Gender differences in workplace violence against physicians and nurses in Latin America: a survey from the Interamerican Society of Cardiology.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate gender differences in workplace violence (WPV) against physicians and nurses in Latin America. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted between January 11 and February 28, 2022. A prespecified gender analysis was performed. RESULTS: Among the 3056 responses to the electronic survey, 57% were women, 81.6% were physicians, and 18.4% were nurses. At least one act of violence was experienced by 59.2% of respondents, with verbal violence being the most common (97.5%). Women experienced more WPV than men (65.8% vs 50.4%; P < 0.001; odds ratio [OR]: 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.63-2.19). Women were more likely to report at least one episode of WPV per week (19.2% vs 11.9%, P < 0.001), to request for psychological help (14.5% vs 9%, P = 0.001) and to experience more psychosomatic symptoms. In addition, women were more likely to report having considered changing their job after an aggression (57.6% vs 51.3%, P = 0.011) and even leaving their job (33% vs 25.7%, P = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, being a woman (OR: 1.76), working in emergency departments (OR: 1.99), and with COVID-19 patients (OR: 3.3) were independently associated with more aggressive interactions, while older age (OR: 0.95) and working in a private setting (OR: 0.62) implied lower risk. CONCLUSIONS: Women are more likely to experience WPV and to report more psychosomatic symptoms after the event. Preventive measures are urgently needed, with a special focus on high-risk groups such as women.

[Association between major depression and arterial hypertension in a Colombian population]. / Asociación entre depresión mayor e hipertensión arterial en una población colombiana.

INTRODUCTION: A third of hypertensive patients have major depression, a relationship that is associated with a worse prognosis. The objective of the study was to estimate the association between depression and high blood pressure, as well as to establish the possible bidirectionality of the conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study. People between 18 and 65 years old with high blood pressure, depression or use of medications for their management were included. To analyze the antecedent, a comorbidity model was performed. A bivariate analysis was performed and then a multivariate logistic regression. The association was estimated using the Chi-square test and the odds ratios that were crude and adjusted to the other variables included in the analysis. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to assess the goodness of fit. SPSS® v.21 was used as the statistical package. RESULTS: A total of 1,721 people were included in the study. The prevalence of depression in patients with and without hypertension was 17.4 and 12.6%, respectively, with a 43% risk of hypertension in people with depression. In patients with depression, it preceded the diagnosis of hypertension in 64.8% of cases and in hypertensive patients, 22.2% were later diagnosed with depression. The association between high blood pressure and major depression remained significant after adjusting for the other risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Depression was found as a risk factor for high blood pressure, with a 2-way risk relationship between depression and high blood pressure.

Characterisation of OSL and OSLN droplets for dosimetry.

In spite of considerable progress in neutron dosimetry, there is no dosemeter that is capable of measuring neutron doses independently of the neutron spectrum with good accuracy. Carbon-doped aluminium oxide (Al2O3:C) is a sensitive material for ionising radiation (beta-ray, X ray and electron) and has been used for applications in personal and medical dosimetry as an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosemeter. Al2O3:C has a low sensitivity to neutron radiation; this prevents its application to neutron fields, representing a disadvantage of Al2O3:C-OSL when compared with LiF, which is used as a thermoluminescent detector. Recently an improvement for neutron dosimetry (Passmore and Kirr. Neutron response characterisation of an OSL neutron dosemeter. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 2011; 144: 155-60) uses Al2O3:C coated with (6)Li2CO3 (OSLN),which gives the high-sensitive response as known for Al2O3:C with the advantage of being also sensitive to thermal neutrons. In this article, the authors compare small-size detectors (droplets) of Al2O3:C (OSL) and of Al2O3:C+(6)Li2CO3 (OSLN) and discuss the advantages and drawbacks of both materials, regarding size vs. response.

Colecistectomía Mínimamente Invasiva: Evaluación de Costos / Minimun Invasive Cholecystectomy: Cost evaluation

Se presenta un estudio prospectivo, de 20 pacientes portadores de litiasis vesicular, sometidos a protocolo de estudio y tratamiento, mediante colecistectomía mínimamente invasiva. Demostramos que: -Con esta técnica el trauma quirúrgico es mínimo. -El período de hospitalización de los pacientes fué de 24 a 28 hrs, y la reincorporación a sus labores fué al 8vo. día. Necesitaron solo consultas de control de post operatorio(3ero. y 7mo. día). -El costo comparativo con la colecistectomía laparoscópica es de 47 por ciento menos, y los resultados tanto cosméticos como, de comfort del paciente son similares.

El médico general y el pediatra / The general physician and the pedodontist

Para describir los conocimientos y prácticas de los médicos generales y pediatras en la promoción de la salud bucal y la prevención de la enfermedad en niños menores de 5 años y mujeres en gestación. Se calculó una muestra representativa de médicos generales y pediatras, quienes fueron contactados en 48 instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud públicas y privadas de la ciudad de Medellín, las cuales prestan servicios de medicina general y pediatría. Se realizó una encuesta autoaplicada a todos los profesionales en cada isntitución con un total de 389 médicos (309 generales y 80 pediatras). El 45.2 por ciento de los médicos generales y el 35.5 por ciento de los pediatras afirma que recibió información sobre salud bucal en el pregrado y el postgrado respectivamente. El 51 por ciento consideró regulares o malos sus conocimientos de este tema, sin diferencias importantes entre médicos generales y pediatras. De acuerdo con esto, el 93.4 por ciento de los médicos manifestó la necesidad de recibir capacitación en salud bucal. El 91.6 por ciento de los médicos encuestados manifiestan que revisan la cavidad bucal durante la consulta, el 53.9 por ciento realiza prácticas de promoción y prevención. Los hábitos de higiene bucal más conocidos y recomendados fueron el uso del cepillo (97.4 por ciento), el uso de la seda dental (84.1 por ciento) y enjuagues bucales con y sin fluoruro (45.2 por ciento). Sólo el 12.6 por ciento de los profesionales encuestados sabían que la sal es el medio por el cual llega el flúor a la población colombiana y el 32 por ciento aún considera como medio de fluoración sistémica al agua. Es evidente la necesidad de más información en salud bucal en estos profesionales. Dado el gran porcentaje de médicos que revisaban la cavidad bucal durante el examen, es importante tenerlos en cuenta como un recurso en la promoción y prevención de la salud bucal y para ser más efectivos necesitan más información