Medicina
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Observational Study
[Cardiac magnetic resonance and follow up of professional soccer players recovering from COVID-19].
The incidence of post-COVID-19 cardiac compromise is not well known. The eventual cardiac repercussions on a return to high-performance sport are unclear. A prospective observational study with evaluation by physical examination, electrocardiogram, Doppler echocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was carried out in international level professional soccer players recovering from COVID-19 who had the disease asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. ⋯ The remaining 13 completed high intensity training sessions and participated in local league competitions. At 4 months after diagnosis, none of the soccer players developed cardiac events and training and competitions were well tolerated. These findings suggest low cardiovascular impact of COVID 19 and excellent tolerance to early post-COVID high intensity exercise of young athletes recovering from the disease with no or mild symptoms.
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Cancer patients are exposed to more complications from COVID-19 than non-cancer patients. We report a cohort of 74 cancer patients (87.8% with solid neoplasia and 12.2% with hematological diseases) with COVID-19 infection admitted to a tertiary medical cancer center in Argentina. Pulmonary infiltrates were diagnosed at admission in 78.3% (N = 58) of the cases. ⋯ Age and smoking were associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis. The adjusted odds ratios (95 CI) for age = 65 years and smoking were 8.87 (1.35-58.02) and 8.64 (1.32 - 56.64), respectively. Our experience can be useful for other institutions that assist cancer patients during the pandemic.
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We report a case of infectious endocarditis due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a 38-year-old male patient with no cardiovascular risk factors or past medical history who presented with prolonged febrile illness, asthenia and weight loss. The blood cultures were positive for gonococcus. He received antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxone for 29 days. The patient developed severe aortic regurgitation and underwent surgical aortic valve replacement with a bileaflet mechanical prosthesis, with favorable outcome.
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Adherence to prescribed treatment in chronic diseases, as occurs in multiple sclerosis (MS), is a critical factor for a successful therapeutic response. The objective of this study was to evalua te the association between demographic variables and adherence to treatment of the population of MS patients in Argentina. A retrospective cohort study of MS patients who received treatment with disease-modifying drugs, included in the drug dispensing database of the National Care Medical Program: PAMI (Programa Asistencia Médica Integral), was conducted. ⋯ In conclusion, adherence to treatment has been suboptimal. In the Patagonian region, the use of injectables and generic drugs was associated with lower adherence to therapy. These data are very important in order to planning socio-sanitary programs that aim to increase therapeutic adherence.
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Chagas disease is endemic in Latin America and remains a regional problem despite improvements in environmental health conditions that have helped to control its transmission. To know more about its prevalence in heart disease patients, we carried out a survey in our national (El Salvador) reference hospital. We reviewed the Chagas Lab's records 2013-2015 to find out how many of the patients admitted to the Hospital's Heart Unit were serologically positives for Trypanosoma cruzi infection and which the associated diagnoses were. ⋯ Out of 557 (37.8%) patients with positive serology for Chagas infection, 97 (17.4%) were eventually admitted to the Heart Unit. Among these 97 Chagas infected patients with heart disease, 40 (41.2%) met the criteria for permanent pacemaker placement, while only 13 of 191 (6.8%) patients with non-chagasic heart disease met these criteria. The frequency of heart atrioventricular block associated with Trypanosoma cruzi infection was higher than frequencies reported in South American studies.