care: during prescription, preparation and / or administration. The development of this system consisted of several stages: inquiries about the usual work and perception of needs of the potential users; user-centered design; interoperability with the electronic health record (EHR) and development of a final prototype.

Evaluating the Use of a CPOE for Chemotherapy Protocols.

Chemotherapy drugs are one of the most common causes of serious and fatal medication errors, especially during prescribing, where computerized physician order entry (CPOE) take on importance. This study proposes the description of the post-implementation status of a CPOE in a highly specialized hospital between January and June 2018, among patients older than 18 years. Results: a total of 8835 protocols were indicated using the specific CPOE (93% use rate over all protocols) 91% completed the administration, 1.2% were rejected by pharmacy, and 6.8% was canceled. The most frequent cause of rejection by pharmacy and cancellation by oncologist was an inadequate dose. Most of the protocols indicated using the CPOE implemented, with a reject by pharmacy rate of 1.2%, indicates the utility of CPOE as an error prevention strategy.

Change Management in Healthcare Organizations: Soft Skills Training Strategies Through Blended Learning Environments.

Teaching soft skills for change management in healthcare organizations is becoming increasingly necessary, even more, when implementing health information systems (HIS). There is little evidence that these skills can be learned through online teaching environments. This paper describes the experience of having taught soft skills to health informatics master's degree students, through blended learning environments.

Enteral Protein Supplementation in Critically Ill Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot and Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Loss of muscle mass in critically ill children can negatively impact outcomes. The aims of this study were to conduct a pilot randomized control trial (RCT) to examine the difference in protein delivery and nitrogen balance in critically ill children with enteral protein supplementation vs controls. We also aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and tolerance of the pilot trial. METHODS: This is a 3-arm RCT in critically ill children eligible for enteral nutrition (EN) therapy. Patients were randomized to 1 of the 3 groups: (1) control (routine EN), (2) polymeric protein module added to EN to reach protein goal by day 4, or (3) oligomeric protein supplementation. Demographics, clinical characteristics, nutrition status, and daily nutrition intake variables were recorded. Protein delivery, nitrogen balance, feasibility variables, and rate of adverse events were the outcomes. RESULTS: After screening 286 consecutive patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit over 11 months, we enrolled and randomized 25 patients. Twenty-two patients (88% of the enrolled) completed the study procedures. Significantly higher protein prescription and actual protein intake within the first 5 days was achieved in the intervention groups, compared with the control group. Nitrogen balance was obtained in 15 patients. There was no significant difference between the groups for the rate of adverse effects and clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: In our pilot trial, protein supplementation was safe and well tolerated. Our preliminary results suggest that a larger RCT is potentially feasible, with some modifications of the entry criteria. Trial enrollment was low, likely due to restrictive entry criteria.

Daily supplementation with fresh pomegranate juice increases paraoxonase 1 expression and activity in mice fed a high-fat diet.

PURPOSE: Studies have found that pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption increases the binding of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) to paraoxonase 1 (PON1), thus increasing the catalytic activity of this enzyme. PON1 is an antioxidant arylesterase synthesized in the liver and transported in plasma in association with HDL. Decreased levels of PON1 are associated with higher levels of cholesterol. We determined the effects of PJ on body weight, cholesterol, and triacylglycerols through 5 months of supplementation. In addition, the effect of PJ on pon1 gene expression in the liver was also measured by RT-qPCR as well as the activity in serum by a semiautomated method using paraoxon as a substrate. METHODS: CD-1 mice were either fed a control diet or were fed a high-fat diet 1.25% (wt/wt) cholesterol, 0.5% (wt/wt) sodium cholate, and 15% (wt/wt) saturated fat. 300 µL of PJ containing 0.35 mmol total polyphenols was administered by oral gavage to half of the high fat mice daily. The rest of the high fat mice and the control mice were administered with 300 µL of water. RESULTS: PJ-supplemented animals had significantly higher levels of expression of pon1 compared to the unsupplemented group. PJ-supplemented animals had twice the PON1 activity of the unsupplemented group. In addition, PJ-supplemented animals had the lowest body weight and significantly reduced cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels, although the tricylglycerol levels were not consistently decreased. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PJ protects against the effects of a high-fat diet in body weight, and cholesterol levels.

