RESUMO
The Pan American Journal of Public Health draws readers' attention to an error in the following article, pointed out by the authors: Saenz C, Carracedo S, Caballero C, Hurtado C, Leite Ribeiro A, Luna F, et al. Research priority-setting is an ethics exercise: lessons from the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research for the Region of the Americas. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2024;48:e32. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2024.32 In article published on March 2024, reference 2 appears as follows: Global Forum on Bioethics in Research. GFBR 2023 Key- note presentation [Internet video]. Youtube. 2024 Feb 01 [cited 2024 Feb 13]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HlPgN6n6i8M The correct way to reference 2 is: Millum J. Ethics of health research priority setting [video]. Uploaded by Global Forum on Bioethics in Research, 1 February 2024. [Accessed on 13 February 2024] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HlPgN6n6i8M.
Assuntos
Política de Pesquisa em Saúde , Ética em Pesquisa , América , Agenda de Prioridades em SaúdeRESUMO
La Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública llama la atención de los lectores sobre un error en el siguiente artículo, señalado por los autores: Saenz C, Carracedo S, Caballero C, Hurtado C, Leite Ribeiro A, Luna F, et al. La priorización de la investigación es un ejercicio ético: lecciones del Foro Global de Bioética en la Investigación para la Región de las Américas. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2024;48:e26. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2024.26 En el artículo publicado en marzo 2024, la referencia 2 aparece de la siguiente manera: Global Forum on Bioethics in Research. GFBR 2023 Keynote presentation [video en internet]. Youtube. 1 de febrero de 2024 [citado 13 de febrero de 2024]. Disponible en: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlPgN6n6i8M La forma correcta para la referencia 2 debe ser: Millum J. Ethics of health research priority setting [video]. Subido por Global Forum on Bioethics in Research, 1 de febrero de 2024. [citado 13 de febrero de 2024] Disponible en: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HlPgN6n6i8M
Assuntos
Ética em Pesquisa , Política de Pesquisa em Saúde , América , Agenda de Prioridades em SaúdeRESUMO
Following the 2023 meeting of the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR), this letter to the editor makes a call to consider health research priority-setting as an ethical exercise in Latin America and the Caribbean. This implies that research priority-setting processes are not limited to a matter of procedures, but rather include an explicit discussion of the substantive ethical criteria that guide prioritization.
Assuntos
Política de Pesquisa em Saúde , Ética em Pesquisa , América , Agenda de Prioridades em SaúdeRESUMO
A raíz de la reunión del 2023 del Foro Global de Bioética en la Investigación (GFBR por su sigla en inglés), esta carta al editor hace un llamado a considerar la priorización de la investigación en salud como un ejercicio ético en América Latina y el Caribe. Ello implica que los procesos de priorización de la investigación no se limiten a cuestiones procedimentales, sino que incluyan una discusión explícita sobre los criterios éticos sustantivos que guían la priorización.
Assuntos
Ética em Pesquisa , Política de Pesquisa em Saúde , América , Agenda de Prioridades em SaúdeRESUMO
In counteracting highly infectious and disruptive respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, vaccination remains the primary and safest way to prevent disease, reduce the severity of illness, and save lives. Unfortunately, vaccination is often not the first intervention deployed for a new pandemic, as it takes time to develop and test vaccines, and confirmation of safety requires a period of observation after vaccination to detect potential late-onset vaccine-associated adverse events. In the meantime, nonpharmacologic public health interventions such as mask-wearing and social distancing can provide some degree of protection. As climate change, with its environmental impacts on pathogen evolution and international mobility continue to rise, highly infectious respiratory diseases will likely emerge more frequently and their impact is expected to be substantial. How quickly a safe and efficacious vaccine can be deployed against rising infectious respiratory diseases may be the most important challenge that humanity will face in the near future. While some organizations are engaged in addressing the World Health Organization's "blueprint for priority diseases", the lack of worldwide preparedness, and the uncertainty around universal vaccine availability, remain major concerns. We therefore propose the establishment of an international candidate vaccine pool repository for potential respiratory diseases, supported by multiple stakeholders and countries that contribute facilities, technologies, and other medical and financial resources. The types and categories of candidate vaccines can be determined based on information from previous pandemics and epidemics. Each participant country or region can focus on developing one or a few vaccine types or categories, together covering most if not all possible potential infectious diseases. The safety of these vaccines can be tested using animal models. Information for effective candidates that can be potentially applied to humans will then be shared across all participants. When a new pandemic arises, these pre-selected and tested vaccines can be quickly tested in RCTs for human populations.
