Formación científica en el pregrado de medicina en Chile: ¿dónde estamos? y ¿hacia dónde vamos? / An analysis of scientific formation in medical schools

For more than a century the training of medical professionals has been organized according to the Flexnerian model, which comprises three cycles: basic, clinical and clerkship. On the other hand, the accelerated development of biomedical sciences modified the competences of the first cycle. Additionally, new skills required for medical practice, such as teamwork and innovation as a tool to solve health problems, challenged in recent years the classic paradigm of medical education. Therefore, the medical schools have developed multiple strategies to deal with it, such as curricular integration using competency-based education models, incorporating basic and clinical sciences in parallel during the curriculum, ensuring a relevant and applicable scientific knowledge throughout the training process. Although in Chile the Flexner prototype is still followed, the basic sciences are taught as single or integrated courses or using a systems approach. In this article we report a diagnosis about the local integration of fundamental sciences in medical training. We also compare our schools with those of Canada, Europe and Latin America. Recommendations aimed at modernizing medical school curricula are made.

[An analysis of scientific formation in medical schools]. / Formación científica en el pregrado de medicina en Chile: ¿dónde estamos? y ¿hacia dónde vamos?

For more than a century the training of medical professionals has been organized according to the Flexnerian model, which comprises three cycles: basic, clinical and clerkship. On the other hand, the accelerated development of biomedical sciences modified the competences of the first cycle. Additionally, new skills required for medical practice, such as teamwork and innovation as a tool to solve health problems, challenged in recent years the classic paradigm of medical education. Therefore, the medical schools have developed multiple strategies to deal with it, such as curricular integration using competency-based education models, incorporating basic and clinical sciences in parallel during the curriculum, ensuring a relevant and applicable scientific knowledge throughout the training process. Although in Chile the Flexner prototype is still followed, the basic sciences are taught as single or integrated courses or using a systems approach. In this article we report a diagnosis about the local integration of fundamental sciences in medical training. We also compare our schools with those of Canada, Europe and Latin America. Recommendations aimed at modernizing medical school curricula are made.

[The relevance of environmental health and the scope of pediatric environmental health specialty units]. / La importancia de la salud ambiental y el alcance de las unidades de pediatría ambiental.

In the last decades there has been an important decrease in infant mobidity and mortality, but these achievements are not equally distributed across the whole population. Children are one of the most susceptible groups due to their unique vulnerabilities to environmental factors. Unhealthy environments, indoor pollution, poor drainage, inadequate waste disposal, and many others, are significant environmental risk factors to children. Currently, Chile is experiencing an advanced demographical transition, a situation that requires a precise approach to guarantee that the population has an adequate health status. It is important to take care of children, since their present health status will condition their health as adults. Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units are structures specialized in pediatric conditions related to the environment, formed by an interdisciplinary and highly specialized team. These centers provide assistance, information and treatment, promote research, educate health care providers or the public, and report problems to authorities. Health authorities should emphasize the importance of having a safe environment for children and encourage efforts to reduce exposure to environmental hazards promoting healthy behaviors, education and awareness at all levels of society .

La importancia de la salud ambiental y el alcance de las unidades de pediatría ambiental / The relevance of environmental health and the scope of pediatric environmental health specialty units

In the last decades there has been an important decrease in infant mobidity and mortality, but these achievements are not equally distributed across thewhole population. Children are one of the most susceptible groups due to their unique vulnerabilities to environmental factors. Unhealthy environments, indoor pollution, poor drainage, inadequate waste disposal, and many others, are significant environmental risk factors to children. Currently, Chile is experiencing an advanced demographical transition, asituation that requires a precise approach to guarantee that the population has an adequate health status. It is important to take care of children, since their present health status will condition their health as adults. Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units are structures specialized in pediatric conditions related to the environment, formed by aninterdisciplinary and highly specialized team. These centers provide assistance, information and treatment, promote research, educate health care providers or the public, and report problems to authorities. Health authorities should emphasize the importance of having a safe environment for children and encourage efforts to reduce exposure to environmental hazards promoting healthy behaviors, education and awareness at all levels of society.