Design of a Mobile Application for Transfusion Medicine.

One of the most frequent error in transfusion medicine is the failure in verifying the patient's identity prior to transfusion. This paper describes the design and development of a Mobile Application (MA) for transfusion medicine. The app uses barcode and QR reading technology for the verification of the patient's identity and the administration of blood components when making a blood transfusion. Physicians, developers, technicians of transfusion medicine and a User Centered Design team participated in the design. The inclusion of end users was fundamental to get full representativeness of their workflow. The project was based on agile methodologies of project management and software development.

Cultural Problems Associated with the Implementation of eHealth.

A major hurdle in eHealth implementation is that it is difficult to put into practice. In this study, the primary aim was to identify the main barrier associated with implementing eHealth. This study surveyed IMIA members from May to November 2015. From the results, it is clear that medical professionals were recording most of their data by hand. This paper culture is a paradigm that is difficult to break. Cultural factors are the primary barrier in eHealth implementation.

Challenges and Hurdles of eHealth Implementation in Developing Countries.

UNLABELLED: Health informatics has the potential to improve the security and quality of patient care, but its impact has varied between developed and developing countries. Related to this, the objective of this study is to identify the challenges and hurdles to improve eHealth in developing countries. We surveyed experts to discover their opinions about five general questions: economic support by Government for eHealth, Government education or training projects in the field, issues related to cultural or educational problems for the implementation of eHealth, policies in terminology or messaging standards and eHealth status policies for long periods. The respondents answered affirmatively in these proportions: 1. Economic support policies 58%, 2. Training policies 25%, 3. Cultural and educational problems 95%, 4. Standards policies, 38%, 5. Policies for long periods, 50% CONCLUSION: Our survey has shown that the important problems that need to be addressed in order to implement e-Health in developing countries are firstly, cultural and educational, secondly, economic resources and thirdly policies for long periods.

Deciphering the GPER/GPR30-agonist and antagonists interactions using molecular modeling studies, molecular dynamics, and docking simulations.

The G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1 GPER/GPR30 is a transmembrane seven-helix (7TM) receptor involved in the growth and proliferation of breast cancer. Due to the absence of a crystal structure of GPER/GPR30, in this work, molecular modeling studies have been carried out to build a three-dimensional structure, which was subsequently refined by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations (up to 120 ns). Furthermore, we explored GPER/GPR30's molecular recognition properties by using reported agonist ligands (G1, estradiol (E2), tamoxifen, and fulvestrant) and the antagonist ligands (G15 and G36) in subsequent docking studies. Our results identified the E2 binding site on GPER/GPR30, as well as other receptor cavities for accepting large volume ligands, through GPER/GPR30 π-π, hydrophobic, and hydrogen bond interactions. Snapshots of the MD trajectory at 14 and 70 ns showed almost identical binding motifs for G1 and G15. It was also observed that C107 interacts with the acetyl oxygen of G1 (at 14 ns) and that at 70 ns the residue E275 interacts with the acetyl group and with the oxygen from the other agonist whereas the isopropyl group of G36 is oriented toward Met141, suggesting that both C107 and E275 could be involved in the protein activation. This contribution suggest that GPER1 has great structural changes which explain its great capacity to accept diverse ligands, and also, the same ligand could be recognized in different binding pose according to GPER structural conformations.

Empiema subdural secundario a sinusitis: reporte de caso / Subdural empyema secondary to sinusitis: case report

