Review of oral cholera vaccines: efficacy in young children.

BACKGROUND: Young children are one of the most vulnerable groups who may be infected with cholera. The following literature review of the efficacy of the currently available cholera vaccines provides a clear evidence base for the clinical administration of cholera vaccine, particularly in an epidemic situation. AIM: To assess the efficacy of oral cholera vaccines in preventing cases of cholera in young children. METHODS: A systematic literature review was undertaken for the period 1983 to 2011 using PubMed and the search terms "oral cholera vaccines," "children," and "efficacy," limited to "clinical trials" and "human studies". RESULTS: Oral cholera vaccine provides an acceptable level of protection in young children, with the level of protection being greater at 12 or 24 months following immunization. CONCLUSIONS: Children exposed to a potential risk of cholera are recommended to be vaccinated with an oral cholera vaccine, irrespective of whether its constituents include the B subunit.

[Profile of the patient who wants to quick smoking seen in the Primary Care and Specialized consultations in Spain]. / Perfil del paciente que quiere dejar de fumar atendido en consultas de Atención Primaria y especializada de España.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the profile of the smoker who wants to stop smoking. Subjects and methods. A cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted in 1634 smokers attended by General Practitioners and Specialized Physicians in Spain who had expressed their desire to stop smoking when explicitly asked. Sociodemographic data, background of smoking and related consequences were collected. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: 67.1% of patients were seen by General Practitioners. Mean age +/- standard deviation was 45.6 +/- 12.0 years old and mean age of onset of usual consumption was 20.6 +/- 7.0. Fifty-six percent of the population studied were men. Most (35.2%) had studied beyond high school and 76.4% were active workers. Seventy-one percent had previously tried to stop smoking (2.7+/- 3.0 mean attempts). Out of 39.2% smokers who had participated in some type of smoking cessation treatment the year before, 70.7% were on substitutive therapy with nicotine. At the time of the visit, 80% admitted they could not stop smoking by themselves. CONCLUSIONS: The profile of the smoker seen in Primary Care and Specialized Consultation in Spain who wants to quit smoking corresponds to a male subject in his 40's, with studies beyond high school, actively working who has made more that two previous attempts to stop smoking, mostly with substitutive therapy with nicotine and who currently believes he is not being able to achieve it by himself.

[Age of smoking initiation as predictor in smoking cessation]. / Edad de inicio en el consumo del tabaco como predictor de la deshabituación tabáquica.

OBJECTIVE: To determinate the relationship between the age of smoking initiation and the success of the smoking cessation program. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Smoking Cessation Unit, in the University Hospital of Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 2801 smokers of 10 or more cigarette per day, who started a smoking cessation program between January 1993 to December 2002. METHODS: Kaplan-Meier method was used to obtain the probability of relapse. The log-rank test was used to determine relapse differences in time between groups of age at smoking initiation. Hazard ratios (HR) of quitting were estimated with a Cox model. RESULTS: The mean age at smoking onset was 15.5+/-4.1 years for men and 17.7+/-5.4 years for women. The age of onset smoking was significant for relapse during smoking cessation in men with a HR=1.42 (95% CI, 1.09-1.86), and for women who started to smoke before 14 years old compared with the reference group a HR=1.25 (95% CI, 0.76-1.49). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that age of smoking onset predicts higher rates of relapse in a smoking cessation program in men. The low motivation for cessation was in both sex a significative factor for relapse and the low and high nicotine dependence were in women.

Edad de inicio en el consumo del tabaco como predictor de la deshabituación tabáquica / Age of smoking initiation as predictor in smoking cessation

Objetivo. Determinar la relación entre la edad de inicio del consumo del tabaco y el éxito de un programa de deshabituación tabáquica. Diseño. Estudio de cohortes prospectivo. Emplazamiento. Unidad de Deshabituación Tabáquica del Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, en L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). Participantes. Participaron en el estudio 2.801 fumadores de 10 o más cigarrillos al día, que iniciaron un programa de deshabituación tabáquica entre enero de 1993 y diciembre de 2002. Mediciones principales. Se utilizó un análisis de Kaplan-Meier para obtener la probabilidad de recaída, y la prueba de rangos logarítmicos, para determinar diferencias de recaída en el tiempo entre los grupos de edad de inicio. El riesgo relativo (RR) de recaída se estimó mediante un modelo de Cox. Resultados. La edad media ± desviación estándar de inicio de los varones fue de 15,5 ± 4,1 años, y la de las mujeres, de 17,7 ± 5,4 años. La edad de inicio al consumo mostró ser un factor de riesgo significativo para la recaída durante la deshabituación tabáquica, con un RR de 1,42 (intervalo de confianza del 95%, 1,09-1,86) para los varones que iniciaron el consumo a una edad inferior a los 14 años y con un RR de 1,25 (intervalo de confianza del 95%, 0,76-1,49) para las mujeres que también lo iniciaron a dicha edad. Conclusiones. El inicio del consumo del tabaco en edades tempranas es un factor predictor de recaída en los programas de cesación tabáquica entre los varones. En cambio, la escasa motivación en ambos sexos y la dependencia alta a la nicotina en las mujeres son factores que favorecen la recaída

