Revista clínica española
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Revista clínica española · Aug 2003
Comparative Study[Subclinical carbon monoxide poisoning in our health area].
We present an observation study on the relatioship between high levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHB) and subclinical poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO) in our health area. The study was carried out in February and March 2000 in 228 over 18-year-old patients of both sexes who went to the Emergency Room for various reasons. ⋯ The values limit of the COHB obtained were the following: in non smokers, 1.9%; in 1-10 cigarettes/day smokers, 5.2%; in 11-20 cigarettes/day smokers, 6.9%; in >20 cigarettes/day smokers, 9.6%. A COHB high level was observed in 25% of the patients regardless of the smoking habits, being the coal-dust slack brazier the source of most frequent exposure to CO.
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Revista clínica española · Jul 2003
[Home enteral nutrition: analysis of efficiency in a Health District].
Studies on the analysis of direct costs generated by household enteral nutrition (HEN) have been scant. The objective of our study was to carry out a direct costs analysis of household enteral nutrition using both the biochemical and nutritional monitoring values of the nutritional state as a point of reference. ⋯ Average age of the patients was 58.7 13.3 years. The number and proportion of patients according to primary conditions were the following: 71 (69.3%) with head and neck cancer, 14 (13.9%) with a neurological condition with swallowing disturbance (stroke and/or dementia), 6 (5.9%) with tumors in other locations, and 11 (10.9%) with a group of diseases associated with dysphagia or anorexia. HEN was administered by oral route in 81 patients (79.4%), by nasogastric tube (NGT) in 15 patients (14.7%), by PEG in 5 patients (4.9%) and by yeyunostomy in 1 patient (1%). Average duration of HEN was 101 46.9 days. We showed a significant improvement of biochemical and anthropometric parameters in patients with HEN. The economic analysis of direct costs generated by enteral nutrition showed that the total average cost of nutritional formulas and expendable equipment utilized (holders, probes and nutritional tubes) was 300,033 599,203 pesetas/full treatment/patient (1,803 3,601 euros), or a daily average cost of 2,970 5,932 pesetas/day/patient (17.8 35.6 euros). In the analysis of costs acording to different items, the expendable equipment (nutritional tubes, nasogastric tubes and nutritional formula holders) were an average of 1,284 4,571 pesetas/full treatment/patient (7.7 27.4 euros) (5% in total), and the nutritional preparations were an average of 231,313 399,756 pesetas/full treatment/patient (1,390.2 2,402 euros) (95%). The patients with greater resources expenditure were those with tumors of head and neck. In order to analyze the efficiency of this treatment an analysis of costs was carried out for each objective parameter indicating nutritional status improvement; that way, the increase of 1 g/dl of albumin was an average cost of 103,817 2,897 pesetas (623.9 17.4 euros), while the increase of 1 kg of weight was an average cost of 857,237 25,097 pesetas (5,152.1 150.8 euros). CONCLUSIONS. In summary, nutrition enteral household was an effective therapy for nutritional status improvement in different groups of ambulatory patients. The cost of the nutritional support was superior in the group of patients with tumors of the upper aereodigestive system because of the greater duration of the treatment and the complex access route.
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Revista clínica española · Jun 2003
Case Reports[Community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia].
Description of two cases of community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia. ⋯ A. baumannii is an infrequent cause of community-acquired pneumonia, although it should be suspected in patients with debilitating illness and in patients who do not evolve favorably on the first days of the admission with conventional treatment.
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Revista clínica española · Jun 2003
Comparative Study[Study of the relationship between retinal and renal microangiopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1].
The similarities in the vascularization of the retina and the kidney give rise to the complications of diabetes mellitus in the small vessels (microangiopathy) that appear in both organs. The present study presents the prospectively obtained results along 10 years in 104 diabetic type 1 patients, with the characteristics not to present microalbuminuria nor diabetic retinopathy at the beginning of the study; the results bear as objective the establishment of the relation between the presence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria, taking into account different factors of epidemiological risk: gender, duration of diabetes, presence of diastolic hypertension, levels of HbAlc, and blood lipids. The results obtained indicate a 10 years of follow-up incidence of diabetic retinopathy of 37.50% (being the proliferative form 13.46%) and the incidence of microalbuminuria is of 20.19%. ⋯ The results obtained in the proliferative diabetic retinopathy and microalbuminuria incidence are similar to those of other authors. At the end of the study four groups of patients are configured depending on whether they present proliferative diabetic retinopathy and/or microalbuminuria. The results obtained in the present study suggest the possible existence of two populations of diabetic patients, one that would develop proliferative diabetic retinopathy and renal injury, and a second population in which only would appear proliferative diabetic retinopathy.