Empowering the digital health workforce in Latin America in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: the Peruvian case.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed significant gaps in healthcare access, quality, and the urgent need for enhancing the capacity of digital health human resources, particularly in Latin America. During the pandemic, online courses and telehealth initiatives supported by governmental agencies, the Pan American Health Organization, and other public and private resources, have played a crucial role in meeting training demands. This article discusses the role of capacity building programs in digital health within the context of Latin America, with a specific focus on the Peruvian case. We highlight the development of digital health competencies and related policies, while also describing selected experiences related to capacity building in this field. Additionally, we discuss the pivotal role of collaborative partnerships among institutions and countries, emphasizing the importance of culturally relevant training programs in digital health. These initiatives have the potential to accelerate training and research opportunities in Latin America, drawing on the involvement of government agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry, universities, professional societies, and communities.

Cytokine hemoadsorption with CytoSorb® in patients with sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of CytoSorb® on mortality, interleukin levels, vasopressor use and adverse events in patients with sepsis. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE®, Embase and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials and cohort studies that reported the use of CytoSorb® among septic patients. The primary outcome was mortality, and secondary outcomes included the use of vasopressors, levels of inflammatory markers, predicted versus observed mortality, length of stay in the intensive care unit, and adverse events. RESULTS: We included 6 studies enrolling 413 patients, and assessment for risk of bias indicated variations in study quality from high to moderate. The overall mortality rate was 45%, and no significant effect on mortality was found at 28 - 30 days (RR 0.98 [0.12 - 8.25] for the randomized clinical trial and RR 0.74 [0.49 - 1.13] for cohort studies). We did not perform a metanalysis for other outcomes due to the small number of studies found or the lack of data. CONCLUSION: Our study found very low certainty evidence, due to imprecision, risk of bias, and heterogeneity, thereby showing no benefit of CytoSorb® use in terms of mortality at 28 - 30 days. We cannot recommend the use of CytoSorb® in septic or septic shock patients outside clinical trials. Further high-quality randomized trials with a common intervention arm are needed to evaluate the influence of CytoSorb® in this population. PROSPERO REGISTER: CRD42021262219.

Integrating Telehealth for Strengthening Health Systems in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective from Peru.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the government to rapidly modify its legal framework to adopt telemedicine and promote the implementation of telehealth services to meet the healthcare needs of patients in Peru. In this paper, we aim to review the main changes to the regulatory framework and describe selected initiatives to promote the telehealth framework that emerged in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we discuss the challenges to integrate telehealth services for strengthening health systems in Peru. The Peruvian telehealth regulatory framework began in 2005, and in subsequent years, laws and regulations were established that sought to progressively implement a national telehealth network. However, mainly local initiatives were deployed. In this sense, significant challenges remain to be addressed, such as infrastructure in healthcare centers, including high-speed Internet connectivity; infostructure of health-information systems, including interoperability with electronic medical records; monitoring and evaluation of the national agenda for the health sector in 2020-2025; expanding the healthcare workforce in terms of digital health; and developing the capacities of healthcare users on health literacy, including digital aspects. In addition, there is enormous potential for telemedicine as a key strategy to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and to improve access to rural and hard-to-reach areas and populations. There is thus an urgent need to effectively implement an integrated national telehealth system to address sociocultural issues and strengthen the competencies of human resources in telehealth and digital health in Peru.

Factores asociados al miedo por la información recibida durante la pandemia en policías y militares peruanos

Introducción: Para policías y militares, el acceso a información idónea y veraz siempre ha sido importante; durante la pandemia la necesidad fue aún mayor debido a las labores que les fueron asignadas, como parte de la primera línea frente a la pandemia por la COVID-19. Objetivo: Determinar los factores asociados al miedo por la información recibida durante la pandemia en policías y militares peruanos. Métodos: Estudio transversal con técnicas analíticas, se encuestó a 1 017 policías y militares peruanos durante la pandemia, para ello se usó un test validado para medir la percepción de miedo o preocupación que transmitían los medios de comunicación, se informaron las frecuencias y resultados analíticos. Resultados: Los encuestados percibieron mucho miedo a las redes sociales (22 % muy de acuerdo y 36 % de acuerdo) y la televisión (20 % muy de acuerdo y 32 % de acuerdo). En el modelo multivariado, los militares percibían menos miedo en comparación de los policías (RPa: 0,65; IC95 %: 0,49-0,88; valor p= 0,004), además, internet fue el medio que generó una mayor frecuencia de percepción de miedo entre los encuestados (RPa: 1,65; IC95 %: 1,04-2,61; valor p= 0,032), ajustado por 3 variables. Conclusión: La televisión y las redes sociales son los principales medios que generaron miedo entre los policías y militares; además, el estar asustado estuvo más asociado a informarse por internet.