Objective. To determinate the relationship between the age of smoking initiation and the success of the smoking cessation program. Design. Prospective cohort. Setting. Smoking Cessation Unit, in the University Hospital of Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Participants. 2801 smokers of 10 or more cigarette per day, who started a smoking cessation program between January 1993 to December 2002. Methods. Kaplan-Meier method was used to obtain the probability of relapse. The log-rank test was used to determine relapse differences in time between groups of age at smoking initiation. Hazard ratios (HR) of quitting were estimated with a Cox model. Results. The mean age at smoking onset was 15.5±4.1 years for men and 17.7±5.4 years for women. The age of onset smoking was significant for relapse during smoking cessation in men with a HR=1.42 (95% CI, 1.09-1.86), and for women who started to smoke before 14 years old compared with the reference group a HR=1.25 (95% CI, 0.76-1.49). Conclusions. This study shows that age of smoking onset predicts higher rates of relapse in a smoking cessation program in men. The low motivation for cessation was in both sex a significative factor for relapse and the low and high nicotine dependence were in women

[Cardiovascular risk factor prevalence among a smoking population starting treatment to quit smoking]. / Prevalencia de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en una población fumadora que inicia tratamiento para dejar de fumar.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the population at large is high, nevertheless, this rate is known to a lesser degree for a smoking population. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of smokers who are starting treatment to quit smoking. METHODS: This is a descriptive study conducted on a sample of 1887 subjects (1098 males and 789 females) within the 20-80 age range. Each one of these subjects underwent a medical examination, a blood pressure check, total cholesterol, basal gylcemia testing and were measured and weighed. RESULTS: The most prevalent factor was high blood pressure (25%). The prevalence of one or more risk factors related to cigarette smoking was 36.2% (45.3% among males and 23.7% among females, the difference being statistically significant, (chi 2 = 91.4 p < 0.0001). Independently of the number of factors involved, prevalence was always greater among the males. With the exception of bdy mass among males, the prevalence of the rest of the factors showed a significant increase with age among both males and females. Among the males, there was a percentage increase in index related to cigarette smoking. To the contrary, the presence of hypercholesterolemia decreased along with the increase in the amount of smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of the cardiovascular risk factors among a smoking population starting treatment is major. This fact conditions the need of setting up measures for taking action to modify these factors.

[The epidemiology of central venous catheterization (CVC) in parenteral nutrition. The clinical implications and factors that determine the selection of germs]. / Epidemiología de la cateterización venosa central (CVC) en nutrición parenteral. Implicaciones clínicas y factores que determinan la selección de gérmenes.

The objective of the study is, on one hand, to determine the etiology and the clinical implications as a function of the isolated germ, of central venous catheterization in patients with parenteral nutrition in our hospital, and on the other hand, to determine which factors are associated with the selection of germs of central venous catheterization in parenteral nutrition. For this we included venous catheters, colonized for 5 years, and with a study of the different segments (connection, insertion point, and tip). As a function of the appearance of associated clinical symptoms, of the results of the blood culture, and of the clinical evolution of the patient, the variables which determine the level of pathogenicity of the different groups of germs in the central venous catheterization, are defined; for the study of the factors associated with the selection of the different groups of germs, 8 variables were chosen. The data obtained are statistically treated, and the results are considered to be significant if p < 0.05. The understanding of the different factors associated with the selection of germs, and the level of clinical pathogenesis of the different groups, allows a better level of the clinical action in the prevention of the infection associated with the catheter.

[Dietary knowledge: a comparative study between health professionals and the general population]. / Conocimientos dietéticos: estudio comparativo entre profesionales sanitarios y población general.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to assess physicians knowledge about salt and cholesterol content of selected foods, compared with general population knowledge. METHODS: A cross-sectional study made in Ciudad Sanitaria y Universitaria de Bellvitge (Barcelona). 106 physicians (66% of total) and 71 students were surveyed voluntarily. The general population sample was chosen from Hospital outpatients by systematic random sampling method. RESULTS: A self-administered questionnaire about salt and cholesterol high or low content of some foods demonstrated statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) when the average score was compared between health care professionals and the general population group, but in many cases right answer percentage did not arise 60 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Although health care professionals knowledge about salt and cholesterol content of diet is higher than among general population, they need a better and continuous formation in this issue.

[Alimentary factors and gastric cancer: design of a hospital based case-control study]. / Factores alimentarios y cáncer gástrico: diseño de un estudio caso-control de base hospitalaria.

One of the most widely used design in etiologic research is the case-control study. In the present work the methodology used in the design of a case-control study, performed in a hospital setting, which objectives was to verify etiological hypothesis related with food-intake and gastric adenocarcinoma and 234 controls from the population--188 selected through a randomized selection on the phone book and 46 following neighborhood criteria--are studied. The methodology and the development of the field work are described, with a special interest in the possible bias incurred during its design and development.

[Immune response to hepatitis B vaccine produced with genetic engineering]. / Respuesta inmunitaria a la vacuna contra la hepatitis B obtenida por ingeniería genética.

With the aim of evaluating the immune response obtained after the administration of the three standard doses of Hepatitis B vaccine obtained by recombinant DNA techniques (Engerix B) and the factors that may have an influence in it, we have studied 537 subjects belonging to different risk groups. The ratio of non-responders to the vaccine has been. We have found significant differences (p less than 0.001) when comparing the mean titers obtained amongst the groups of studied. We have observed a higher percentage amongst the non-responders in men, although there are not statistically significant differences between sexes. We compare the results obtained with those published by other groups.