Economic Evaluations and Equity in the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Imaging Exams for Medical Diagnosis in People With Skin, Neurological, and Pulmonary Diseases: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Traditional health care systems face long-standing challenges, including patient diversity, geographical disparities, and financial constraints. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care offers solutions to these challenges. AI, a multidisciplinary field, enhances clinical decision-making. However, imbalanced AI models may enhance health disparities. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to investigate the economic performance and equity impact of AI in diagnostic imaging for skin, neurological, and pulmonary diseases. The research question is "To what extent does the use of AI in imaging exams for diagnosing skin, neurological, and pulmonary diseases result in improved economic outcomes, and does it promote equity in health care systems?" METHODS: The study is a systematic review of economic and equity evaluations following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and CHEERS (Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards) guidelines. Eligibility criteria include articles reporting on economic evaluations or equity considerations related to AI-based diagnostic imaging for specified diseases. Data will be collected from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and reference lists. Data quality and transferability will be assessed according to CHEC (Consensus on Health Economic Criteria), EPHPP (Effective Public Health Practice Project), and Welte checklists. RESULTS: This systematic review began in March 2023. The literature search identified 9,526 publications and, after full-text screening, 9 publications were included in the study. We plan to submit a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal once it is finalized, with an expected completion date in January 2024. CONCLUSIONS: AI in diagnostic imaging offers potential benefits but also raises concerns about equity and economic impact. Bias in algorithms and disparities in access may hinder equitable outcomes. Evaluating the economic viability of AI applications is essential for resource allocation and affordability. Policy makers and health care stakeholders can benefit from this review's insights to make informed decisions. Limitations, including study variability and publication bias, will be considered in the analysis. This systematic review will provide valuable insights into the economic and equity implications of AI in diagnostic imaging. It aims to inform evidence-based decision-making and contribute to more efficient and equitable health care systems. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/48544.

Supervised Machine Learning Methods for Seasonal Influenza Diagnosis.

Influenza has been a stationary disease in Mexico since 2009, and this causes a high cost for the national public health system, including its detection using RT-qPCR tests, treatments, and absenteeism in the workplace. Despite influenza's relevance, the main clinical features to detect the disease defined by international institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) do not follow the same pattern in all populations. The aim of this work is to find a machine learning method to facilitate decision making in the clinical differentiation between positive and negative influenza patients, based on their symptoms and demographic features. The research sample consisted of 15480 records, including clinical and demographic data of patients with a positive/negative RT-qPCR influenza tests, from 2010 to 2020 in the public healthcare institutions of Mexico City. The performance of the methods for classifying influenza cases were evaluated with indices like accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, precision, the f1-measure and the area under the curve (AUC). Results indicate that random forest and bagging classifiers were the best supervised methods; they showed promise in supporting clinical diagnosis, especially in places where performing molecular tests might be challenging or not feasible.

Automatic Facial Palsy Diagnosis as a Classification Problem Using Regional Information Extracted from a Photograph.

The incapability to move the facial muscles is known as facial palsy, and it affects various abilities of the patient, for example, performing facial expressions. Recently, automatic approaches aiming to diagnose facial palsy using images and machine learning algorithms have emerged, focusing on providing an objective evaluation of the paralysis severity. This research proposes an approach to analyze and assess the lesion severity as a classification problem with three levels: healthy, slight, and strong palsy. The method explores the use of regional information, meaning that only certain areas of the face are of interest. Experiments carrying on multi-class classification tasks are performed using four different classifiers to validate a set of proposed hand-crafted features. After a set of experiments using this methodology on available image databases, great results are revealed (up to 95.61% of correct detection of palsy patients and 95.58% of correct assessment of the severity level). This perspective leads us to believe that the analysis of facial paralysis is possible with partial occlusions if face detection is accomplished and facial features are obtained adequately. The results also show that our methodology is suited to operate with other databases while attaining high performance, even though the image conditions are different and the participants do not perform equivalent facial expressions.

Classification Models for COVID-19 Test Prioritization in Brazil: Machine Learning Approach.

