P R Health Sci J
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Historical Article
University of Puerto Rico - School of Pharmacy: one hundred years of history and service.
The University of Puerto Rico School of Pharmacy was initially established as the Department of Pharmacy at the Río Piedras Campus on September 22, 1913, being the first healthcare program founded in Puerto Rico. The history of the School of Pharmacy reveals a remarkable evolution over a 100 years period in order to respond to the patients' and societal needs. The programs offered by the school have adapted to the wealth of scientific knowledge, emerging technologies, patients' needs and changes in the healthcare system. This historical note highlights the most important milestones of this centennial institution.
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Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic allergic reaction. Most cases of anaphylaxis are encountered and managed at Emergency Departments (ED). We aimed to evaluate all cases of anaphylaxis and of acute allergic reactions presenting to the ED of the Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) to assess each patient's presentation, the possible cause of that individual's allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, and the treatment or treatments that that person received. ⋯ Anaphylaxis is under-diagnosed and under-treated in ED patients receiving care at the VACHS. There is a need to improve anaphylaxis recognition and treatment in the ED setting and, in addition, to better identify barriers to optimal health care.
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To determine the association between caffeinated-beverage consumption, self-perceived academic load, and self-perceived stress levels in first and second year students at UPR-MSC. ⋯ Consuming caffeinated beverages is a popular practice among participants in this sample, with soft drinks and coffee being the ones that are the most frequently consumed. No associations were found between the consumption of caffeinated beverages and academic stress or load.
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Renal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer of the kidney and is among the tumors that are the most resistant to systemic therapy. Until recently, long term survival of this disease when it was not confined to the kidney was dismal, with the use of drugs such as interleukin-2 resulting in a 5-year survival rate of less than 10% for patients with advanced disease. Nearly 30% of patients present with metastatic disease, and recurrence develops in approximately 40% of patients with localized tumors. ⋯ Small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors are the prototype of cancer therapy in this century, causing fewer toxic effects in the normal cells and with targeted inhibition of malignant cell proliferation. These therapies have emerged from the understanding of the molecular genetics and biology of this tumor. Further elucidation of the mechanisms of action of these drugs and those in development will lead to more effective therapies and increase the understanding of the best ways to combine them.
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Childhood obesity is a worldwide epidemic; its prevalence has quadrupled in the US among children from 6-11 y/o. In the US, Hispanic children have a higher prevalence of obesity compared to non-Hispanic whites. No representative data was available for Puerto Rican children from first to sixth grades in Puerto Rico or the US. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of childhood obesity among Puerto Rican children from first to sixth grade by different socio-demographic characteristics in a sub-urban municipality in Puerto Rico. ⋯ This study documents a high prevalence of Puerto Rican childhood obesity among first to sixth grade regardless of grade level and gender, which is higher than the prevalence among Hispanics in the US. A higher probability of overweight was seen among the poorer children. This is the first study conducted among first to sixth graders. Thus, it calls for attention towards Puerto Rican children in the island and the US.