Origin and importance of the Latin American Kawasaki Disease Network (REKAMLATINA).

Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired cardiac disease in children. Although the epidemiology of the disease has been well described in Japan, other Asian countries, Europe, Australia and North America, the epidemiology and disease burden in Latin American children is unknown. For this reason, the idea of establishing a research network on Kawasaki disease in children from Latin America was born, becoming this the largest Kawasaki disease international multinational research network and in which 20 countries of the region will be integrated.

Rapid diagnosis of diarrhea caused by Shigella sonnei using dipsticks; comparison of rectal swabs, direct stool and stool culture.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated a dipstick test for rapid detection of Shigella sonnei on bacterial colonies, directly on stools and from rectal swabs because in actual field situations, most pathologic specimens for diagnosis correspond to stool samples or rectal swabs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The test is based on the detection of S. sonnei lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-side chains using phase I-specific monoclonal antibodies coupled to gold particles, and displayed on a one-step immunochromatographic dipstick. A concentration as low as 5 ng/ml of LPS was detected in distilled water and in reconstituted stools in 6 minutes. This is the optimal time for lecture to avoid errors of interpretation. In distilled water and in reconstituted stools, an unequivocal positive reaction was obtained with 4 x 10(6) CFU/ml of S. sonnei. The specificity was 100% when tested with a battery of Shigella and different unrelated strains. When tested on 342 rectal swabs in Chile, specificity (281/295) was 95.3% (95% CI: 92.9% - 97.7%) and sensitivity (47/47) was 100%. Stool cultures and the immunochromatographic test showed concordant results in 95.5 % of cases (328/342) in comparative studies. Positive and negative predictive values were 77% (95% CI: 65% - 86.5%) and 100% respectively. When tested on 219 stools in Chile, Vietnam, India and France, specificity (190/198) was 96% (95% CI 92%-98%) and sensitivity (21/21) was 100%. Stool cultures and the immunochromatographic test showed concordant results in 96.3 % of cases (211/219) in comparative studies. Positive and negative predictive values were 72.4% (95% CI 56.1%-88.6%) and 100 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: This one-step dipstick test performed well for diagnosis of S. sonnei both on stools and on rectal swabs. These data confirm a preliminary study done in Chile.

[Origin and importance of the Latin American Kawasaki Disease Network (REKAMLATINA)]. / Orígenes e importancia de la Red de Enfermedad de Kawasaki en América Latina (REKAMLATINA).

Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired cardiac disease in children. Although the epidemiology of the disease has been well described in Japan, other Asian countries, Europe, Australia and North America, the epidemiology and disease burden in Latin American children is unknown. For this reason, the idea of establishing a research network on Kawasaki disease in children from Latin America was born, becoming this the largest Kawasaki disease international multinational research network and in which 20 countries of the region will be integrated.

Orígenes e importancia de la Red de Enfermedad de Kawasaki en América Latina (REKAMLATINA) / Origin and importance of the Latin American Kawasaki Disease Network (REKAMLATINA)

Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired cardiac disease in children. Although the epidemiology of the disease has been well described in Japan, other Asian countries, Europe, Australia and North America, the epidemiology and disease burden in Latin American children is unknown. For this reason, the idea of establishing a research network on Kawasaki disease in children from Latin America was born, becoming this the largest Kawasaki disease international multinational research network and in which 20 countries of the region will be integrated.

La enfermedad de Kawasaki representa la causa más común de cardiopatía adquirida en niños. Si bien es cierto que la epidemiología de la enfermedad ha sido muy bien descrita en Japón y otros países de Asia, Europa, Australia y Norte América, se desconoce la epidemiología y carga de enfermedad en niños de América Latina. Por esta razón nació la idea de establecer una red de investigación de enfermedad de Kawasaki en niños de América Latina, constituyéndose ésta en la red internacional multinacional más grande de investigación de la epidemiología de la enfermedad y donde se integran 20 países de la región.

Encuesta mundial de tabaquismo en jóvenes: realidad de la comuna de Melipeuco, IX Región, Chile / Global Youth Tobacco Survey: reality in the Melipeuco commune, IX Region, Chile

En diferentes zonas de Chile se ha comprobado el inicio precoz del consumo de tabaco en los adolescentes. Es necesario programar estrategias de intervención específicamente dirigidas, que incluyan talleres de prevención y programas de cesación del uso del tabaco.

Infecciones por enterovirus humanos / Human enterovirus infections

Los enterovirus son una gran cantidad de agentes que pueden producir diferentes patologías. En los años 2005 y 2006 se presentó un brote de meningitis viral por echovirus en la IX región de Chile, lo que motivó la investigación y posterior publicación del tema. Es importante la prevención de infecciones con medidas higiénicas adecuadas en la comunidad y los médicos deben conocer estos agentes para evitar tratamientos antibióticos y hospitalizaciones innecesarias que aumentan el riesgo de infecciones resistentes o intrahospitalarias.

Enfermedad por arañazo de gato: diferentes presentaciones clínicas en el norte y sur de Chile / Cat-scratch disease: different clinical presentations in the north and south from Chile

Las manifestaciones clínicas y la presentación de la infección por Bartonella henselae posrasguño de gato son muy variadas, por lo que es un diagnóstico que debe tenerse presente para realizarlo. Se presentan los casos de 5 pacientes en los que los estudios por imágenes y la serología fueron de gran utilidad para su confirmación.