BACKGROUND: Controlling the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil is a challenge due to the population's size and urban density, inefficient maintenance of social distancing and testing strategies, and limited availability of testing resources. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to effectively prioritize patients who are symptomatic for testing to assist early COVID-19 detection in Brazil, addressing problems related to inefficient testing and control strategies. METHODS: Raw data from 55,676 Brazilians were preprocessed, and the chi-square test was used to confirm the relevance of the following features: gender, health professional, fever, sore throat, dyspnea, olfactory disorders, cough, coryza, taste disorders, and headache. Classification models were implemented relying on preprocessed data sets; supervised learning; and the algorithms multilayer perceptron (MLP), gradient boosting machine (GBM), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), and logistic regression (LR). The models' performances were analyzed using 10-fold cross-validation, classification metrics, and the Friedman and Nemenyi statistical tests. The permutation feature importance method was applied for ranking the features used by the classification models with the highest performances. RESULTS: Gender, fever, and dyspnea were among the highest-ranked features used by the classification models. The comparative analysis presents MLP, GBM, DT, RF, XGBoost, and SVM as the highest performance models with similar results. KNN and LR were outperformed by the other algorithms. Applying the easy interpretability as an additional comparison criterion, the DT was considered the most suitable model. CONCLUSIONS: The DT classification model can effectively (with a mean accuracy≥89.12%) assist COVID-19 test prioritization in Brazil. The model can be applied to recommend the prioritizing of a patient who is symptomatic for COVID-19 testing.

La receta médica: ¿reflejo condicionado o reflexión consciente? / Medical prescription: conditioned reflex or conscious reflection?

Resumen Extender una receta o indicar un tratamiento suele ser la última parte de la consulta médica. Este proceso crucial puede desvirtuarse debido a múltiples factores como capacidad prescriptiva limitada, exceso de trabajo y falta de reflexión o tiempo. La información insuficiente acerca del paciente o del tratamiento afecta el proceso prescriptivo y propicia errores que pueden ser graves para la salud del enfermo. La Academia Nacional de Medicina, en consonancia con la Organización Mundial de la Salud, hace énfasis en hacer del proceso prescriptivo un ejercicio de reflexión.

Abstract Writing a prescription or indicating a treatment is usually the last part of medical consultation. This crucial process can be undermined by multiple factors such as limited prescriptive ability, overwork, and lack of reflection or time. Insufficient information about the patient or the treatment affects the prescriptive process and leads to errors that can be serious for patient health. The National Academy of Medicine, in line with the World Health Organization, emphasizes the relevance of making the prescriptive process a reflective exercise.

Sistema de apoyo al diagnóstico médico de COVID-19 mediante mapa cognitivo difuso / Support system to Covid-19 medical diagnosis via diffuse cognitive map

Introducción: Los escenarios de convivencia de las diversas poblaciones son muy complejos, lo que contribuye con la propagación de enfermedades. Diagnosticar tempranamente enfermedades infecciosas representa una tarea fundamental para disminuir su propagación y evitar epidemias. Sin embargo, la inconsistencia en los datos de poblaciones y la imposibilidad de contar con un diagnóstico oportuno en muchos casos trae como consecuencia la proliferación de pandemias tales como la COVID-19. Objetivo: Desarrollar un sistema de apoyo al diagnóstico médico para COVID-19 a partir de la modelación de las relaciones causales de los criterios de diagnóstico, para conformar el mapa cognitivo difuso. Métodos: Para el desarrollo de la investigación se utilizaron métodos teóricos, empíricos y estadísticos, tales como: analítico-sintético, inductivo-deductivo, hipotético-deductivo, modelación. Como método empírico se utilizó la entrevista semiestructurada con la intención de recoger información que permitiera incluir contenidos no prescritos y precisar el conocimiento de los expertos sobre los principales indicadores para la toma de decisiones en el diagnóstico médico de la COVID-19. Resultados: El sistema funciona a través de un mapa cognitivo difuso para modelar las relaciones causales que representan la base de la inferencia. Se utilizan técnicas de inteligencia artificial como base al diagnóstico médico. Se presenta un ejemplo demostrativo para el diagnóstico médico de la COVID-19 en el que se modelan las relaciones causales de los diferentes conceptos que describen la enfermedad provocada. Conclusiones: El sistema diseñado constituye una herramienta viable de apoyo a la toma de decisiones en el diagnóstico médico de la COVID-19, que permite obtener criterios evaluativos a partir de la modelación de las relaciones causales, esto lo hace extensible a otros tipos de situaciones de emergencias sanitarias(AU)