RESUMO
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), represented a high burden for low and middle-income countries. Patients with NCDs are at higher risk of COVID-19 and suffer worse clinical outcomes. We present mortality trends for myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke, hypertension (HT), and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from 2005 to 2021 in Ecuador. The greatest increase in mortality observed in the pandemic was in AMI, T2DM, and HT. Factors related to COVID-19, health services, and patients with NCDs could contribute to these important increases in mortality.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Doenças Cardiovasculares , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2 , Doenças não Transmissíveis , Humanos , Pandemias , Equador/epidemiologia , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/epidemiologia , Doenças não Transmissíveis/epidemiologia , Doenças Cardiovasculares/epidemiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has been associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in the pediatric population cared for in the pediatric intensive care unit. We aimed to compare patients with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) with those who also present a MIS-C diagnosis (PARDS vs. PARDS + MIS-C). METHODS: One hundred and sixty-seven children (0-15 years) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit COVID-19 ward of a national reference children's hospital in Quito, Ecuador, from June 2020 to June 2021 who developed PARDS with or without MIS-C. To diagnose PARDS, the criteria of the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference Group were used, and to diagnose MIS-C, the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. Additionally, the PRISM score was used to calculate the mortality risk of study patients on admission. RESULTS: Of the 167 patients with PARDS, ~59% also developed MIS-C. Patients with PARDS + MIS-C had higher risks than patients without MIS-C in the following: frequency of associated bacterial infections (81.6% vs. 55.1%), mortality risk (36.7% vs. 11.6%), use of respiratory support (invasive mechanical ventilation: 92% vs. 86%), use of vasopressors/inotropes (90.8% vs. 30.4%), renal complications (36.7% vs. 8.7%), septic shock (84.7% vs. 20.3%), multiorgan failure (39.8% vs. 1.4%) and mortality at discharge (39.8% vs. 4.3%). Logistic regression failed to find an association between MIS-C and age, race, sex, ≥3 signs/symptoms and ≥2 comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PARDS + MIS-C had a more severe clinical picture than patients without MIS-C. The findings provide useful information to improve the management of PARDS patients with and without MIS-C in Ecuador.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Síndrome do Desconforto Respiratório , Criança , Humanos , COVID-19/complicações , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Equador/epidemiologia , Respiração Artificial , Síndrome do Desconforto Respiratório/diagnóstico , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
We aimed to describe the impact of a structured interventional program to improve learning and study skills in undergraduate medical students from a Latin American medical school. The interventional program's design was based on diagnostic/prescriptive assessment test scores measuring ten scales. The program consisted of five tailored workshops. The cohort studied consisted of 81 third-year medical students. The outcome variable was the difference between "pre" and "post" test scores. The unadjusted score percentiles were used to compare improvement in learning and study skills. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess variation in the mean difference of the test scores by the number of workshops attended. The response rate was 100% (81/81) for the pre test and ~77% (62/81) for the post test. After the interventional program, nine out of ten scales showed statistical improvement, except for the scale of motivation. The scales with the highest and lowest percent change improvement were time management (66%, p-value: <0.001) and motivation (14.9%, p-value: 0.06). The students who attended more workshops obtained a higher percent change improvement in the post test. These findings suggest that through a well-designed interventional program, it is possible to improve learning and study skills among medical students.
RESUMO
Drowning is a common cause of death and disability worldwide. We report the experience of Ecuador, a middle-income country, where a lifeguard training program was implemented to reduce incidents of drowning. We describe how "Project Ecuador" was able to expand from one to 20 beaches in a five-year period. We detail how these interventions triggered the creation of a self-sustained national program and a law proposal that guarantee a safe environment across the Ecuadorian coastal region. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(11):1546-1550. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307013).
Assuntos
Afogamento , Afogamento/prevenção & controle , Equador/epidemiologia , HumanosRESUMO
Background Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic increased tuning ratings during this time. The aim of this study was to identify misleading advertising of health-related products on Ecuadorian television during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Television channels were monitored for 111 h in the months of June and October 2020. Verbal, nonverbal and context content were analyzed from each advertising spot according to ethical standards for the promotion of products for human health Results A total of 667 spots were analyzed. Most, 90%, involved misleading advertising of health-related products. Products for gastrointestinal conditions were the most publicized (17.8%) during the period analyzed. Newscasts most often advertised products intended to improve sexual potency (22.9%) and to a lesser degree those intended to prevent and treat respiratory problems (1.8%); this relationship was reversed when compared to general programming (p < 0.05). Conclusions Most of the health-related products advertised on Ecuadorian television are advertised misleadingly, with news programs having the highest number of such advertisements per hour of programming.
