Dielectric Barrier Discharge for Solid Food Applications.

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a non-thermal technology whose ability to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms gives it great potential for use in the food industry as an alternative to traditional thermal methods. Multiple investigations have been reviewed in which the cold plasma is generated through a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) type reactor, using the atmosphere of the food packaging as the working gas. The results are grouped into meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy and lastly cereals. Microbial decontamination is due to the action of the reactive species generated, which diffuse into the treated food. In some cases, the treatment has a negative impact on the quality. Before industrializing its use, alterations in colour, flavour and lipid oxidation, among others, must be reduced. Furthermore, scaling discharges up to larger regions without compromising the plasma homogeneity is still a significant difficulty. The combination of DBD with other non-thermal technologies (ultrasound, chemical compounds, magnetic field) improved both the safety and the quality of food products. DBD efficacy depends on both technological parameters (input power, gas composition and treatment time) and food intrinsic properties (surface roughness, moisture content and chemistry).

Prevalencia, manejo y registro del dolor en unidades de Medicina Interna / Prevalence, pain management and registration in Internal Medicine units

OBJETIVO: Analizar la prevalencia y el manejo de los episodios de dolor, su evaluación y registro en unidades de hospitalización de Medicina Interna en un hospital público de tercer nivel del Servicio Regional de Salud de Castilla y León. MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo transversal sobre los pacientes ingresados en unidades de Medicina Interna. La prevalencia del dolor se detectó mediante el cuestionario Brief Pain Inventory. La gestión de los episodios se analizó mediante su registro en la historia clínica. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 83 pacientes, el 73,5% manifestaron dolor y el 67,2% desconocían su pauta analgésica. Se identificaron más episodios de dolor en el caso de las mujeres (p = 0,006) con respecto a los hombres. La administración farmacológica se registró en todos los casos, el episodio de dolor dentro del evolutivo de la enfermera se registró en el 29,5% y en ningún caso se registró intensidad o grado de alivio con la Escala Visual Analógica, en la gráfica de constantes. CONCLUSIONES: Se ha evidenciado una alta prevalencia de dolor en los pacientes hospitalizados y una deficiencia en la gestión de los episodios de dolor por parte de las enfermeras, tanto en la evaluación como en el registro. Ello implica la necesidad de protocolizar el control del dolor implementando buenas prácticas basadas en la evidencia y dotar a las enfermeras de los medios y el apoyo necesario para poder realizar un manejo adecuado del dolor

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence and management of pain episodes, their evaluation and recording in internal medicine hospitalization units in a third level public hospital of the regional health service of Castilla y León. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population comprised patients hospitalized in internal medicine units. Pain prevalence was detected by the Brief Pain Inventory questionnaire. The management of pain episodes was analyzed as recorded in the clinical records. RESULTS: 83 patients were included, 73.5% of them reported pain and 67.2% did not know their analgesia regimen. More episodes of pain were identified in the women (P=.006) than in the men. The pharmacological administration was recorded in all cases; however, nurses recorded the episode in the clinical history of 29.5% of the patients. In no case, was the pain intensity or degree of relief recorded using the visual analogical scale. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of a high prevalence of pain in hospitalized patients and deficiencies in the management of pain episodes by nurses, both in evaluation and recording. This implies the need for pain control protocols and the implementation of evidence-based best practice guidelines to provide nurses with the means and support for adequate pain management

Prevalence, pain management and registration in Internal Medicine units. / Prevalencia, manejo y registro del dolor en unidades de Medicina Interna.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence and management of pain episodes, their evaluation and recording in internal medicine hospitalization units in a third level public hospital of the regional health service of Castilla y León. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population comprised patients hospitalized in internal medicine units. Pain prevalence was detected by the Brief Pain Inventory questionnaire. The management of pain episodes was analyzed as recorded in the clinical records. RESULTS: 83 patients were included, 73.5% of them reported pain and 67.2% did not know their analgesia regimen. More episodes of pain were identified in the women (P=.006) than in the men. The pharmacological administration was recorded in all cases; however, nurses recorded the episode in the clinical history of 29.5% of the patients. In no case, was the pain intensity or degree of relief recorded using the visual analogical scale. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of a high prevalence of pain in hospitalized patients and deficiencies in the management of pain episodes by nurses, both in evaluation and recording. This implies the need for pain control protocols and the implementation of evidence-based best practice guidelines to provide nurses with the means and support for adequate pain management.