Introduction: Different populations coexistence scenarios are very complex, which contributes to the spread of diseases. Diagnosing infectious diseases early is a critical task in reducing its spread and preventing epidemics. However, inconsistency in population data and the inability to have timely diagnosis in many cases result in the proliferation of pandemics such as COVID-19. Objective: Develop a support system for COVID-19 medical diagnostic from modeling causal relations of diagnostic criteria, to form the diffuse cognitive map. Methods: Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were used for the development of the research, such as: analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive, hypothetical-deductive, modeling. As an empirical method, the semi-structured interview was used with the intention of collecting information that would include unprescribed contents and require expert knowledge of the main indicators for decision-making in COVID-19 medical diagnosis. Results: The system works through a diffuse cognitive map to model causal relationships that represent the inference´s basis. Artificial intelligence techniques are used as a basis for medical diagnosis. A demonstrative example is presented for COVID-19 medical diagnosis in which are modelled the causal relations of the different concepts that the disease describes. Conclusions: The designed system is a viable support tool for decision-making in COVID-19 medical diagnosis, which allows to obtain evaluative criteria from the modelling of causal relations, and this makes it extendable to other types of health emergencies situations(AU)

Medical prescription: conditioned reflex or conscious reflection?

Writing a prescription or indicating a treatment is usually the last part of medical consultation. This crucial process can be undermined by multiple factors such as limited prescriptive ability, overwork, and lack of reflection or time. Insufficient information about the patient or the treatment affects the prescriptive process and leads to errors that can be serious for patient health. The National Academy of Medicine, in line with the World Health Organization, emphasizes the relevance of making the prescriptive process a reflective exercise.Extender una receta o indicar un tratamiento suele ser la última parte de la consulta médica. Este proceso crucial puede desvirtuarse debido a múltiples factores como capacidad prescriptiva limitada, exceso de trabajo y falta de reflexión o tiempo. La información insuficiente acerca del paciente o del tratamiento afecta el proceso prescriptivo y propicia errores que pueden ser graves para la salud del enfermo. La Academia Nacional de Medicina, en consonancia con la Organización Mundial de la Salud, hace énfasis en hacer del proceso prescriptivo un ejercicio de reflexión.

[The epidemiology of asthma in adults. An insight]. / Epidemiología del asma en adultos. Una visión introspectiva.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic disease with a great impact on public health and on the patients' quality of life. In Latin America, there are scarce epidemiological studies. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of asthma and the clinical-demographic characteristics in an adult population from a private health system in the City of Buenos Aires. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of adults who were enrolled in the medical program of a private health system in Buenos Aires between January 1st, 2017, and January 1st, 2018. All the patients that were included in the study had been diagnosed with asthma. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma in the adult patients of a prepaid health system in the City of Buenos Aires was of 6 % (n = 66, IC 95 % = 5-7), and the prevalence of severe asthma among the same group was of 5 % (n = 3, IC 95 % = 1-13). Most patients had intermittent and mild asthma. CONCLUSION: This study provides new data about the epidemiology of asthma in the region.

Antecedentes: El asma es una enfermedad crónica de gran impacto en la salud pública y en la calidad de vida de los pacientes. En Latinoamérica existen escasos estudios epidemiológicos Objetivo: Describir la prevalencia del asma y las características clínico-demográficas en una población adulta de un sistema de salud privado de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Métodos: Estudio de corte transversal de adultos afiliados al programa médico de un sistema de salud privado de Buenos Aires, entre el 1 de enero de 2017 y 1 de enero de 2018, con diagnóstico médico de asma. Resultados: La prevalencia de asma en pacientes adultos de un sistema de salud prepago en la ciudad de Buenos Aires fue de 6 % (n = 66, IC 95 % = 5-7) y de asma grave de 5 % (n = 3 IC 95 % = 1-13) La mayoría de los pacientes presentaron asma intermitente y leve. Conclusión: El estudio aporta nuevos datos sobre la epidemiología del asma en la región.

Síndrome. Empleo inadecuado del término en la Discusión Diagnóstica. Semejanzas y divergencias en el criterio de expertos / Inappropriate use of the term Syndrome in the Diagnostic Discussion. Similarities and divergences in the criterion of experts

