Perfil epidemiológico, clínico-psiquiátrico y legal del sentenciado por delitos sexuales, Establecimiento Penitenciario Lurigancho, Lima, 2017 / Epidemiological, clinical-psychiatric, and legal profile of persons convicted for sex offenses, Lurigancho Correctional Facility, Lima, 2017

Objetivo: Determinar el perfil epidemiológico, clínico-psiquiátrico y legal del interno recluido por delitos sexuales, Establecimiento Penitenciario Lurigancho -de varones-, Lima, 2017. Materiales y métodos: Estudio con diseño observacional, descriptivo, transversal y retrospectivo. La muestra estuvo compuesta por la totalidad de los informes para los trámites del beneficio penitenciario de redención de pena de los internos sentenciados por algún delito sexual que pasaron por la evaluación psiquiátrica en el año 2017. Se utilizó la ficha de recolección de datos de elaboración propia validada por el juicio de expertos. Resultados: Se evaluaron 76 informes, el perfil general del interno recluido por delito sexual fue: de 30-49 años (28,9%), procedente de Lima (56,6%) o la sierra peruana (30,3%), con grado de instrucción secundaria (64,5%) o superior (21%), de ocupación obrero o técnico (85,5%), casado o conviviente (57,9%), con hijos (67,1%), sin ningún trastorno mental identificado según CIE-10 (82,9%), sin antecedentes psiquiátricos (89,5%) ni de consumo de drogas (84,2%). Solo 13 internos (17,1%) tuvieron un diagnóstico psiquiátrico. En un solo caso (1,3%) se detectó trastorno de la preferencia sexual. Conclusiones: El perfil del agresor sexual no cuenta con rasgos específicos que lo diferencien claramente de la población en general, como, por ejemplo, la presencia de algún trastorno mental característico. Se requieren mayores estudios para estandarizar adecuadamente la atención psicológica y psiquiátrica, proponer las actualizaciones a la legislación penal y las medidas preventivas de la comisión del delito.

Objective: To determine the epidemiological, clinical-psychiatric, and legal profile of persons convicted for sex offenses in the Lima Lurigancho Male Correctional Facility, during 2017. Materials and methods: This is a study with an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective study. The sample included all reports submitted for obtaining penalty reductions in those inmates sentenced because of sexual offenses and who underwent psychiatric evaluation during 2017. A data collecting form designed by the investigators and validated by an expert committee was used. Results: Seventy-six reports were assessed, the general profile of inmates sentenced because of sexual offenses was as follows: age, 30-49 years (28.9%), coming from Lima (56.6%) or from the Peruvian highlands (30.3%), having gone to high school (64.5%) or college (21%), being workers or technicians as their main occupation (85.5%), being married or living with a steady partner (57.9%), having children (67.1%), with no mental disorder diagnosed according to the ICD-10 (82.9%), not having any past history of a psychiatric illness (89.5%) or illicit drug abuse (84.2%). Only 13 inmates (17.1%) had a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder. In just a single case (1.3%) a disorder of sexual preference was detected. Conclusions: The profile of sexual offenders does not show specific features that may clearly differentiate them from the general population; such as the presence of a given typical mental disorder. Further studies are needed in order to adequately standardize psychological and psychiatric care, for proposing updated for the current legal regulations, and for trying to set up preventative measures against such offenses.