El empiema subdural es una complicación intracraneana secundaria a sinusitis bacteriana poco frecuente que ocurre generalmenteen varones entre la segunda y tercera década de la vida. Se presenta el caso de un paciente masculino, de 16 años, sinantecedentes, asintomático. Ingresa por cefalea frontoparietal izquierda intensa, compromiso cualitativo de conciencia, calofríos,fiebre y vómitos, sin focalidad neurológica ni signos meníngeos. Resonancia magnética de cerebro muestra colección líquida subduralinterhemisférica en región frontoparietal izquierda que desplaza línea media y sinusitis aguda frontoetmoidomaxilar ipsilateral.Se realiza craniectomía frontoparietal, drenaje quirúrgico y tratamiento antibiótico triasociado intravenoso. Paciente evolucionacon desaparición de síntomas y sin secuelas neurológicas. La clínica del empiema subdural es inespecífica, encontrándose másfrecuentemente cefalea, vómitos, fiebre y compromiso de conciencia. Las imágenes son esenciales para confirmar el diagnósticoy determinar la necesidad de cirugía. Es una patología, cuyo manejo debe ser médico y quirúrgico, comprendiendo drenaje dela colección y terapia antimicrobiana intravenosa. La duración del tratamiento se ha descrito de 3 a 6 semanas. Es necesario unabordaje multidisciplinario precoz para un buen resultado neurológico y funcional, ya que la morbimortalidad se describe hastaun 40%.

The subdural empyema secondary to sinusitis is a rare intracranial complication, which occurs mostly in males in the secondto third decade. We present a case of a 16 years old male patient, without medical history. He is hospitalized for a frontparietalprogressive headache, associated with decreased of consciousness, chills, fever and vomiting, without neurological deficit andmeningeal signs. The magnetic resonance imaging reveals a subdural interhemispheric liquid collection in the left frontparietal regionwith deviation of midline brain structures and left acute frontethmoidmaxilary sinusitis. Craniotomy and surgical drainage withintravenous antibiotic treatment was made. The symptoms dissapear after this and no neurological sequelae was found. The clinicalmanifestation of subdural empyema are inespecific. The more frecuent symptoms are headache, vomit, fever and decreasedof consciousness. The imaging study is essential to diagnose and evaluate the surgical need. The subdural empyema is pathologywith a medical and surgical management; wich involves collection drainage and intravenous antibiotic therapy. It is been describedthat the treatment duration will be prolonged for 3 to 6 weeks. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary for a better neurologicaland functional outcome, because the mortality rates are described up to 40%.

Paraparesia secundaria a hidatidosis paravertebral / Paraparesis secondary to paravertebral hidatidosis

La hidatidosis es una zoonosis causada por la fase larval del Echinoccocus. Afecta principalmente a la región mediterránea, Sudamérica, África, Medio-Oriente, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. Afecta principalmente al hígado y al pulmón, aunque puede comprometer cualquier parte del cuerpo ya sea, por inoculación primaria o diseminación secundaria. Se presenta el caso de paciente de 54 años, sexo masculino, con antecedentes de hidatidosis pulmonar izquierda y abdominal subdiafragmática, diagnosticada hace 33 años. Ingresa por cuadro de paraparesia progresiva de extremidades inferiores, disminución de sensibilidad a la altura de T12 y lumbalgia sin otros signos ni síntomas asociados. La Tomografía axial computada mostró lesión tumoral paravertebral izquierda con signos de infiltración y destrucción de costilla y vértebra T12 a nivel de lámina y pediculo izquierdo, junto con lesión de 12 cm paravertebral anterior, con ingreso de quiste a lúmen aórtico, entre T4 y T6. Resonancia nuclear magnética muestra invasión hacia canal medular con signos de compresión. Se realizó laminectomía descompresiva con evacuación de vesículas. La evolución posterior es satisfactoria con recuperación de su paraparesia, logrando la bipedestación a los pocos días. Si bien el compromiso vertebral es raro, este se puede manifestar con dolor y síntomas secundarios a la compresión medular como paraparesia o paraplejia, déficit sensorial, reflejos osteotendíneos alterados, disfunción esfintérica y síndrome de cauda equina. Imágenes como tomografía axial computada y resonancia nuclear magnética, son necesarias para un efectivo diagnóstico y monitorización de la hidatidosis. El tratamiento de elección es la descompresión quirúrgica asociado a antihelmínticos para evitar la recurrencia.