Introducción: hay casos de uso inadecuado del término síndrome en la discusión diagnóstica, en el Hospital Universitario V.I. Lenin de Holguín, lo que puede deberse a diversos factores. Objetivo: identificar, según el criterio de expertos, si existen en otras provincias de Cuba casos de uso inadecuado del término síndrome en la discusión diagnóstica, su repercusión negativa en el diagnóstico médico, principales manifestaciones del uso inadecuado, probables causas, necesidad de consenso y de reemplazo conceptual. Métodos: estudio observacional descriptivo con triangulación metodológica. Muestra intencionada de 15 expertos de diferentes provincias, profesores auxiliar o titular, máster, doctor en ciencias o ambos y especialistas de primer o segundo grado en medicina interna, quienes contestaron, por vía electrónica, una encuesta con diversos ítems y preguntas, tipo Escala Likert. La encuesta fue validada estadísticamente, los datos fueron procesados con uso de la mediana y de cuartiles mediante: test de Anova, coeficiente de correlación de Kendall y análisis clúster. Resultados: la mayoría de expertos concordaron en que existen casos de uso inadecuado del término síndrome en las discusiones diagnósticas, su negativa repercusión en el diagnóstico médico, posibles causas, necesidad de consenso con algunas divergencias, entre tres grupos de expertos, respecto a formas de manifestarse, otros factores influyentes y en especial sobre la ampliación del concepto síndrome, mediante la inclusión de signos propios de los exámenes complementarios, y su posible consecuencia en el algoritmo del método clínico. Conclusiones: aunque la mayoría de expertos concordaron sobre la existencia de uso inadecuado del término síndrome y otros aspectos relacionados, la existencia de divergencias, en especial sobre el reemplazo conceptual del término y su repercusión en el proceso diagnóstico hace plantear la existencia de una escuela heterodoxa (minoría), una escuela ortodoxa o tradicional (mayoría) y una escuela ecléctica, intermedia en número de expertos.

Introduction: there have been cases of misuse of the term syndrome in diagnostic discussion at the University Hospital of Holguin V.I. Lenin, which may be due to several factors. Objective: to identify, according to expert criteria, if there are cases of inappropriate use of the term syndrome in the diagnostic discussion in other provinces of Cuba, its negative repercussion in the medical diagnosis, main manifestations of the inadequate use, probable causes, need of consensus and of conceptual replacement. Method: descriptive observational study with methodological triangulation. Intentional sample of 15 experts from different provinces, assistant or master professors, master, doctor of science or both and specialists of first or second degree on internal medicine, who answered, electronically, a survey with various items and questions, Likert Scale. The survey was statistically validated; the data were processed using the median and quartiles using: anova test, Kendall correlation coefficient and cluster analysis. Results: the majority of experts agreed that there are cases of inadequate use of the term syndrome in diagnostic discussions, its negative repercussion in the medical diagnosis, possible causes, need for consensus with some divergences, among three groups of experts, regarding forms of manifestation, other influential factors and especially on the extension of the syndrome concept, through the inclusion of signs of complementary examinations and their possible consequence in the algorithm of the clinical method. Conclusions: although most experts agreed on the existence of inappropriate use of the term syndrome and other related aspects, the existence of divergences, especially on the conceptual replacement of the term and its repercussion in the diagnostic process, suggests the existence of a heterodox school (minority), an orthodox or traditional school (majority) and an eclectic school, intermediate in number of experts.

Burocracia pública e política social no Brasil / Street-level Bureaucracy and Social Policy in Brazil

Resumo O artigo descreve a burocracia do governo central brasileiro e o acesso da pessoa com deficiência ao Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC). Este acesso é dependente da avaliação da condição de vulnerabilidade realizada pela burocracia ministerial. Foram utilizadas revisão de literatura e dados secundários de séries de tempo e transversal para descrever a burocracia federal. Documentos legais e indicadores descrevem o regime de avaliação pericial. É demonstrada a evolução desigual no quantitativo da burocracia de carreira do governo central brasileiro nas últimas duas décadas. Resultado: O governo central brasileiro adotou a concepção internacional da pessoa com deficiência na avaliação dos requerentes ao BPC. A despeito dessa decisão, é demonstrado que o governo central brasileiro ampliou seletivamente a burocracia de carreira para atuar na área social. Constou-se que o resultado do processo de avaliação foi bastante severo, favorecendo os requerentes em condição de extrema vulnerabilidade biomédica. A despeito da adoção do modelo social, a elegibilidade ao BPC é subordinada ao diagnóstico médico.

Abstract This paper describes the Brazilian central government bureaucracy and people with disabilities' access to the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC). This access depends on the Ministry of Social Security bureaucracy's evaluation of the condition of vulnerability. We performed a literature review, analysis of secondary data from time series and cross-sectional data to describe street-level federal bureaucracy. Legal documents and indicators describe the expert evaluation regimen of the Ministry of Social Security (MPS). This paper shows the uneven growth of the number of career public servants of the central government in the last two decades. The Brazilian central government has adopted the international concept of person with disabilities in the evaluation of BPC applicants. Despite this decision, it is shown that the Brazilian central government expanded selectively the career bureaucracy to work in the social area. It was found that the result of the evaluation process was quite strict, favoring applicants in conditions of extreme biomedical vulnerability. Despite adopting the social model, BPC eligibility is tied to medical diagnosis.