RESUMO
Purpose: The effect of high altitude ( ≥ 1500â m) and its potential association with mortality by COVID-19 remains controversial. We assessed the effect of high altitude on the survival/discharge of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission for mechanical ventilation compared to individuals treated at sea level. Methods: A retrospective cohort multi-center study of consecutive adults patients with a positive RT-PCR test for COVID-19 who were mechanically ventilated between March and November 2020. Data were collected from two sea-level hospitals and four high-altitude hospitals in Ecuador. The primary outcome was ICU and hospital survival/discharge. Survival analysis was conducted using semi-parametric Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Of the study population (n = 670), 35.2% were female with a mean age of 58.3 ± 12.6 years. On admission, high-altitude patients were more likely to be younger (57.2 vs. 60.5 years old), presented with less comorbidities such as hypertension (25.9% vs. 54.9% with p-value <.001) and diabetes mellitus (20.5% vs. 37.2% with p-value <.001), less probability of having a capillary refill time > 3 sec (13.7% vs. 30.1%, p-value <.001), and less severity-of-illness condition (APACHE II score, 17.5 ± 8.1 vs. 20 ± 8.2, p < .01). After adjusting for key confounders high altitude is associated with significant higher probabilities of ICU survival/discharge (HR: 1.74 [95% CI: 1.46-2.08]) and hospital survival/discharge (HR: 1.35 [95% CI: 1.18-1.55]) than patients treated at sea level. Conclusions: Patients treated at high altitude at any time point during the study period were 74% more likely to experience ICU survival/discharge and 35% more likely to experience hospital survival/discharge than to the sea-level group. Possible reasons for these findings are genetic and physiological adaptations due to exposure to chronic hypoxia.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Adulto , Idoso , Altitude , Estudos de Coortes , Feminino , Mortalidade Hospitalar , Humanos , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Respiração Artificial , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact in the development of intracerebral hemorrhage in elderly critically ill patients who received prophylactic subcutaneous unfractionated heparin (SCUFH) less than 24 hours after undergoing emergency neurosurgery. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent emergency neurosurgery and were admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) at a tertiary care center over a 10-year period. Administration of prophylactic SCUFH within 24 hours of neurosurgery was required for inclusion. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. The primary outcome was a rate of postoperative hemorrhagic complications with respect to age. Results We identified 223 emergency neurosurgical patients: 100 (45%) patients did not receive prophylactic SCUFH and were excluded. The remaining 123 (55%) patients met all inclusion criteria, of whom 73 (59%) patients were under 65 years old, and 50 (41%) patients were over 65 years old. Patients under 65 years old had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, APACHE III, and Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) scores, and shorter median SICU length of stay compared to patients over 65 years old. No statistically significant difference in the rate of postoperative hemorrhagic or non-hemorrhagic neurological complications was observed between patients in either age group. Conclusion Age over 65 years was not associated with a higher risk of postoperative hemorrhage in patients who received SCUFH after emergency neurosurgery. SCUFH can be safely used as a chemoprophylactic agent against venous thromboembolism for elderly patients when used within 24 hours after emergency neurosurgery.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between the physical activity level and the built environment by accessibility, microinfrastructure and security in Latin America (LA). DESIGN: We conducted a multicentre cross-sectional study to collect physical activity and built environment data. The levels of physical activity were calculated through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire survey. Using the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated, characteristics of the built environment were measured through three domains: accessibility, microinfrastructure and security. To estimate the association of the built environment and physical activity, we used mixed effects logistic regression analysis. In addition, likelihood ratio test to account for clustered effect within countries and/or cities was used. SETTING: Eight countries in LA. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 15-65 years (n=9218) living in urban areas and consented to participate of the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health. RESULTS: Most of the population in LA had access to a grocery store (97.2%), public transport stop (91.5%) and children's playground (81.6%). Metropolitan parks were more accessible in Ecuador (59.8%) and Colombia (59.2%) than in Venezuela (33.5%). Individuals located within 20 min of walking from sport facilities or children's playground areas were more likely to perform moderate-to-high physical activity OR 1.20 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.36) and OR 1.25 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.53), respectively. Only 14.5% of the population from the region considered that their neighbourhood had an adequate design for walking or cycling. Likewise, among adults living in LA, only 39.75% had the perception of living in a safe neighbourhood. CONCLUSIONS: This multicentre study shows that currently, LA built environment does not promote physical activity in the region. Our findings provide the rationale to push forward, at regional and national levels, policies and interventions that will help to achieve a safe, healthy and friendly built environment to encourage participation in active recreation and sports in leisure time. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02226627.
Assuntos
Ambiente Construído , Exercício Físico , Adulto , Criança , Estudos Transversais , Planejamento Ambiental , Humanos , América Latina , Características de Residência , CaminhadaRESUMO
PURPOSE: Assess the impact of learner-specific interventions on third-year medical students to cope with quarantine distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a nested cross-sectional and mixed-methods study in a sample of 81 third-year medical students. Two face-to-face interventions were designed and conducted to offer tools to improve study habits, time management, and prioritizing skills. A nine-item structured questionnaire was administered. Descriptive statistics was performed for the quantitative section and thematic analysis for the qualitative section. RESULTS: Of the study population, 74.1% (60/81) completed the online questionnaire, 65.4% were female, and the mean age of the sample was 21.4±1.2 years old. Overall, ~50% of participants affirmed that the workshops were useful to improve time management, organize tasks and adapt to the new study modality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 60% of the students found the application of the provided tools during the interventions (SMART and COMPASS) useful to determine personal values and set a proper mindset for coping with distance learning. Further, 93.3% of the respondents applied the SMART strategy learned to set goals at least once during the confinement time. These findings were also seen in the thematic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, most of the students found the workshops useful and were able to practice what they had learned during this pandemic lockdown. Medical schools and higher education institutions should evaluate the possibility of formally including study habit preparation for undergraduates' students in order to provide resilience and successful academic adaptation during an ever-changing world.
