Mortality in Parenchymal and Subarachnoid Neurocysticercosis.

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is endemic in many parts of the world, carrying significant neurological morbidity that varies according to whether lesions are located inside the cerebral parenchyma or in extraparenchymal spaces. The latter, in particular subarachnoid NCC, is assumed to be more severe, but no controlled studies comparing mortality between types of NCC exist. The aim of this study was to compare all-cause mortality between patients with intraparenchymal NCC and those with subarachnoid NCC. Vital status and sociodemographic characteristics were evaluated in patients with intraparenchymal viable, intraparenchymal calcified, and subarachnoid NCC attending a neurological referral hospital in Lima, Perú. Survival analyses using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional regression models were carried out to compare mortality rates between groups. From 840 NCC patients followed by a median time of 82.3 months, 42 (5.0%) died, six (1.8%) in the intraparenchymal viable group, four (1.3%) in the calcified group, and 32 (16.6%) in the subarachnoid group (P < 0.001). Older age and lower education were significantly associated with mortality. The age-adjusted hazard ratio for death in the subarachnoid group was 13.6 (95% CI: 5.6-33.0, P < 0.001) compared with the intraparenchymal viable group and 10.7 (95% CI: 3.7-30.8, P < 0.001) when compared with the calcified group. We concluded that subarachnoid disease is associated with a much higher mortality in NCC.

Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis in Children from a Rural Community Taking Part in a Periodic Deworming Program in the Peruvian Amazon.

Children in the Peruvian Amazon Basin are at risk of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infections. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of STH infection in children from a rural Amazonian community of Peru and to elucidate epidemiological risk factors associated with its perpetuation while on a school-based deworming program with mebendazole. Stool samples of children aged 2-14 years and their mothers were analyzed through direct smear analysis, Kato-Katz, spontaneous sedimentation in tube, Baermann's method, and agar plate culture. A questionnaire was administered to collect epidemiological information of interest. Among 124 children, 25.8% had one or more STH. Individual prevalence rates were as follows: Ascaris lumbricoides, 16.1%; Strongyloides stercoralis, 10.5%; hookworm, 1.6%; and Trichuris trichiura, (1.6%). The prevalence of common STH (A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and hookworm) was higher among children aged 2-5 years than older children (31.6% versus 12.8%; P = 0.01). In terms of sanitation deficits, walking barefoot was significantly associated with STH infection (OR = 3.28; CI 95% = 1.11-12.07). Furthermore, STH-infected children more frequently had a mother who was concomitantly infected by STH than the non-STH-infected counterpart (36.4% versus 14.1%, P = 0.02). In conclusion, STH infection is highly prevalent in children from this Amazonian community despite routine deworming. Institutional health policies may include hygiene and sanitation improvements and screening/deworming of mothers to limit the dissemination of STH. Further studies are needed to address the social and epidemiological mechanics perpetuating these infections.

Comparación entre las técnicas de la gota de agua y la tijera de Metzembaum en la técnica del TOT (trans obturatriz tape) para la aplicación de la tensión Sling en el ángulo sub-uretral para la cura de la incontinencia urinaria de la mujer en el Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza, Lima-Perú / Comparison between two different techniques, the drop of water technique versus the Metzembaum scissors technique, to give an adecuate tension to the suburethral sling where TOT is used as treatment for urinary incontinence in The Arzobispo Loayza National Hospital, Lima-Peru

Comparar dos técnicas que se usan en las cirugías donde se utiliza la TOT para regular y dar la tensión adecuada al Sling sub-uretral en la cura de la Incontinencia Urinaria de Esfuerzo femenina: la técnica de la gota de agua y la de la tijera de Metzembaum, para evaluar la morbilidad infecciosa de las vías urinarias y el tiempo desarrollado en ejecutar cada una de ellas. Material y Métodos: El estudio, se realizó en el Servicio de Ginecología del Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza, entre noviembre del 2009 y setiembre del 2011, aleatoriamente en dos grupos de pacientes: grupo "A", que utilizó la técnica de la gota de agua y el "B", que utilizó la Tijera de Metzembaum, siendo un clásico estudio prospectivo analítico observacional de casos y controles. Resultados: La morbilidad infecciosa fue prácticamente la misma, pero si existió una diferencia sustancial de tiempo operatorio a favor del grupo "B". Conclusión: Ambas técnicas utilizadas en el TOT fueron efectivas y solo se diferenciaron por el menor tiempo operatorio con la tijera de Metzembaum...

The purpose of this prospective study was to compare two different techniques, the drop of water technique versus the Metzembaum scissors technique, to give an adequate tension to the suburethral sling where TOT is used as treatment for urinary incontinence. Material and Methods: The study took place in the Gynecology service of the Arzobispo Loayza National Hospital, from November 2009 to September 2011. The two groups of patients; Group "A" (Drop of water technique) and Group "B" (Metzembaum scissors technique) were randomly chosen. Results: It was shown thatmorbidity caused by infection was similar in both groups, nevertheless, a substantial reduction in surgery time existed in Group "B". Conclusion: Both techniques used in the TOT were effective and only differentiated by the shorter surgery time with Metzembaim scissors...