Exploring the sources and mechanisms of cognitive errors in medical diagnosis with associative memory models.

BACKGROUND: One of the central challenges of third millennium medicine is the abatement of medical errors. Among the most frequent and hardiest causes of misdiagnosis are cognitive errors produced by faulty medical reasoning. These errors have been analyzed from the perspectives of cognitive psychology and empirical medical studies. We introduce a neurocognitive model of medical diagnosis to address this issue. METHODS: We construct a connectionist model based on the associative nature of human memory to explore the non-analytical, pattern-recognition mode of diagnosis. A context-dependent matrix memory associates signs and symptoms with their corresponding diseases. The weights of these associations depend on the frequencies of occurrence of each disease and on the different combinations of signs and symptoms of each presentation of that disease. The system receives signs and symptoms and by a second input, the degree of diagnostic uncertainty. Its output is a probabilistic map on the set of possible diseases. RESULTS: The model reproduces different kinds of well-known cognitive errors in diagnosis. Errors in the model come from two sources. One, dependent on the knowledge stored in memory, varies with the accumulated experience of the physician and explains age-dependent errors and effects such as epidemiological masking. The other is independent of experience and explains contextual effects such as anchoring. CONCLUSIONS: Our results strongly suggest that cognitive biases are inevitable consequences of associative storage and recall. We found that this model provides valuable insight into the mechanisms of cognitive error and we hope it will prove useful in medical education.

Propuestas de acercamiento al diagnóstico de la afectación y el padecer en la carrera de Medicina / Approach proposals to the diagnosis of affectation and suffering in the medicine career

Introducción: A pesar del tiempo transcurrido, el paradigma biologicista de atención médica no ha sido sustituido por el paradigma biopsicosocial. En el programa de la carrera no hay definición clara de los términos para que los estudiantes de Medicina en su tercer año, durante la estancia en salas de Medicina Interna se acerquen al diagnóstico de la afectación y el padecer. Objetivo: Elaborar una propuesta argumentada de acercamiento al diagnóstico de la afectación y el padecer por estudiantes de Medicina durante su estancia en salas de Medicina Interna. Material y Métodos: Se realizó una revisión narrativa de la literatura seleccionada, obtenida mediante el motor de búsqueda Google Académico y la base de datos Scielo de la Biblioteca Virtual de Salud. Resultados: El Índice de Barthel permite suficiente acercamiento al diagnóstico de la discapacidad como concepto asociado a la afectación. La respuesta emocional del paciente puede definirse como adaptativa ­ adecuada ­ conveniente o como inadaptativa ­ inadecuada ­ inconveniente para la solución de su problema de salud. Conclusiones: Se proponen términos concretos para el acercamiento al diagnóstico de la afectación y el padecer para el estudiante de Medicina(AU)

Introduction: In spite of the elapsed time the biologistic paradigm of medical attention has not been substituted by the bio psychosocial. In the career's program, there is no obvious definition of terms in order that the third year medicine students, during their stay in the Internal Medicine wards, approach to the diagnosis of affectation and suffering. Objective: Elaborate an argued proposal of approach to the diagnosis of affectation and suffering for students of medicine during his stay in Internal Medicine wards. Material and Methods: Was performed a narrative revision of the selected literature obtained by means of the computer search engine google academic and SciELO data base of the Health's Virtual Library. Results: Barthel's index enables an enough approach to the diagnosis of the disability as a correlated concept with affectation. The patient's emotional reaction can be defined as adequate ­ adaptive -convenient or inadequate ­ inconvenient and maladaptive for the solution of his problem of health. Conclusions: The authors propose specific terms for the approach to the diagnosis of affectation and suffering for the student of medicine(AU)

Método clínico. Vulnerabilidad y perspectivas en Estomatología / Clinical method. Vulnerabilities and perspectives in Stomatology