The hydatid disease is a zoonoses caused by Echinoccocus’s larvae stage. The most affected regions are Meditarranea, South America, Africa, Mid West, Australia and New Zealand. Mostly infects the liver and the lungs, but any part of the body can be affected, by primary inoculation or dissemination. We present a case of a 54 years old, male patient, with 33 years history of pulmonary and abdominal hydatid disease. He is hospitalized for progressive paraparesia of lower limbs, paresthesia T12 root nerve and low back pain. Without any other symptoms. The CT scan shows a left paravertebral mass with infiltration signs and destruction of T12 vertebra and rib, and a 12 cm anterior paravertebral tumor with aorta invasion. Magnetic resonance imaging shows invasion of the spinal canal. Descompressive laminectomy was made with evacuation of the vesicles. Patient shows a satisfactory evolution, with a complete recovery of paresthesia and be able to walk. The vertebral hydatid disease is rare, but can be manifested by pain and medular compression symptoms, such a paraparesia, paresthesis, altered tendon reflexes, sphincter dysfunction and cauda equina syndrome. Imaging such a CT scan and Magnetic resonance imaging, are necesary for an effective diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. The treatment of choice is the surgical descompression with the use of antihelminthics in order to prevent the recurrence.

[Ellis van Creveld. Case report]. / Ellis van Creveld: reporte de caso.

INTRODUCTION: Ellis-van Creveld (EVC) (OMIM # 225500) syndrome is a rare skeletal dysplasia disorder transmitted by autosomal recessive inheritance. The diagnosis is made based on phenotypic characteristics such as chondrodysplasia, heart defects and polydactyly. The prognosis depends mainly on the severity of the disease, diagnosis and comprehensive management of the condition. OBJECTIVE: To describe a patient diagnosed with EVC syndrome. CASE REPORT: Newborn diagnosed with EVC syndrome who presented dysmorphic facies, shortened long bones, rhizomelic shortening, small hands, brachydactyly, single transverse palmar crease, postaxial polydactyly in the upper limbs, bilateral preaxial polysyndactyly in lower limbs and hypoplastic nails, complex heart defects and narrow thorax. The evolution was unfavorable; the patient died 8 weeks after birth from complications due to heart defects. CONCLUSIONS: EVC syndrome is rare and unknown; therefore, it is important to spread its characteristics within the pediatric community, emphasizing that it affects multiple organ systems and requires a multidisciplinary approach to treat individually each patient, to provide genetic and reproductive counseling to couples and to give information regarding child development expectations.

Mice fed with a high fat diet show a decrease in the expression of "toll like receptor (TLR)2 and TLR6 mRNAs in adipose and hepatic tissues.

INTRODUCTION: Pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), which include Toll-like Receptor (TLRs) and Nacht leucine-rich repeat proteins (NLRP/NALPs), are molecules of innate immunity able to recognize a wide variety of ligands present in microorganisms and human tissues. Adipocytes (fat cells) may play an important role in the physiological regulation of their own immune responses via TLRs. During obesity, the inflammatory pathway is triggered and insulin responsiveness is altered in fat tissue as a result of TLR4 activation by dietary lipids. OBJECTIVE: Here, we investigate if other PRR family members could also participate in the inflammatory processes in the adipose tissue of obese mice. METHODS: The mRNA expression of TLRs, the NLRP3-inflammasome (NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1 and IL-lbeta), IL-6, and TNFα in the hepatic and adipose tissues of mice fed with a high fat diet (HFD) were studied by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Adipose tissue from mice fed with a HFD had decreased expression levels of TLR2, TLR6 and TLR7 and was similar to the pattern in hepatic tissue HFD mice. IL-6 and TNF-α expression also were decreased in adipose tissue of mice fed with a HFD. NLRP3-inflammasome expression was not modified. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the low expression of TLR2, and TLR6 in the mice fed with a HFD could be regulating the inflammation induced by the diet employed in this study.

Implementing rules to improve the quality of concept post-coordination with SNOMED CT.

The use of SNOMED CT as a standard reference terminology enables interoperability between clinical systems. This reference tool provides a method for creating post-coordinated terms by users according to local needs. While the creation of these terms is free, there are a number of rules, as defined in the user manual of SNOMED CT that must be followed.The Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires has a Terminology Server that encodes medical terms, using SNOMED CT as the reference vocabulary. An interoperability analysis performed with the Nebraska Medical Center in 2006 found a high error rate (26%) in post-coordinated terms. Therefore, we implemented an automatic system of rules within the Terminology Server as defined in the user manual. Following rules implementation, the error rate decreased from 26% to 2%.

