Early-life sugar consumption and breastfeeding practices: a multicenter initiative in Latin America.

The aim of this multicenter study was to explore the early-life sugar consumption and dietary practices in Latin America as well as to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and the age at which foods and beverages with added sugars are introduced. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 805 1- to 3-year-old children from 10 Latin American countries, as a complementary study to the Research Observatory for Dental Caries of the Latin American Region (OICAL). A Food Frequency Questionnaire previously tested in different countries was applied to children's mothers and data on breastfeeding and age at introduction of sugary foods and beverages was collected. Statistical analysis included the Kruskal-Wallis test and Poisson regression with robust variance, with the calculation of crude and adjusted mean ratios (MR) and 95% of confidence intervals (CI). The average age at introduction of sugary foods and beverages was 10.1 months (95%CI 9.7-10.4) and 9.6 (95%CI 9.2-9.9) months, respectively, with a significant variation between countries (p < 0.001). The average daily frequency of sugary foods-beverages was 3.3 times per day (95%CI 3.1-3.5) and varied significantly between countries (p = 0.004). Breastfeeding duration of over six months was associated with an increase in the age of introduction of sweet drinks (16%; MR 1.16; 95%CI 1.05-1.28) and foods (21%; MR 1.21; 95%CI 1.10-1.33). In conclusion, most children from vulnerable settings in Latin America start consuming sugary products in the first year of life and a high frequency of consumption was reported through early childhood. Additionally, breastfeeding contributes to a delay in the introduction of sugary products.

Impact on oral health-quality of life in infants: Multicenter study in Latin American countries.

To assess the impact of oral conditions on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in infants in ten Latin America countries (LAC). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 930 pairs of 1-to-3-year-old children/parents from 10 LAC, as a complementary study of the Research Observatory for Dental Caries of the Latin American Region. The scale ECOHIS, previously tested and valid in ten countries, was applied to parents/caregivers of children to measure OHRQoL. Statistical analysis included descriptive data analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA-One-Way) were performed to compare age groups with OHRQoL. Bootstrapping procedures (1000 re-samplings; 95%CI Bca) were performed. The mean scores of the 'Child Impact' section in the LAC was 4.0(±8.3), in the 'Family Impact' section was 2.0(±4.0), and in overall ECOHIS score was 6.0(±12.0). In the 'Child Impact' section, Argentina 10.0(+2.4) and Venezuela 17.8(±17.5) demonstrated mean scores higher than the LAC total data. In the 'Family Impact' section, the countries with higher mean scores were Argentina 4.9(±2.0), Ecuador 2.1(±3.1) and Venezuela 7.9(±7.8). In the overall ECOHIS score, Argentina 15.1 (±4.1) and Venezuela 25.7(±25.2) has higher mean scores than the values of LAC. There is an association between children's age and parents' report of impact on the OHRQoL (p<0.001). Three-year-olds had a higher mean when compared to one- and two-year-olds, both in the Impact on the Child and Impact on the Family (p<0.001) sections, as well as in the overall ECOHIS (p<0.001). In conclusion, there are differences in OHRQoL among Latin American countries, impacting older children more significantly.

[Impact of COVID-19 on the presentation and course of acute appendicitis in paediatrics]. / Impacto de la COVID-19 en la forma de presentación y evolución de la apendicitis aguda en pediatría.

INTRODUCTION: Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most frequent urgent surgical pathology in pediatrics. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decrease in emergency department (ED) visits, which can lead to a delay in health care and an increase in the severity of the pathologies. The objective is to analyze the rate of complicated AA during the pandemic, compared to the same period of the previous year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective unicenter observational cohort study that included patients under 14 years of age seen in the ED with a diagnosis of AA during the months of March to May 2019 (non-pandemic) and 2020 (pandemic). RESULTS: 90 patients were included (41 in non-pandemic and 49 in pandemic). No difference was found between the two periods in the time from the clinic onset until the visit to the ED (37h vs 38h, p=0.881), but there was a difference in the time from arrival at the ED until the surgery (7:00h vs 10:30h, p=0.004). The difference was accentuated when comparing the month of March with April-May 2020 (6h vs 12h; p=0.001). No significant differences were observed in the rate of complicated AA in intraoperative diagnosis (35% vs 33%; p=0.870) or anatomopathology (35% vs 48%; p=0.222), nor in the number of postoperative complications, length of hospitalization and readmissions. An increase in the anatomopathological diagnosis of AA with periapendicitis was observed (47% vs 81%; p=0.001) CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, a delay from arrival at the ED until the surgery was observed in children diagnosed with AA. This delay resulted in an increase in the diagnosis of histologically evolved AA, but without an increase in the clinical complications of the disease.

