Analysis of factors influencing vaccine uptake: perspective from Spain.

Although each of the 17 Autonomous Regions in Spain has their own vaccination policies, factors influencing vaccine uptake do not differ considerably among them. Knowledge of vaccine preventable diseases, awareness that the diseases prevented by vaccinations are serious or very serious, awareness that vaccinations are not generally associated with serious adverse events, cost-free status and satisfaction with our computerised immunization registry, are the elements which influence vaccine uptake in our country.

[Unusual attendance at Hospital Emergency Services for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and SO2 air pollution in Cartagena (Spain)]. / Afluencia inusual por asma y enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica en urgencias hospitalarias y contaminación por SO2 en Cartagena.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this investigation is to determine the influence of air pollution (SO2 and particulate matter) on the existence of days of unusual attendance at emergency services for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary lung disease (COPD). A registry of attendances for these diseases and the daily mean concentrations of SO2 and particles were used (1989-1991). RESULTS: Unusual attendance days are establish by the fortnightly movable mean of the period that has that day as central one, under the hypothesis of a Poisson distribution with equal mean as the calculated one. In the logistic regression model, Odds Ratio (OR) between an excess of attendance of cases for asthma and SO2 levels greater than 80.60 m/m3 was 3.6 (CI95%: 1.1-11.7). For COPD, SO levels ten days before were introduced, and OR for SO2 levels more than 56.5m/m was 4.7 (CI95%: 1.5-15.1). CONCLUSIONS: High SO2 levels are related with the appearances of days with an excessive use of emergencies for Asma and EPOC.

[Childhood scabies: a different entity]. / Sarna infantil: una entidad diferente.

Epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects that make scabies a clinical entity with a special personality in the pediatric field, are reviewed. On the epidemiological aspects, a special mention of its unsuspected frequency in this age is made. Scabies is an endemic disease in our country among the more deprived people. On the clinical aspects, the great importance of clinical history and distribution of skin lesions for the early diagnosis is pointed out. Some "alert pointers" are described for this early diagnosis. On the therapeutic field, the importance of the primary care prevention is discussed, and the drug approach for its relieve is commented.