Medicina
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The aim of this study was to determine the association between preoperative medium-term (60-90 days) glycemic control, as reflected by glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c), and the incidence of major complications (mediastinitis, perioperative infarction, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure dialysis) and mortality in diabetic patients undergoing elective coronary artery by-pass graft surgery (CABG). This study suggests that aggressive glycemic control three months before surgery, achieving HbA1c=7% improvement results with less postoperative morbidity and mortality.
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Case Reports
[Neurofibromatosis type 1. Splicing mutation detected by MLPA and DNA sequencing in Argentina].
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a dominant autosomic genetic disorder, with a birth incidence of 1 in 2500-3000. Diagnosis is difficult because of the size of gene NF1 that has few hot-spots sites, the absence of a clear genotype-phenotype relation, and a heterogeneous clinical manifestation. A NF1 suspected case from Jujuy province was analyzed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). ⋯ As far as we are aware, this is the first report of a NF1 mutation in mestizo population of Northwest Argentina. 1466A>G has been described before in patients of European origin, suggesting that the affected site could be a hot-spot site of the gene. For countries as Argentina, with limited availability of molecular diagnostic methods, we propose a diagnosis algorithm by starting the mutational analysis of NF1 with MLPA. This methodology is relatively simple and of low cost, avoiding to send samples abroad for genetic analyses.
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Acute bacterial meningitis has a global mortality rate of 135000 cases per year. In Argentina over the last 12 years, the annual incidence rate has been 5.5/100 000. About 20% of patients present neurological sequelae, which are more common in patients aged 60 or older. ⋯ Lethality rate was 41%, all of them by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Only 24 (35%) cases were admitted into intensive care. The main sequelae present were motor disorders (12%) and hearing loss (5%).
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Observational Study
[Amputations. A five-year epidemiological study in Buenos Aires City].
An amputation is the removal of a limb by surgery or accident. The aim of this paper was to carry out an epidemiological analysis on patients with amputations treated at the Instituto de Rehabilitación Psicofísica between 2009 and 2013. This is a retrospective, observational and cross-sectional study. ⋯ Our population mainly included subjects with only one amputated lower limb (83.6%), of vascular etiology (mostly diabetics) and with an average age of 63.5 years. The second sample group comprised traumatic amputees (29.8%), with an average age of 37 years and with a higher frequency of phantom pain. The characteristics of these groups can make them to behave differently during rehabilitation.
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The aim of this study was to describe the population admitted to a weaning center (WC) to receive invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), analyze their evolution and identify weaning failure predictors. The medical records of 763 patients admitted to the respiratory care service in the period between May 2005 and January 2012 were reviewed; 372 were selected among 415 tracheotomized and mechanically ventilated. Different variables were analyzed as weaning failure predictors. ⋯ A predictor of weaning failure was age. When we studied the subpopulation with partial disconnection of mechanical ventilation, we found a history of COPD and ageas predictors. Although 25% of the patients died, or required referral to a center of major complexity before 2 weeks of hospitalization, more than half of the patients were able to be removed permanently from the invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), this could support the care of chronic critical patients in MV and rehabilitation centers in Argentina because patients in these centers have a chance of weaning from MV, despite the high chances of developing complications.