A medical informatics distance-learning course for Latin America. Translation, implementation and evaluation.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing need and interest worldwide for healthcare and information technology professionals trained in medical informatics. Distance learning technologies are increasingly used to deliver such education, but have mainly been limited to the English language. OBJECTIVE: Describe the implementation and student satisfaction of a medical informatics course delivered in Spanish for a Latin American audience. METHODS: The course was based on the 10 x 10 program of the American Medical Informatics Association and Oregon Health & Science University that was translated and adapted to the Latin American setting. The initial course consisted of ten one-week units, currently the course has 15 modules that are delivered in 16 weeks with topics that address the needs of medical informatics in the region. We also administered an anonymous questionnaire of student satisfaction. RESULTS: A total of 499 individuals have enrolled in the course, and 70% have completed it. Most of the students have been healthcare professionals (86%), with the largest proportion from Argentina. Student satisfaction with all aspects of the course was high. After the initial experience and feedback from the students, the course has been adapted to better meet regional needs. CONCLUSION: The initial experience obtained in training healthcare professionals in medical informatics in Latin America in their own language demonstrated that it could be used across the region, and this could represent a model for disseminating knowledge of medical informatics across other languages and cultures.

Spreading knowledge in medical informatics: the contribution of the hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.

UNLABELLED: Medical Informatics (MI) is an emerging discipline with a high need of trained and skillful professionals. OBJECTIVE: To describe the educational experience of the Department of Health Informatics of the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. METHODS: A descriptive study of the development of the Medical Informatics Residency Program (MIRP) and the e-learning courses related to medical informatics. RESULTS: A four-year MIRP with 15 rotations was started in 2000, and was awarded national educational accreditation. Eight residents have been fully trained and their main academic contributions are shown in this study. The e-learning courses related to medical informatics (Healthcare Management, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Information Retrieval, Computer Literacy started, 10x10 Spanish version and HL7 introductory course) started in 2006 and were followed by more than 2266 students from all over the world, with an increase trend in foreign students. CONCLUSIONS: These educational activities have produced skilled human resources for the development and maintenance of the health informatics projects at our Hospital. In parallel, the number of students trained by e-learning continues to increase, demonstrating the worldwide need of knowledge in this field.

Development of the Spanish version of the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine: methodology and main issues.

This presentation features linguistic and terminology management issues related to the development of the Spanish version of the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED). It aims at describing the aspects of translating and the difficulties encountered in delivering a natural and consistent medical nomenclature. Bunge's three-layered model is referenced to analyze the sequence of symbolic concept representations. It further explains how a communicative translation based on a concept-to-concept approach was used to achieve the highest level of flawlessness and naturalness for the Spanish rendition of SNOMED. Translation procedures and techniques are described and exemplified. Both the computer-aided and human translation methods are portrayed. The scientific and translation team tasks are detailed, with focus on Newmark's four-level principle for the translation process, extended with a fifth further level relevant to the ontology to control the consistency of the typology of concepts. Finally the convenience for a common methodology to develop non-English versions of SNOMED is suggested.

[Neurological aspects of ceroid-lipofuscinoses]. / Aspectos neurológicos de la ceroidolipofuscinosis.

OBJECTIVE: We discuss the historical, epidemiological, clinical, complementary tests and neuropathological details of ceroid-lipofuscinoses in children. DEVELOPMENT: Initially, we review the basic concepts and historical details of the disorders, and the frequency and distribution of the different clinical forms. Subsequently, we review the subtypes and variants most commonly found in children, together with the elements necessary for diagnosis. Finally we analyze the neuropathological studies and their clinical correlation. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical diagnosis of ceroid-lipofuscinoses should be based on a clinical history showing disorders of vision, convulsions and regression of psychomotor functions. Neuroimaging findings, neurophysiological changes and ultrastructural studies confirm the diagnosis.