A Controlled Study of Tuberculosis Diagnosis in HIV-Infected and Uninfected Children in Peru.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosing tuberculosis in children is challenging because specimens are difficult to obtain and contain low tuberculosis concentrations, especially with HIV-coinfection. Few studies included well-controls so test specificities are poorly defined. We studied tuberculosis diagnosis in 525 children with and without HIV-infection. METHODS AND FINDINGS: 'Cases' were children with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 209 HIV-negative; n = 81 HIV-positive) and asymptomatic 'well-control' children (n = 200 HIV-negative; n = 35 HIV-positive). Specimens (n = 2422) were gastric aspirates, nasopharyngeal aspirates and stools analyzed by a total of 9688 tests. All specimens were tested with an in-house hemi-nested IS6110 PCR that took <24 hours. False-positive PCR in well-controls were more frequent in HIV-infection (P≤0.01): 17% (6/35) HIV-positive well-controls versus 5.5% (11/200) HIV-negative well-controls; caused by 6.7% (7/104) versus 1.8% (11/599) of their specimens, respectively. 6.7% (116/1719) specimens from 25% (72/290) cases were PCR-positive, similar (P>0.2) for HIV-positive versus HIV-negative cases. All specimens were also tested with auramine acid-fast microscopy, microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) liquid culture, and Lowenstein-Jensen solid culture that took ≤6 weeks and had 100% specificity (all 2112 tests on 704 specimens from 235 well-controls were negative). Microscopy-positivity was rare (0.21%, 5/2422 specimens) and all microscopy-positive specimens were culture-positive. Culture-positivity was less frequent (P≤0.01) in HIV-infection: 1.2% (1/81) HIV-positive cases versus 11% (22/209) HIV-negative cases; caused by 0.42% (2/481) versus 4.7% (58/1235) of their specimens, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In HIV-positive children with suspected tuberculosis, diagnostic yield was so low that 1458 microscopy and culture tests were done per case confirmed and even in children with culture-proven tuberculosis most tests and specimens were false-negative; whereas PCR was so prone to false-positives that PCR-positivity was as likely in specimens from well-controls as suspected-tuberculosis cases. This demonstrates the importance of control participants in diagnostic test evaluation and that even extensive laboratory testing only rarely contributed to the care of children with suspected TB. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study did not meet Peruvian and some other international criteria for a clinical trial but was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov registry: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00054769.

Diagnostic approaches for paediatric tuberculosis by use of different specimen types, culture methods, and PCR: a prospective case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis presents challenges in children because symptoms are non-specific, specimens are difficult to obtain, and cultures and smears of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are often negative. We assessed new diagnostic approaches for tuberculosis in children in a resource-poor country. METHODS: Children with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis (cases) were enrolled from August, 2002, to January, 2007, at two hospitals in Lima, Peru. Age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled from a low-income shanty town community in south Lima. Cases were grouped into moderate-risk and high-risk categories by Stegen-Toledo score. Two specimens of each type (gastric-aspirate, nasopharyngeal-aspirate, and stool specimens) taken from each case were examined for M tuberculosis by auramine smear microscopy, broth culture by microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) technique, standard culture on Lowenstein-Jensen medium, and heminested IS6110 PCR. Specimens from controls consisted of one nasopharyngeal-aspirate and two stool samples, examined with the same techniques. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00054769. FINDINGS: 218 cases and 238 controls were enrolled. 22 (10%) cases had at least one positive M tuberculosis culture (from gastric aspirate in 22 cases, nasopharyngeal aspirate in 12 cases, and stool in four cases). Laboratory confirmation of tuberculosis was more frequent in cases at high risk for tuberculosis (21 [14.1%] of 149 cases with complete specimen collection were culture positive) than in cases at moderate risk for tuberculosis (one [1.6%] of 61). MODS was more sensitive than Lowenstein-Jensen culture, diagnosing 20 (90.9%) of 22 patients compared with 13 (59.1%) of 22 patients (p=0.015), and M tuberculosis isolation by MODS was faster than by Lowenstein-Jensen culture (mean 10 days, IQR 8-11, vs 25 days, 20-30; p=0.0001). All 22 culture-confirmed cases had at least one culture-positive gastric-aspirate specimen. M tuberculosis was isolated from the first gastric-aspirate specimen obtained in 16 (72.7%) of 22 cases, whereas in six (27.3%), only the second gastric-aspirate specimen was culture positive (37% greater yield by adding a second specimen). In cases at high risk for tuberculosis, positive results from one or both gastric-aspirate PCRs identified a subgroup with a 50% chance of having a positive culture (13 of 26 cases). INTERPRETATION: Collection of duplicate gastric-aspirate specimens from high-risk children for MODS culture was the best available diagnostic test for pulmonary tuberculosis. PCR was insufficiently sensitive or specific for routine diagnostic use, but in high-risk children, duplicate gastric-aspirate PCR provided same-day identification of half of all culture-positive cases.