La correcta aplicación del método clínico constituye la base de una atención de calidad a la población. En los últimos años se ha observado un deterioro universal de este, situación no ajena al contexto social cubano, por lo que se presenta como una problemática de salud actual. El objetivo de este trabajo fue considerar aspectos que pueden vulnerar el método clínico en Estomatología, su repercusión en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento, imprescindibles para obtener mejor calidad en la atención a la población. Se efectuó una revisión bibliográfica acerca del método clínico, para lo cual se consideraron como palabras claves: método clínico, diagnóstico médico, problemas de salud, en el período comprendido entre 1966 a 2015. Fueron consultadas las bases de datos: Google Scholar, Ebsco, Lilacs, Pumed y SciELO; de las cuales 41 artículos se tuvieron en cuenta y de estos 27 pertenecían a los últimos 5 años. Se concluyó que el método clínico puede ser vulnerado al realizar algunos procederes de la Estomatología, en detrimento del diagnóstico y la conducta terapéutica. Estas acciones, pueden conducir al deterioro de la relación estomatólogo-paciente, que constituye uno de los aspectos más humanos y esenciales en la profesión. El dominio del método clínico es indispensable para la solución de los problemas de salud bucal y está determinado por la dedicación de los profesionales a su labor, caracterizada por el desarrollo de su capacidad científico técnica, el cumplimiento de los principios éticos y el deber de restablecer la salud del ser humano.

The correct application of the clinical method is the base of population’s quality care. In the last years, a universal deterioration of this method has been observed. This situation is not unknown in the Cuban social context, being, therefore, a health problem nowadays. The aim of this work was considering aspects that may damage clinical method in Stomatology, its repercussion in the diagnosis and treatment, essential for achieving better quality in population’s care. A bibliography review on the clinical method was carried out in the period between 1966 and 2015, considering as key words the following: clinical method, medical diagnosis, health problems. The consulted databases were Google Scholar, Ebsco, Lilacs, Pubmed and Scielo, taking into account 41 articles, 27 of them from the last five years. We arrived to the conclusion that the clinical method might be transgressed when carrying out some procedures of the Stomatology, detracting prognosis and therapeutic behavior. These actions might lead to the deterioration of the stomatologist-patient relations, one of the most humanistic and essential aspects of the profession. Knowing well the clinical method is unavoidable for the solution of the oral health problems, and it is determined by the professionals’ dedication to their work, characterized by the development of their scientific-technical capacity, the fulfillment of the ethical principles and the duty of reestablishing human people health.

Diagnóstico médico / Medical diagnostic

El diagnóstico es objetivo central del acto médico, entendido este como relación médico-paciente. "Llamamos diagnóstico al arte de identificar una enfermedad a través de los signos y síntomas que el paciente presenta". De esta forma el artículo intenta una reflexión sobre la importancia de llegar a él a través de una praxis clínica con so-porte documental en la adecuada elaboración de una historia clínica; previa a la utilización del recurso par

The diagnosis is a central objective of the medical act, understood this, as the relationship doctor-patient. "We call the art of identifying a disease through the signs and symptoms that the patient has diagnosis". Thus the article tries to reflect on the importance of reach him through a clinical practice with documentary support in the proper preparation of a medical history prior to the use of the paraclinic resource.

Local patient dose diagnostic reference levels in pediatric interventional cardiology in Chile using age bands and patient weight values.

PURPOSE: To present the results of a patient dose evaluation program in pediatric cardiology and propose local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for different types of procedure and age range, in addition to suggesting approaches to correlate patient dose values with patient weight. This study was the first conducted in Latin America for pediatric interventional cardiology under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency. METHODS: Over three years, the following data regarding demographic and patient dose values were collected: age, gender, weight, height, number of cine series, total number of cine frames, fluoroscopy time (FT), and two dosimetric quantities, dose-area product (DAP) and cumulative dose (CD), at the patient entrance reference point. The third quartile values for FT, DAP, CD, number of cine series, and the DAP/body weight ratio were proposed as the set of quantities to use as local DRLs. RESULTS: Five hundred and seventeen patients were divided into four age groups. Sample sizes by age group were 120 for <1 yr; 213 for 1 to <5 yr; 82 for 5 to <10 yr; and 102 for 10 to <16 yr. The third quartile values obtained for DAP by diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and age range were 1.17 and 1.11 Gy cm2 for <1 yr; 1.74 and 1.90 Gy cm2 for 1 to <5 yr; 2.83 and 3.22 Gy cm2 for 5 to <10 yr; and 7.34 and 8.68 Gy cm2 for 10 to <16 yr, respectively. The third quartile value obtained for the DAP/body weight ratio for the full sample of procedures was 0.17 (Gy cm2 /kg) for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented in this paper are an initial attempt at establishing local DRLs in pediatric interventional cardiology, from a large sample of procedures for the standard age bands used in Europe, complemented with the values of the ratio between DAP and patient weight. This permits a rough estimate of DRLs for different patient weights and the refining of these values for the age bands when there may be large differences in child size. These DRLs were obtained at the largest pediatric hospital in Chile, with an active optimization program, and could be used by other hospitals in the Latin America region to compare their current patient dose values and determine whether corrective action is appropriate.

