Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine has become more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, medical students and professionals do not acquire competences in telemedicine during their training. Our objective was to describe the self-reported perception and baseline knowledge of telemedicine among medical students and professionals enrolled in a virtual course. METHODS: Cross-sectional study that included physicians or medical students aged 18 years or older who were interested in a free virtual telemedicine course and who completed the data collection questionnaire. We used a Likert scale to assess the self-reported perceptions of four domains related to telemedicine. The participants were grouped into three levels for each domain: low, medium and high. We also objectively assessed telemedicine knowledge by means of 10 questions, with a cut-off point of 50% of correct answers. The Fisher's exact test, the Chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used for the comparison of categorical data. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We included 161 participants: 118 medical students and 43 physicians. We observed no significant differences between medical students and physicians in self-reported perceptions of knowledge, security, or utility of telemedicine. However, students had a high self-reported perception of the disadvantages of telemedicine especially related to patient security (p = 0.018), efficiency of care (p = 0.040), and the possibility of medical malpractice (p = 0.010) compared to physicians. Nearly half of the students (n = 53,44.9%) and physicians (n = 22,51.7%) answered 50% or more of the questions related to telemedicine knowledge correctly. CONCLUSION: Among the physicians and medical students enrolled in the course, the students perceived the disadvantages of telemedicine more frequently. Although physicians and students have limited knowledge of telemedicine, there appears to be no influence of experience and prior training in telemedicine.

Trastornos de la marcha y el equilibrio en adultos mayores y su asociación con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 / Gait and balance disorder in elderly adults and its relation to diabetes mellitus type 2

Resumen: OBJETIVO: Identificar la relación entre diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y trastornos de la marcha y el equilibrio en una población geriátrica militar. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Estudio analítico de cohorte retrospectiva y análisis secundario de una base de datos. Se evaluó el trastorno de la marcha y el equilibrio en una población de militares retirados y sus familiares de enero de 2010 a diciembre de 2015. Se analizó la asociación entre diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y el trastorno de la marcha y el equilibrio con un modelo de regresión de Cox, ajustado por edad, sexo y grado militar y por los antecedentes de enfermedad renal crónica, hipertensión, índice de masa corporal, polifarmacia, actividad física, rendimiento físico y artrosis de cadera y de rodilla. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 1422 militares retirados y sus familiares. La media de edad fue de 77.97 ± 8.46 años. Los adultos mayores con y sin diabetes mellitus 2 fueron 240 (16.8%) y 1182 (83.1%), respectivamente. En total, 794 (55.8%) adultos mayores tenían trastorno de la marcha y el equilibrio, a diferencia de 628 (44.1%) que no lo padecían. El 50% de los adultos mayores diabéticos y 57% de los no diabéticos tenían trastorno de la marcha y el equilibrio. CONCLUSIÓN: La diabetes mellitus tipo 2 aumenta el trastorno de la marcha y el equilibrio 1.25 veces.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To identify the association between diabetes mellitus type 2 and gait/ balance disorder in a retired military geriatric population. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective cohort study, database secondary analysis was done. Gait and balance disorder was evaluated in a population of retired military personnel from January 2010 to December 2015. An analysis was performed to assess the association of type 2 diabetes mellitus and gait and balance disorder with a Cox regression model, adjusted for age, sex, military rank, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, body mass index, polypharmacy, physical activity, physical performance and osteoarthritis. RESULTS: There were included 1422 retired military patients. The mean age was 77.9 ± 8.5 years. Older adults who had and had not diabetes mellitus 2 were 240 (16.8%) and 1182 (83.1%), respectively. A total of 794 (55.8%) patients had gait and balance disorder. Also, 50% of diabetic patients and 57% of non-diabetics had gait and balance disorder. CONCLUSION: Diabetes mellitus 2 increases gait and balance disorder risk by 1.25 times.

Diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y toxicidad por quimioterapia en adultos mayores con cáncer prostático / Type 2 Diabetes mellitus and chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with prostate cancer

Introducción: Siendo el cáncer prostático una neoplasia prevalente, el envejecimiento es un factor para la toxicidad quimioterapéutica, adicionalmente puede incrementarse por enfermedades crónicas, destacando la diabetes. A pesar de estos conocimientos, no hay estudios que evalúen la asociación entre la diabetes y el riesgo de toxicidad quimioterapéutica en estos pacientes. Objetivo: Determinar la asociación entre Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2 y riesgo de toxicidad por quimioterapia en adultos mayores con cáncer prostático del Servicio de Geriatría del Centro Médico Naval del Perú. Material y métodos: Estudio analítico de cohorte retrospectiva, análisis secundario de una base de datos. Se evaluaron los efectos adversos de quimioterapia y factores asociados de 161 marinos retirados con cáncer prostático entre 2013 y 2015. Se construyó un modelo de regresión de Cox sobre la toxicidad ajustado por el antecedente de diabetes, edad, antecedentes patológicos, antecedentes de consumo de tabaco, circunferencia de pantorrilla, actividad física, dependencia para ABVD, caídas, polifarmacia, fragilidad y vulnerabilidad. Resultados: El 23.6 por ciento presentó diabetes. La prevalencia de fragilidad fue del 39.7 por ciento y de vulnerabilidad, de 24.2 por ciento(G8) y 26.71 por ciento (VES-13). Los efectos adversos frecuentes fueron gastrointestinales (13.04 por ciento) y hematológicos (8.07 por ciento). Mediante el modelo de regresión ajustado, el antecedente de Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2, 3 o más antecedentes patológicos, antecedente de consumo de tabaco, circunferencia de pantorrilla, actividad física, dependencia de ABVD, caídas, polifarmacia, vulnerabilidad y fragilidad presentaron asociación significativa. Conclusiones: El antecedente de Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2 es un factor predictivo para el riesgo de toxicidad por quimioterapia en adultos mayores con cáncer prostático(AU)

Introduction: Prostate cancer is considered a predominant type of neoplasia and aging is a factor for chemotherapeutic toxicity, which can increase due to chronic diseases, particularly diabetes. Despite all this knowledge, there are no studies to evaluate the association between diabetes and the risk of chemotherapeutic toxicity in these patients. Objective: To determine the association between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the risk of chemotherapy toxicity in in older adults with prostate cancer in the Geriatric Service of the Peruvian Naval Medical Center. Material and methods: Analytical retrospective cohort study and secondary database analysis. The adverse effects of chemotherapy and the associated factors of 161 retired sailors with prostate cancer were evaluated between 2013 and 2015. Cox Regression Model for Adjusted Toxicity was constructed for antecedents of diabetes, age, pathological antecedents, smoking antecedents, calf circumference, physical activity, dependence on ABVD, falls, polypharmacy, fragility, and vulnerability. Results: The 23.6 percent of patients had diabetes. The prevalence of fragility was 39.7 percent and the one of vulnerability was 24.2 percent (G8) and 26.71 percent (VES-13). The frequent adverse effects were: gastrointestinal (13.04 percent) and hematological (8.07 percent). The most significant associations by adjusted regression model were the antecedent of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, 3 or more pathological antecedents, smoking antecedents, calf circumference, physical activity, dependence on ABVD, falls, polypharmacy, fragility, and vulnerability. Conclusions: The antecedent of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a predictive factor for the risk of chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with prostate cancer(AU)