Introduction: For police and military, access to suitable and truthful information has always been important, during the pandemic the need was even greater due to the tasks assigned to them as part of the front line against the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To determine the factors associated with fear of pandemic information received by Peruvian police and military personnel. Methods: Cross-sectional study with analytical procedures, 1 017 Peruvian police and military were surveyed, through surveys conducted during the pandemic, a validated test was used to measure the perception of fear or concern transmitted by the media, the frequencies and analytical results were reported. Results: The respondents perceived a lot of fear of social networks (22% strongly agree and 36% agree) and television (20% strongly agree and 32% agree). In the multivariate model, the military perceived less fear compared to the police (aPR: 0.65; CI95%: 0.49-0.88; value p= 0.004), in addition, the Internet was the medium that generated a greater frequency of perception of fear among the respondents (aPR: 1.65; CI95%: 1.04-2.61; value p= 0.032), adjusted for 3 variables. Conclusion: Television and social networks are the main media that generate fear among police and military; in addition, being scared was more associated with being informed through the Internet.

Cytokine hemoadsorption with CytoSorb® in patients with sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis / Hemoadsorção de citocinas com CytoSorb® em pacientes com sepse: revisão sistemática e metanálise

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the effect of CytoSorb® on mortality, interleukin levels, vasopressor use and adverse events in patients with sepsis. Methods: We searched MEDLINE®, Embase and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials and cohort studies that reported the use of CytoSorb® among septic patients. The primary outcome was mortality, and secondary outcomes included the use of vasopressors, levels of inflammatory markers, predicted versus observed mortality, length of stay in the intensive care unit, and adverse events. Results: We included 6 studies enrolling 413 patients, and assessment for risk of bias indicated variations in study quality from high to moderate. The overall mortality rate was 45%, and no significant effect on mortality was found at 28 - 30 days (RR 0.98 [0.12 - 8.25] for the randomized clinical trial and RR 0.74 [0.49 - 1.13] for cohort studies). We did not perform a metanalysis for other outcomes due to the small number of studies found or the lack of data. Conclusion: Our study found very low certainty evidence, due to imprecision, risk of bias, and heterogeneity, thereby showing no benefit of CytoSorb® use in terms of mortality at 28 - 30 days. We cannot recommend the use of CytoSorb® in septic or septic shock patients outside clinical trials. Further high-quality randomized trials with a common intervention arm are needed to evaluate the influence of CytoSorb® in this population. PROSPERO register: CRD42021262219

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar o efeito de CytoSorb® na mortalidade, nos níveis de interleucina, no uso de vasopressores e nos eventos adversos em pacientes com sepse. Métodos: Pesquisamos o MEDLINE®, o Embase e a Biblioteca Cochrane em busca de ensaios clínicos randomizados e estudos de coorte que relatassem o uso de CytoSorb® em pacientes com sepse. O desfecho primário foi a mortalidade, e os desfechos secundários incluíram uso de vasopressores, níveis de marcadores inflamatórios, mortalidade prevista versus observada, tempo de internação na unidade de terapia intensiva e eventos adversos. Resultados: Incluímos 6 estudos com 413 pacientes, e a avaliação do risco de viés indicou variações na qualidade do estudo de alta a moderada. A taxa de mortalidade geral foi de 45%, e não foi encontrado efeito significativo na mortalidade entre 28 e 30 dias (risco relativo de 0,98 [0,12 - 8,25] para o ensaio clínico randomizado e de 0,74 [0,49 - 1,13] para estudos de coorte). Não realizamos metanálise para outros desfechos, devido ao pequeno número de estudos encontrados ou à carência de dados. Conclusão: Nosso estudo encontrou evidências de certeza muito baixa, devido à imprecisão, ao risco de viés e à heterogeneidade, demonstrando nenhum benefício no uso de CytoSorb® em termos de mortalidade em 28 a 30 dias. Não podemos recomendar o uso de CytoSorb® em pacientes com sepse ou choque séptico fora dos estudos clínicos. São necessários mais estudos randomizados de alta qualidade com um braço de intervenção comum para avaliar a influência de CytoSorb® nessa população. Registro PROSPERO: CRD42021262219