Efectividad del tratamiento tópico de la flebitis secundaria a la cateterización periférica: una revisión sistemática / Efectiveness of topical therapies for phlebitis related to peripheral intravenous canulation: a sistematic review

Introducción: La flebitis es la complicación más frecuente secundaria a la cateterización periférica. Objetivo: Evaluar la evidencia disponible sobre la efectividad de tratamientos tópicos de la flebitis post-perfusión en pacientes portadores de catéter venoso periférico. Método: Se realizó revisión sistemática de ensayos clínicos y revisiones sistemáticas publicados desde 1995 a 2015 en las bases de datos Pubmed, Cinahl, Cochrane plus CUIDEN y la BVS (Biblioteca Virtual en Salud), en inglés y español. Los criterios de inclusión fueron: paciente adulto hospitalizado, portador de vía venosa periférica, con perfusión continua o intermitente, incluyendo todo tipo de terapia de infusión que hubieran desarrollado cualquier grado de flebitis. La valoración de la calidad metodológica de los estudios seleccionados, se realizó por pares de forma independiente utilizando el Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme en su versión española. Resultados: Se seleccionaron 11 estudios: 8 ensayos clínicos y 3 revisiones sistemáticas. Analizaron los efectos de fitoterapéuticos: aloe vera, chamomilla recutita y notoginseny; pomadas heparinoides y geles de heparina; antiinflamatorios como el diclofenaco y vasodilatadores como la nitroglicerina, resultando todos ellos efectivos. Conclusiones: El aloe vera, notoginseny, diclofenaco y heparina gel 1000 UI, mostraron nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación moderado. La heparina gel es el único compuesto con indicación de la Agencia Española del Medicamento para tratar la flebitis post-perfusión, el notoginseny no está comercializado en Occidente y el diclofenaco es un antiinflamatorio utilizado en diversas patologías. Es merecedor de especial atención el tratamiento con aloe vera a la espera de estudios más concluyentes (AU)

Background: Phlebitis is the most common complication induced by peripheral intravenous catheter. Aim: To assess the best available evidence concerning the effectiveness of topical therapies in patients with peripheral venous canulation who developed phlebitis Method: The bibliographic search for clinical trials and sistematic reviews, published between 1995 and 2015, was carried out in the following databases Pubmed, Cinahl, Cochrane plus CUIDEN and BVS (Biblioteca Virtual en Salud), in english and spanish. Inclusion criteria were: adult inpatient with peripheral venous cateterization with continous or intermitent infusion, including all types of infusion therapy who developed any degree of superficial phlebitis. The quality of selected studies was assessed independently by peer reviewers using the Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme in its spanish version. Results: 11 studies were identified, 8 clinical trials and 3 sistematic reviews. The efectiveness of topical phytotherapeutics: aloe vera, chamomilla recutita and notoginseny; heparinoid creams and heparin gels; anti-inflamatory as diclofenac, and vasodilators as nitroglycerin was analized, showing effectivity all of them. Conclusions: Aloe vera, notoginseny, diclofenac and heparine gel suggest a weak level of evidence and moderate grade of recommendation. Heparin gel is the only product provided by the Spanish Medicine Agency to treat post-infusion phlebitis, notoginseny is not marketed in Spain and diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory used for various pathologies. Deserves special attention of topical therapy with aloe vera but further studies are needed (AU)