Unidades de Pediatría Ambiental / Environmental Pediatric Units

A Pediatric Environmental Unit is a structure with defined roles, situated preferentially in a established Health Center specialized in children diseases related to the environment. These centers give advice, information and management of clinical cases, train professionals, instruct the general public and deliver reports to relevant authorities. The personnel of these centers is specifically trained on environmental issues, including pediatricians, toxicologists, nurses, family physicians, obstetricians, public health experts, occupational physicians, social workers, engineers and professionals of other relevant areas. This type of multidisciplinary team reflexes the complexity of environmental health and the unique vulnerability of children to the environment. These centers are able to recognize, determinate and treat child diseases related to the environment and train healthcare providers on the subject. They were created in the USA by the ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) from the Department of Health and Human Services of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

Se considera que una Unidad de Pediatría Ambiental es una estructura con roles claramente definidos, situada preferentemente en un centro de salud, especializada en afecciones pediátricas, relacionadas al ambiente. Estos centros pueden proporcionar asesoramiento, información y tratamiento, promover la investigación, entrenar a profesionales, educar al público e informar a las autoridades responsables. Su personal, especialmente entrenado en problemas ambientales, incluye: pediatras, toxicólogos, enfermeras y enfermeros, médicos de familia, obstetras, expertos de la salud pública, médicos ocupacionales, trabajadores sociales, ingenieros y consejeros de otras áreas relevantes. Solamente este tipo de equipo multidisci-plinario, ayuda a capturar la complejidad de la salud ambiental y la vulnerabilidad única de los niños/ adolescentes frente a los peligros de sus entornos. Estos centros, capaces de reconocer, determinar y manejar enfermedades infantiles relacionadas al ambiente y de proporcionar educación y entrenamiento, fueron creados en los EE.UU. por la Agencia para las Sustancias Tóxicas y el Registro de las enfermedades (ATSDR) del Departamento de los Servicios Humanos y de Salud de la Agencia de Protección del Medio Ambiente de los EE.UU. (USEPA).

Epidemiología de las intoxicaciones en Chile: una década de registros / Epidemiology of intoxications in Chile: ten years of registry

Background: The existence of Poison Centers for management and prevention of intoxications has been endorsed by the international experience. In Chile, the Toxicological Information Center at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile has been active since 1992, receiving about 130.000 calls until 2002. Aim: To analyze the statistical data gathered throughout the first ten years of our Research Center. To delineate the epidemiological pattern of intoxications in Chile. Material and methods: Retrospective study in which records from calls for toxicological information received during the 1992-2002 period reviewed. Analyzed data were total calls per year, place of call, exposure circumstances, age, sex, route of exposure and involved agents. Results: 96,468 calls analyzed. The main exposure circumstance was ½unintentional¼ (78.6 per cent), followed by ½intentional¼ (16.9 per cent). Intoxications in children under 5 years old motivated 50 per cent of calls. According to route of exposure, ingestions involved 75,992 calls (78.8 per cent). Medications were the most common substances, accounting for 49.2 per cent of calls, followed by cleaning products (12.1 percent), pesticides (11.3 per cent), industrial and chemical products (10.5 per cent) and cosmetics (2.7 per cent). Medications acting on the CNS were the most recurrent, with 19,096 reports. Conclusions: The epidemiological pattern for intoxications in Chile is very similar to that reported in developed and other Latin American countries. Children under 5 years old, are a high risk group for intoxications. It is imperative to improve the recording and follow-up of patients that call to the Center, to improve epidemiological data of intoxications in Chile.

Ventilación oscilatoria de alta frecuencia en niños con síndrome de dificuldad respiratoria "del adulto" / High frequency oscilatory ventilation in children with adult type respiratory distress syndrome

Objetivos. Evaluar la utilidad de la ventilación de alta frecuencia oscilatoria en el síndrome de dificuldad respiratoria aguda padiátrico. Pacietes y métodso: once noños de 3 días a 8 años (media 22,1 meses ) con daño pulmonar difuso, en tratamiiento con ventilación mecánica convencional e índice de oxigenación mayor a 20 (42 ñ 2,2) fueron sometidos en forma prospectiva no controlada a ventilación de alta frecuencia oscilatoria con volumen pulmonar elevado. Resultados: el índice de oxigenación disminuyó siqnificaativamente a 22 ñ 9,6 en las primeras 4h con ventilación de alta frecuencia. Posteriormente la disminución fue sostenida aunque no significativa. Ocho pacientes sobreviveiron y fueron extubados desde ventilación mecánica convencional. De los tres fallecidos, dos mostraron buena respuesta a la ventilación de alta frecuencia, y ninguna de las muertes se relacionó directamente con la falla respiratoria. La letalidad de estos pacientes, estimada originalmente en más de dos tercios, se ventilación con alta frecuencia oscilatoria. No se regsitraron complicaciones aatribuibles al procedimiento. Conclusionnes: la ventilación oscilatoria de alta frecuencia parece una opción eficaz y segura en niños con daño pulmonar agudo de diferentes causas

