Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in Ecuador: A test-negative design.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant global health threat, characterized by high morbidity, severity, and the emergence of concerning variants. Latin America has been greatly affected, with high infection and mortality rates. Vaccination plays a crucial role in mitigating severe disease and controlling the pandemic. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) in hospitalized vaccination target groups in Ecuador. Methods: This is a test-negative design study. We used data reported through sentinel surveillance of SARI between May 2021 and March 2022 in Ecuador. Patients with case criteria of SARI and hospitalized for a minimum of 24 hours were included in the study. Cases were defined as patients with SARI with a positive RT-qPCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and controls were those with a negative result. Information on vaccination status was obtained from the national vaccination registry, a valid dose of vaccination was considered when it was administered at least 14 days prior to symptom onset. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) (1-OR/OR) was calculated using a logistic regression. Results: A total of 1,277 patients were included in the analysis of VE. The adjusted vaccine effectiveness (aVE) in preventing hospitalization, adjusted for sex, age group, presence of one or more comorbidities, and period of the predominance of the omicron variant, was 44.5% for the partial primary schedule, 74.7% for the complete primary schedule, and 79.9% for the complete primary schedule plus booster doses. The aVE in avoiding ICU admissions was close to 80% with both the complete primary schedule and the booster doses, and in avoiding deaths, the aVE was 89% and 98%, respectively. Conclusions: In Ecuador, COVID-19 vaccination prevents hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths. The effectiveness of the vaccines improves with more doses, offering increased protection across all age groups.

Estudio Observacional: Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, Serie de casos / Observational Study: Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, Case Series

Introducción: El dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans(DFSP), es uno de los tumores cutáneos menos frecuentes, se clasifica dentro de los sarcomas fibrohistociticos y está caracterizado por un crecimiento lento y progresivo. Métodos: Se realizó una serie de casos retrospectiva de los pacientes con DFSP atendidos en el Centro de la Piel (CEPI) entre 2010 y 2019, se tomó en cuenta la información demográfica, características clínicas, tratamiento y su evolución. Resultados: Seis pacientes fueron diagnosticados y tratados por DFSP en el período evaluado, existió un predominio de mujeres (4 mujeres, 2 hombres) con una media de edad de 58.2 (DE =19,6), tres de ellos presentaron lesiones en forma de placa indurada y los restantes presentaron nódulo único, la localización de las lesiones fueron en hombro, cuello e hipogastrio. El tratamiento más utilizado fue la escisión amplia, ninguno de los pacientes presentó recidivas al primer y quinto año del seguimiento. Conclusión: Es necesario el reconocimiento de las características clínicas típicas de DFSP ya que podría pasar como una tumoración benigna de piel, por lo cual se debe apoyar con el estudio histopatológico frente a la sospecha de este tipo de lesión

Introduction: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is one of the rare tumors found in the fibrohistocytic sarcomas and it is characterized by slow and progressive growth. Methods:A retrospective study of six cases treated at the Skin Center (CEPI) between 2010 and 2019 was carried out. We have take into account demographic information, characteristics, treatment and evolution of the lesions. Results:Six patients were diagnosed and treated by DFSP. There was a predominance of women (4 women, 2 men) with a mean age of 58.2 (SD = 19.6), three of them presented lesions in the form of indurated plaque and the rest presented a unique nodule. The locations of the lesions were the shoulder, neck and hypogastrium. The most commonly used treatment was wide excision, none of the patients presented recurrences at the first and fifth year of follow-up. Conclusion:Recognition of the typical clinical characteristics of DFSP is necessary since it could be mistaken as a benign tumor of the skin. The diagnosis must be always done by histopathological confirmation