DOLAMA study: Effectiveness, safety and pharmacoeconomic analysis of dual therapy with dolutegravir and lamivudine in virologically suppressed HIV-1 patients.

Dolutegravir (DTG) has shown effectiveness in combination with rilpivirine in with experience of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and with 3TC in naïve patients (GEMINI trial). The main objectives of this real-life study were to analyze the effectiveness and safety of 3TC plus DTG in virologically suppressed HIV-1 patients and to conduct a pharmacoeconomic analysis.We conducted an observational, retrospective and multicenter study of HIV+ patients pretreated for at least 6 months with ART that was then simplified to 3TC + DTG for any reason. We gathered data on viral loads (VLs) during exposure to the DT, calculating the rate with VL < 50 copies/mL at week 48, and on associated adverse effects.The 177 HIV+ patients were collected, 77.4% male, with average age of 48.5 years and mean count of 252.2cell/µL CD4+ nadir lymphocytes; 96.6% had VL < 50 copies/mL and 674 cells/µL CD4+ lymphocytes. Median time since HIV diagnosis was 15 years, and median ART duration was 13 years, and 34.5% of patients were on mono- or dual-therapy before the switch. At week 48, 82.4% of patients had VL < 50 cop/µL using an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, 89.6% according to mITT, and 96.7% according to Per-Protocol analysis. 3.3% patients had virological failure (VF). These effectiveness data and costs were compared with those for 2 reference triple therapies (DTG/ABC/3TC and EVG/cobi/FTC/TAF) in a cost minimization analysis, showing cost savings with administration of DTG+3TC (2741 &OV0556;/year vs DTG/ABC/3TC and 4164 &OV0556;/year vs EVG/cobi/FTC/TAF) and in a cost-effectiveness analysis, finding the DT to be the most cost-effective approach (ICER = -548 vs DTG/ABC/3TC and ICER = -4,627&OV0556; vs EVG/cobi/FTC/TAF)The combination of 3TC with DTG appears to be a safe and effective option for the simplification of ART in pretreated and virologically stable HIV-positive patients, being cost-effective and offering the same effectiveness as the triple therapy it replaces.

Análisis bibliométrico de la producción científica sobre el efecto COVID-19 en las Ciencias de la Información

En este trabajo se analiza la producción científica sobre el efecto COVID-19 en el área de las Ciencias de la Información desde una perspectiva bibliométrica. Los objetivos se centraron en: 1) determinar los autores, países, instituciones y revistas más productivas; 2) identificar las fuentes que constituyen el núcleo de la producción científica; 3) examinar los manuscritos con mayor impacto y 4) visualizar la estructura temática y conceptual del dominio científico analizado. Para el análisis de los datos se utilizaron indicadores bibliométricos y técnicas de análisis factorial. Se recuperó un total de 1,175 publicaciones indexadas en la colección central de Web of Science (WoS) desde 2020 hasta 2022. Los resultados mostraron que los países más relevantes fueron Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, China y España. El núcleo de la producción científica estuvo formado por las publicaciones: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Profesional de la Información, Scientometrics y Journal of Health Communication. Los documentos con mayor impacto se concentraron en los trabajos dedicados al análisis de la función de la telemedicina en la atención médica. La estructura conceptual mostró los principales frentes de investigación, tales como la función de la telesalud, las bibliotecas académicas y la alfabetización digital en la lucha contra la pandemia, el papel de las redes sociales en la crisis sanitaria, así como el problema de la desinformación y las noticias falsas.

