Multicentric Study to Evaluate Mexican Medical Students' Knowledge of Transplants and Organ Donation.

INTRODUCTION: Transplants and organ donation are greatly aided by future medical professionals having adequate knowledge of this topic. This study aimed to elucidate the level of Mexican medical students' knowledge in the field of transplants and organ donation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The evaluation instrument was designed and validated. The design used simple sampling with replacement, selecting a random sample of 5 universities from among the institutional members of the Mexican Association of Departments and Schools of Medicine (Asociación Mexicana de Facultades y Escuelas de Medicina [AMFEM]). The sample was composed of 3214 medical students. Measures of central tendency were determined, and the mean scores obtained across the different universities were compared using a Kruskal-Wallis test. The odds ratio was calculated for the students whose school or department included instruction on transplants and donation within their curriculum. Kendall correlation was used for the students' academic grade level and score. All analyses considered a threshold of P < .05. RESULTS: A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 2563 students to evaluate their knowledge of transplants and organ donation. The average score was 4.02 on a scale of 0 to 10 (standard deviation 0.03), with a 95% confidence interval (3.96-4.08). Students whose school or department taught the subject of transplants and donations within their curriculum obtained an odds ratio of 1.44 (P = .0000822). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that medical students in Mexico do not have sufficient knowledge of transplants and organ donation.

Prevalencia de infección del sitio quirúrgico en pacientes con cirugía abdominal / Prevalence of surgical site infection in patients with abdominal surgery

Objetivo: Conocer la prevalencia de infección del sitio quirúrgico en pacientes operados por vía abdominal en forma electiva y de urgencia en un servicio de cirugía general de un centro de 2do nivel de atención. Sede: Hospital Regional Salamanca de PEMEX. Diseño: Estudio prospectivo, transversal, descriptivo y observacional. Análisis estadístico: Medidas de tendencia central. Pacientes y métodos: Se trata de un estudio en el que se incluyeron los pacientes postoperados por vía abdominal en el servicio de Cirugía General, en el periodo comprendido entre julio y diciembre del 2007. Se analizaron los pacientes que presentaron infección del sitio quirúrgico. Se excluyeron a los pacientes que no fueron intervenidos en este hospital. Las variables analizadas fueron edad, género, tipo de cirugía, patologías asociadas y complicaciones quirúrgicas. Resultados: En el periodo de estudio se analizaron un total de 105 procedimientos quirúrgicos. Hubo 55 mujeres (52.4%) y 50 hombres (47.61%), con edad promedio de 43 ± 26.5 años con un rango de 3 a 83 años. Fueron 75 pacientes de cirugía electiva y 30 se operaron como urgencia. Las cirugías realizadas fueron, en orden de frecuencia, colecistectomía, apendicectomía, plastías inguinales con colocación de malla, colocación de catéteres de Tenckhoff, laparotomías exploradoras, plastías umbilicales y funduplicaturas. Del total de procedimientos realizados se presentaron 6 pacientes (5.7%) con infección del sitio quirúrgico. Conclusión: La prevalencia de infección de la herida quirúrgica en este estudio es similar a la reportada por otros autores. Es importante contar con protocolos de prevención y tratamiento de las infecciones de las heridas quirúrgicas. Además, se debe conocer la microbiología propia de la institución y de cada servicio de atención, para un manejo adecuado y óptimo de los antibióticos.

Objective: To know the prevalence of surgical site infections in patients subjected to either elective or emergence abdominal surgery at a General Surgery service in a second level health care center. Setting: PEMEX Regional Hospital at Salamanca . Second level health care center. Design: Prospective, transversal, descriptive and observational study. Statistical analysis: Central tendency measures. Patients and methods: We included those patients subjected to abdominal surgery at the General Surgery service, between the month of July and December 2007. We analyzed those that presented infection of the surgical site. We excluded those patients that were not operated in this hospital. Analyzed variables were age, gender, type of surgery, associated pathologies, and surgical complications. Results: In the study period, we analyzed a total of 105 surgical procedures. There were 55 women (52.4%) and 50 men (47.61%), average age of 43 ± 26.5 years with a range of 3 to 83 years. Elective surgery was done in 75 patients, and 30 patients corresponded to emergency surgery. Performed surgeries were, in order of frequency, cholecystectomy, appendicectomy, inguinal plasties with mesh placement, placement of Tenckhoff catheter, exploratory laparotomies, umbilical plasties, and fundoplications. Of the total of procedures performed, six patients (5.7%) coursed with infection of the surgical site. Conclusion: Prevalence of surgical wound infection in this study is similar to that reported by other authors. It is important to count upon prevention and treatment protocols for infections of surgical wounds. Besides, the characteristic microbiology of the institution and of each service has to be known for an adequate and optimal management of antibiotics.