Intoxicaciones en Pediatría

Datos estadísticos sobre las intoxicaciones, y procedimientos para la terapia de soporte y el tratamiento de las intoxicaciones por inseticidas, productos industriales y fármacos

Barotrauma y otras complicaciones frecuentes de la ventilación mecánica en niños / Barotrauma and other frequent complications of mechanical ventilation in children

Se describen las complicaciones no infecciosas en niños tratados con asistencia mecánica de la ventilación. Desde noviembre de 1990 a junio de 1993 (32 meses) ingresaron 459 pacientes entre 12 días y 14 años de edad a la unidad de tratamiento intensivo pediátrica del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad Católica, 225 (49,01 por ciento) de los cuales fueron tratados con ventilación mecánica. El motivo del empleo de respirador mecánico fue cirugía cardíaca en 76 casos, bronconeumonía o enfermedad pulmonar difusa en 43, choque séptico 23, meningoencefalitis bacteriana aguda en 17, cirugía del sistema nervioso central en 16, estado convulsivo prolongado en 11, cirugía general en 7 y politraumatismo en 6 pacientes. Se registraron 57 complicaciones (25,33 por ciento) no infecciosas de la ventilación mecánica, edema subglótico postextubación en 18 casos, barotrauma en 14, entubación de un bronquio en 7, extubación accidental, oclusión de tubo y atelectasias en 5 cada una, fibrilación ventricular al cambiar tubo endotraqueal, hipercapnia por filtro grande y rotura del tubo endotraqueal, todas con un caso. Las complicaciones relacionadas con el uso de vía aérea artificial correspondían a 73,7 por ciento (42/57) y las secundarias al empleo de ventilación mecánica (barotrauma y atelectasias) a 26,3 por ciento (15/57). La forma de presentación más frecuente del barotrauma, que se registró en 14 casos fue el neumotórax (10 casos ). De los 14 pacientes con baro trauma 9 fallecen. En todos los pacientes que presentaron barotrauma, se usó presiones inspiratorias máximas superiores a 40 cm de H2O. Los promedios de presión inspiratoria máxima y presión positiva de final espiración (56,5 ñ 12,5 cm H2O y 11,7 ñ 4,2 cm de H2O respectivamente) de los pacientes con barotrauma fueron mayores que en sus iguales sin la complicación.La mortalidad general de la unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátrica en el período del estudio fue 9,3 por ciento, ante 18,2 por ciento en los pacientes con ventilación mecánica. Probablemente la presión inspiratoria máxima no debe sobrepasar 40 cm de H2O si se desea evitar el barotrauma

Reacciones adversas paradójicas a los medicamentos / Paradoxical adverse reaction to drugs

Algunos medicamentos agravan o provocan a veces las afecciones para cuyo tratamiento se emplean; esas reacciones paradójicas pueden ocurrir con medicamentos para tratar casos de broncoespasmo, alergia, hipertensión, trombosis, epilepsia, ansiedad, insomnio, la enfermedad de Parkinson, artritis, cáncer, infección, anemia y migraña

Aplicación de un índice de estabilidad fisiológica en unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátrica / Use of a psysiologic stability index in a pediatric intensive care unit

Se aplicó el Indice de Estabilidad Fisiológica (PSI) a todos los pacientes ingresados a la UCI pediátrica del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad Católica de Chile en el período comprendido entre abril de 1987 y agosto de 1988. La edad de los pacientes varió entre los 10 días de vida y los 15 años de edad y se evaluaron 152 niños. El PSI fue aplicado durante los 4 primeros días de estadía de dichos pacientes en la UCI y se obtuvo una calificación promedio que se correlacionó con la probabilidad de morir mediante un análisis de regresión logística. Mediante un análisis de varianza se logró determinar que existen diferencias significativas entre la calificación de los no-sobrevivientes (21,71 puntos) y la calificación máxima de los sobrevivientes (9,39 puntos), según la prueba T de Student