This paper analyzes the scientific production on the COVID-19 effect in the area of Information Sciences from a bibliometric perspective. The objectives focused on: 1) determining the most productive authors, countries, institutions and journals; 2) identifying the sources that constitute the core of scientific production; 3) examining the manuscripts with the greatest impact; and 4) visualizing the thematic and conceptual structure of the scientific domain analyzed. Bibliometric indicators and factor analysis techniques were used for data analysis. A total of 1,175 publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) core collection from 2020 to 2022 were retrieved. The results showed that the most relevant countries were the United States, United Kingdom, China and Spain. The core of the scientific production was formed by the publications: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Information Professional, Scientometrics and Journal of Health Communication. The papers with the greatest impact were concentrated in those dedicated to the analysis of the role of telemedicine in medical care. The conceptual structure showed the main research fronts, such as the role of telehealth, academic libraries and digital literacy in the fight against the pandemic, the role of social networks in the health crisis, as well as the problem of misinformation and fake news.

Early-life sugar consumption and breastfeeding practices: a multicenter initiative in Latin America

Abstract The aim of this multicenter study was to explore the early-life sugar consumption and dietary practices in Latin America as well as to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and the age at which foods and beverages with added sugars are introduced. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 805 1- to 3-year-old children from 10 Latin American countries, as a complementary study to the Research Observatory for Dental Caries of the Latin American Region (OICAL). A Food Frequency Questionnaire previously tested in different countries was applied to children's mothers and data on breastfeeding and age at introduction of sugary foods and beverages was collected. Statistical analysis included the Kruskal-Wallis test and Poisson regression with robust variance, with the calculation of crude and adjusted mean ratios (MR) and 95% of confidence intervals (CI). The average age at introduction of sugary foods and beverages was 10.1 months (95%CI 9.7-10.4) and 9.6 (95%CI 9.2-9.9) months, respectively, with a significant variation between countries (p < 0.001). The average daily frequency of sugary foods-beverages was 3.3 times per day (95%CI 3.1-3.5) and varied significantly between countries (p = 0.004). Breastfeeding duration of over six months was associated with an increase in the age of introduction of sweet drinks (16%; MR 1.16; 95%CI 1.05-1.28) and foods (21%; MR 1.21; 95%CI 1.10-1.33). In conclusion, most children from vulnerable settings in Latin America start consuming sugary products in the first year of life and a high frequency of consumption was reported through early childhood. Additionally, breastfeeding contributes to a delay in the introduction of sugary products.

Impact on oral health-quality of life in infants: Multicenter study in Latin American countries

Abstract To assess the impact of oral conditions on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in infants in ten Latin America countries (LAC). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 930 pairs of 1-to-3-year-old children/parents from 10 LAC, as a complementary study of the Research Observatory for Dental Caries of the Latin American Region. The scale ECOHIS, previously tested and valid in ten countries, was applied to parents/caregivers of children to measure OHRQoL. Statistical analysis included descriptive data analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA-One-Way) were performed to compare age groups with OHRQoL. Bootstrapping procedures (1000 re-samplings; 95%CI Bca) were performed. The mean scores of the 'Child Impact' section in the LAC was 4.0(±8.3), in the 'Family Impact' section was 2.0(±4.0), and in overall ECOHIS score was 6.0(±12.0). In the 'Child Impact' section, Argentina 10.0(+2.4) and Venezuela 17.8(±17.5) demonstrated mean scores higher than the LAC total data. In the 'Family Impact' section, the countries with higher mean scores were Argentina 4.9(±2.0), Ecuador 2.1(±3.1) and Venezuela 7.9(±7.8). In the overall ECOHIS score, Argentina 15.1 (±4.1) and Venezuela 25.7(±25.2) has higher mean scores than the values of LAC. There is an association between children's age and parents' report of impact on the OHRQoL (p<0.001). Three-year-olds had a higher mean when compared to one- and two-year-olds, both in the Impact on the Child and Impact on the Family (p<0.001) sections, as well as in the overall ECOHIS (p<0.001). In conclusion, there are differences in OHRQoL among Latin American countries, impacting older children more significantly.