An overview of pertussis reemergence and evidence of ITS resurgence in Brazil

About two thousand cases of pertussis are reported in Brazil each year, with the highest incidence and mortality rates occurring in children under one year old. The disease is becoming common in Brazil; however the state of Rio de Janeiro has been showing low reporting figures in relation to other states in the Southeast region. This research work aimed to evaluate the difficulties faced by medical teams when confirming suspect cases of pertussis in healthcare units throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro and to use available data to confirm pertussis diagnosis within the last two years. Epidemiological surveys were conducted among medical personnel from healthcare units who presented the main obstacles to confirming suspect cases. Results show that a lack of laboratory diagnosis, poor differential diagnosis, low knowledge of the disease and a lack of clinical experience are, among other factors, relevant to the low reporting rates in the region...

Cerca de dois mil casos de coqueluche são relatados no Brasil a cada ano. Crianças com menos de 1 ano de idade pertencem ao grupo com maiores taxas de incidência e letalidade. Apesar de a doença estar se tornando cada vez mais frequente no Brasil, o estado do Rio de Janeiro vem apresentando baixos índices de informação comparativamente a outros estados da Região Sudeste. Portanto, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar tanto as dificuldades enfrentadas pelas equipes médicas ao confirmar casos suspeitos de coqueluche em unidades de saúde em todo o estado do Rio de Janeiro quanto a disponibilidade de dados para confirmar o diagnóstico da coqueluche nos últimos dois anos. O levantamento epidemiológico foi realizado entre o pessoal médico de unidades de saúde que apresentaram dificuldades para a confirmação de casos suspeitos. Os resultados indicaram alguns fatores relevantes para as baixas taxas de notificação na região: falta de diagnóstico laboratorial, inconsistência do diagnóstico diferencial, escassez de conhecimento sobre a doença e falta de experiência clínica...

Bases y aplicación del método hipotético-deductivo en el diagnóstico / Rules and implementation of the deductive-hypothetical method in diagnosis

La identificación correcta de los problemas de salud del paciente constituye la base en que descansa la actuación profesional de los médicos y la clave para una atención de calidad. El propósito de este trabajo es describir el método hipotético-deductivo y su utilización en el proceso del diagnóstico, mostrando ejemplos prácticos de casos clínicos que pueden ser similares a los vistos en la atención primaria. Se realizó un trabajo de revisión de artículos nacionales y algunos extranjeros que abordan el diagnóstico médico y la aplicación del método hipotético-deductivo en el proceso del diagnóstico. Los médicos a medida que ganan en conocimientos y experiencias simplifican el proceso del diagnóstico y con pocos datos elaboran sus hipótesis diagnósticas (método hipotético-deductivo), dirigiendo el interrogatorio, el examen físico y las exploraciones complementarias hacia la comprobación o rechazo de los diagnósticos iniciales. Si se rechaza el diagnóstico inicial hay que comenzar de nuevo el proceso. El método hipotético-deductivo es muy eficiente siempre que se aplique correctamente, por un personal experimentado y con las condiciones necesarias. Este método no está exento de errores si se violan sus principios

ABSTRACT The proper identification of health problems of patient is the basis supporting the professional performance of physicians and the key for a quality care. The purpose of present paper is to describe the deductive-hypothetical method and its use in the diagnostic process, showing practical examples of clinical cases that could be similar to that observed in the primary care. A review work was made of national and foreign papers approaching the medical diagnosis y the implementation of the above mentioned method in the process of diagnosis. The physicians according to a increase in knowledges and experiences may to simplify the process of diagnosis and with a few data they made its diagnostic hypotheses (deductive-hypothetic method), directing the questioning, the physical examination and the complementary screenings towards the verification or the rejection of initial diagnoses. If initial diagnosis is rejected it is necessary to start again the process. The deductive-hypothetical method is very effective whenever it be properly applied by a experimented staff and with the necessary conditions. The method is not extent of errors if its principles are infringed

Bases y particularidades del método clínico en la atención primaria de salud / Basis and peculiarities of clinical method of primary health care

El diagnóstico médico es la base de una atención de calidad a nuestros pacientes. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura nacional y de algunos trabajos extranjeros sobre el método clínico, su importancia, bases, procedimientos y características fundamentales en la atención primaria, enfatizando en la morbilidad en ese nivel de atención, las peculiaridades de los problemas de salud allí atendidos, así como las estrategias a seguir para el diagnóstico. Se hacen las consideraciones finales sobre el tema, y se enfatiza que el uso adecuado del método clínico es el principal recurso que posee el médico para identificar los problemas de salud que enfrenta en la atención primaria.