Resumo Avaliar o impacto das condições bucais na qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal (QVRSB) em crianças de dez países da América Latina (AL). Foi realizado um estudo transversal com 930 pares de crianças/pais de 1 a 3 anos de 10 países da AL, como estudo complementar do Research Observatory for Dental Caries of the Latin American Region. A escala ECOHIS, previamente testada e validada em dez países, foi aplicada a pais/cuidadores de crianças para mensurar a QVRSB. A análise estatística incluiu análise descritiva de dados e análise de variância unidirecional (ANOVA-One-Way) para comparar grupos etários com QVRSB. Procedimentos de bootstrapping (1000 reamostragens; 95%IC Bca) foram realizados. A pontuação média da seção 'Impacto na Criança' na AL foi 4,0 (±8,3), na seção 'Impacto na Família' foi 2,0 (±4,0) e no escore total do ECOHIS foi 6,0 (±12,0). Na seção 'Impacto na Criança', Argentina 10,0(+2,4) e Venezuela 17,8(±17,5) demonstraram pontuações médias superiores aos dados totais da AL. Na seção 'Impacto na Família', os países com pontuações médias mais altas foram Argentina 4,9(±2,0), Equador 2,1(±3,1) e Venezuela 7,9(±7,8). No escore total do ECOHIS, Argentina 15,1 (±4,1) e Venezuela 25,7(±25,2) apresentaram escores médios superiores aos valores de AL. Houve associação entre a idade das crianças e o relato dos pais de impacto na QVRSB (p<0,001). As crianças de três anos tiveram média maior quando comparadas às de um e dois anos, tanto nas seções 'Impacto na Criança' e 'Impacto na Família' (p<0,001), quanto no escore total ECOHIS (p<0,001). Em conclusão, houveram diferenças na QVRSB entre os países da América Latina, impactando de forma mais significativa as crianças mais velhas.

[Visualizing Research Lines in Public Health: An analysis Based on Bibliometric Maps Applied to the Revista Española de Salud Pública (2006-2015)]. / Visualización de las principales líneas de investigación en salud pública: un análisis basado en mapas bibliométricos aplicados a la Revista Española de Salud Pública (2006-2015).

OBJECTIVE: Identifying research lines is essential to understand the knowledge structure of a scientific domain. The aim of this study was to identify the main research topics of within the domain of public health, in the Revista Española de Saslud Pública during 2006-2015. METHODS: Original articles included in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database, available online through the Web of Science (WoS), were selected. The analysis units used were the keywords, KeyWords Plus (KW+), extracted automatically by SSCI. With KW+ obtained bibliometric, maps were created using a methodology based on the combination of co-word analysis, co-word analysis, clustering techniques and visualization techniques. RESULTS: We analyzed 512 documents, of which 176 KW+ were obtained with a frequency greater than or equal to 3. The results were bidimensional bibliometric maps with thematic groupings of KW+, representing the main research fronts: i) epidemiology, risk control programs disease and, in general, service organization and health policies; ii) infectious diseases, principally HIV; iii) a progressive increase in several lines interrelated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD); iv) a line multidimensional dedicated to different aspects associated to the quality of life related to health (HRQoL); and v) an emerging line linked to binge drinking. CONCLUSIONS: For the multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature of public health, the construction of bibliometric maps is an appropriate methodology to understand the knowledge structure of this scientific domain.

Descubrimiento de interacciones farmacológicas en MEDLINE con el uso de medidas de centralidad / Searching for drug interactions in MEDLINE with the use of measures of centrality

En este trabajo se propone una aproximación para la identificación y la predicción de interacciones farmacológicas en la literatura biomédica mediante el uso de medidas de centralidad. Las interacciones farmacológicas están provocadas por alteraciones del efecto de un fármaco. Los especialistas en salud cuentan con bases de datos farmacológicas en las que se proporciona información sobre dichas interacciones. Sin embargo, la cobertura de dichas bases de datos es limitada. Por tanto, la literatura biomédica sigue siendo la fuente de información científica por excelencia. El método utilizado para la identificación de tales interacciones se ha basado en análisis de redes y técnicas de visualización de la información. Partiendo de un conjunto de fármacos extraídos de la base de datos MEDLINE, aplicamos las métricas de grado, cercanía e intermediación para clasificar los fármacos en la red. Los resultados a los que se ha llegado muestran que la centralidad de intermediación constituye la medida más adecuada para identificar y predecir nuevas interacciones. La conclusión es que las interacciones farmacológicas, descubiertas con el procedimiento propuesto, podrían ser buenas candidatas para posteriores análisis experimentales en los que se comprobara su relevancia clínica. Además, este mismo procedimiento se podría utilizar en los procesos de curación de contenido en las bases de datos farmacológicas.

The paper proposes an approach to the identification and prediction of drug interactions in biomedical literature using measures of centrality. Drug interactions are caused by alterations in the effect of a drug. Health specialists have pharmacological databases at their disposal in which information is provided about such interactions. However, because such databases have a limited scope, biomedical literature continues to be the source of scientific information par excellence. The method used to identify such interactions was based on network analysis and information visualization techniques. Degree, closeness and betweenness metrics were applied to a set of drugs extracted from the database MEDLINE with the purpose of classifying the drugs in the network. The results obtained show that the centrality of betweenness is the most appropriate measure to identify and predict new interactions. The conclusion is that the drug interactions revealed by the procedure proposed could be good candidates for further experimental analysis aimed at verifying their clinical relevance. The procedure could also be used for the content curation of drug databases.

Reconocimiento y anotación de nombres de fármacos genéricos en la literatura biomédica / Recognizing and annotating generic drug names in biomedical literature

Este trabajo propone un sistema para la identificación y anotación de nombres de fármacos genéricos en textos biomédicos basado en modelos de estado-finito. El procedimiento presentado utiliza reglas de nomenclatura para fármacos genéricos, recomendadas por el Consejo United States Adoptated Names (USAN), que van a permitir la clasificación de los fármacos en familias farmacológicas, y una herramienta de ingeniería lingüística basada en tecnología de estado-finito. Por medio de una interfaz gráfica, se han construido analizadores capaces de identificar, clasificar y etiquetar nombres de fármacos genéricos, utilizando los afijos recomendados por USAN. El sistema consigue un 99,8 % de precisión y un 92 % de exhaustividad sobre una colección de 259 resúmenes de artículos científicos extraídos de la base de datos Medline. La combinación de reglas USAN y tecnología de estado-finito constituye un procedimiento eficaz para la detección, clasificación y etiquetado de nombres de fármacos genéricos.

This paper proposes a system for identification and annotation of generic drug names in biomedical texts based on finite-state models. The proposed procedure uses naming rules for generic drugs, recommended by the United States Adoptated Names (USAN) Council, allow the classification of drugs in drug families, and linguistic engine based on finite-state techniques. Through a graphical interface, we have built analyzers able to identify to identify, classify and assign annotations to generic drug names, using affixes recommended by USAN. The evaluation corpus consists of 256 Medline abstracts. The system achieves a 99.8% precision and 92% recall. The combination of rules USAN and finite-state technology is an effective procedure for the detection, classification and tagging of generic drug names.

Diagnóstico de la salud bucodental en Panamá / Diagnosis of the bucodental health in Panama

Informa que el diagnóstico de la salud bucodental en Panamá (DISABU) es un estudio epidemiológico nacional de salud bucodental en la República de Panamá, que diagnosticará el estado de salud bucal de la población, considerando principalmente las afecciones más prevalentes en la cavidad oral, como son las caries dental y las enfermedades periodontales que representan un verdadero problema de salud pública, el conocimiento que se adquiera permitirá no identiificar la prevalencia, magnitud y severidad de estas y otras condiciones mórbidas, sino que será útil para redefinir las políticas sanitarias en el área, mejorar los planes y programas que han existido, basados fundamentalmente en la información que surge de la producción de servicios y del sistema de vigilancia epidemiológica, los cuales no han incluido a la mayor proporción de la población.