The medical diagnosis is the base of an appropriate care to our patients. A review of national literature and of some foreign papers on the clinical method was conducted, its significance, bases, procedures and major features in primary care emphasizing on the morbidity at that care level, the particular characteristics of the health problems approached, as well as the strategies to be followed for the diagnosis. The final considerations on this subject are made emphasizing that the appropriate use of clinical method is the main resource to count on the physician to identify the health problems faced in the primary care.

O efeito do diagnóstico psiquiátrico sobre a identidade do paciente / The effect of the psychiatric diagnosis on the patient’s identity / El efecto del diagnóstico psiquiátrico sobre la identidad del paciente

A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar como o diagnóstico psiquiátrico interfere na constituição da identidade do usuário do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial de uma região do sul do Brasil. Com intuito de responder a esta questão, foram entrevistados três usuários do referido centro, três familiares e três profissionais que atuam neste tipo de serviço substitutivo. A pesquisa caracterizou-se por ser do tipo exploratória e qualitativa e utilizou entrevistas semi-estruturadas para a coleta de dados. Os resultados mostraram que existem diversas decorrências do diagnóstico psiquiátrico na vida dos pacientes. Dentre elas é possível perceber que os usuários são vistos de forma diferente após receberem o diagnóstico. Existe um olhar de preconceito atrelado ao estigma existente acerca daquele considerado “doente mental”, que passa a ser visto por este rótulo. Portanto, o diagnóstico psiquiátrico foi considerado algo negativo em relação ao desenvolvimento do tratamento, pois traz decorrências negativas e muitas vezes irreversíveis. Por isso, esta pesquisa provoca reflexões sobre a real importância da comunicação do diagnóstico apontando as implicações que traz à vida de quem o possui. (AU)

The present research had as its objective to identify how the psychiatric diagnosis interferes with the identity constitution of the patient in a Psychosocial Attention Center in the southern region of Brazil. Aiming to respond to this question, we interviewed three patients of the mentioned center, three family members, and three professionals who work at this type of substitutive service. The research was characterized as an exploratory qualitative one, and used semi-structured interviews to collect data. The results indicated that there are diverse derived effects of the psychiatric diagnosis in the life of these patients. Among these effects it is possible to perceive that the patients are seen in a different way afterreceiving the diagnosis. There is a certain bias involved in the stigma concerning the “mentally sick”, and this kind of view becomes a label. Therefore, the psychiatric diagnosis was considered something negative in the treatment development, for it brings bad consequences, often irreversible. For this reason, this research provokes reflections on the importance of the diagnosis communication, pointing out its implications in the lives of those who receive it. (AU)

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar Cómo el diagnóstico psiquiátrico interfiere en la constitución de la identidad del cliente del Centro de Atención Psicosocial de una región al sur del Brasil. Con el objeto de responder a estas preguntas, fueron entrevistados tres clientes del referido centro, tres familiares y tres profesionales que actuaron en este tipo de servicio substitutivo. La investigación se caracterizó por ser del tipo exploratoria y cualitativa y utilizo entrevistas semi-estructuradas para la recolección de datos. Los resultados mostraron que existen diversas consecuencias del diagnóstico psiquiátrico en la vida de los pacientes. Dentro de ellas es posible percibir que los clientes son vistos de diferente forma después que recibieron el diagnóstico. Existe un mirar del pre concepto relacionado con estigma existente acerca de aquél considerado “enfermo mental”, que pasa a ser visto por este rótulo. Por lo tanto, el diagnóstico psiquiátrico fue considerado algo negativo en relación al desarrollo del tratamiento, pues trae consecuencias negativas y muchas veces irreversibles. Por eso, esta investigación provoca reflexiones sobre la importancia de la comunicación del diagnóstico apuntando las implicaciones que trae a la vida de quien lo posee. (AU)