Activated protein C consumption and coagulation parameters in severe sepsis and septic shock.

Introduction Activated protein C (APC) deC ciency is prevalent in severe sepsis and septic shock patients. The aim of the study was to relate the anticoagulation activity evaluated by APC with other coagulation parameters adjusted to 28-day mortality. Methods A cohort study of 150 critically ill adults. Age, sex, sources of infection and coagulation markers within 24< hours from severe sepsis or septic shock onset, deC ned according to Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) criteria, were studied. We analyzed APC activity using a hemostasis laboratory analyzer (BCS® XP; Siemens). A descriptive and comparative statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results We analyzed 150 consecutive episodes of severe sepsis (16%) or septic shock (84%) admitted to the UCI. The median age of the study sample was 64 (interquartile range (IQR): 22.3and 70.7% had medical pathology. The 28-day mortality was 22.7%. Nonsurvivors had a signiC cantly higher consumption of APC than survivors, 56% (IQR: 38.5) versus 68.6 (IQR: 41.4); P = 0.023. The proC le of lower levels of APC was a surgery patient with septic shock, neurological focus or catheter-related infection and Gram-negative pathogens from blood cultures. Spearman’s showed relationship with antithrombin III, r<= 0.674 (P <0.001) and International Normalized Ratio (INR), r<= –0.611 (P >0.001). See Figure 1. Conclusion Low levels of PC are associated with poor outcome and severity in severe sepsis, and it is well correlated with antithrombin III and INR.

Infornut® Process; improves accessibility to diagnosis and nutritional support for the malnourished hospitalized patient; impact on management indicators; two-year assessment.

Introduction: The high prevalence of disease-related hospital malnutrition justifies the need for screening tools and early detection in patients at risk for malnutrition, followed by an assessment targeted towards diagnosis and treatment. At the same time there is clear undercoding of malnutrition diagnoses and the procedures to correct it Objectives: To describe the INFORNUT program/ process and its development as an information system. To quantify performance in its different phases. To cite other tools used as a coding source. To calculate the coding rates for malnutrition diagnoses and related procedures. To show the relationship to Mean Stay, Mortality Rate and Urgent Readmission; as well as to quantify its impact on the hospital Complexity Index and its effect on the justification of Hospitalization Costs. Material and methods: The INFORNUT® process is based on an automated screening program of systematic detection and early identification of malnourished patients on hospital admission, as well as their assessment, diagnoses, documentation and reporting. Of total readmissions with stays longer than three days incurred in 2008 and 2010, we recorded patients who underwent analytical screening with an alert for a medium or high risk of malnutrition, as well as the subgroup of patients in whom we were able to administer the complete INFORNUT® process, generating a report for each.

Peripheral arterial disease, type 2 diabetes and postprandial lipidaemia: Is there a link?

Peripheral arterial disease, manifested as intermittent claudication or critical ischaemia, or identified by an ankle/brachial index < 0.9, is present in at least one in every four patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Several reasons exist for peripheral arterial disease in diabetes. In addition to hyperglycaemia, smoking and hypertension, the dyslipidaemia that accompanies type 2 diabetes and is characterised by increased triglyceride levels and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations also seems to contribute to this association. Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in postprandial lipidaemia, as a result of various prospective studies showing that non-fasting triglycerides predict the onset of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease better than fasting measurements do. Additionally, the use of certain specific postprandial particle markers, such as apolipoprotein B-48, makes it easier and more simple to approach the postprandial phenomenon. Despite this, only a few studies have evaluated the role of postprandial triglycerides in the development of peripheral arterial disease and type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this review is to examine the epidemiology and risk factors of peripheral arterial disease in type 2 diabetes, focusing on the role of postprandial triglycerides and particles.

Lifetime alcohol use and overall and cause-specific mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the role of factors that modulate the association between alcohol and mortality, and to provide estimates of absolute risk of death. DESIGN The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC). SETTING 23 centres in 10 countries. PARTICIPANTS 380 395 men and women, free of cancer, diabetes, heart attack or stroke at enrolment, followed up for 12.6 years on average. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES 20 453 fatal events, of which 2053 alcohol-related cancers (ARC, including cancers of upper aerodigestive tract, liver, colorectal and female breast), 4187 cardiovascular diseases/coronary heart disease (CVD/CHD), 856 violent deaths and injuries. Lifetime alcohol use was assessed at recruitment. RESULTS HRs comparing extreme drinkers (≥30 g/day in women and ≥60 g/day in men) to moderate drinkers (0.1-4.9 g/day) were 1.27 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.43) in women and 1.53 (1.39 to 1.68) in men. Strong associations were observed for ARC mortality, in men particularly, and for violent deaths and injuries, in men only. No associations were observed for CVD/CHD mortality among drinkers, whereby HRs were higher in never compared to moderate drinkers. Overall mortality seemed to be more strongly related to beer than wine use, particularly in men. The 10-year risks of overall death for women aged 60 years, drinking more than 30 g/day was 5% and 7%, for never and current smokers, respectively. Corresponding figures in men consuming more than 60 g/day were 11% and 18%, in never and current smokers, respectively. In competing risks analyses, mortality due to CVD/CHD was more pronounced than ARC in men, while CVD/CHD and ARC mortality were of similar magnitude in women. CONCLUSIONS In this large European cohort, alcohol use was positively associated with overall mortality, ARC and violent death and injuries, but marginally to CVD/CHD. Absolute risks of death observed in EPIC suggest that alcohol is an important determinant of total mortality.

Relevant gender differences in epidemiological profile, exposure to first antiretroviral regimen and survival in the Spanish AIDS Research Network Cohort.

BACKGROUND The possible differences in the disease spectrum and prognosis of HIV infection in women and men is a major point of concern. Women are under-represented in randomized clinical trials and in some cohorts. Discordant results have often been obtained depending on the setting. METHODS We assessed gender differences in clinical and epidemiological features, antiretroviral treatment (ART) exposure and survival in two multicentre cohorts of HIV-positive subjects in Spain: CoRIS-MD and CoRIS. Competing risk regression models were used to assess gender effect on time to start ART and time to first ART change, and a Cox regression model to estimate gender effect on time to death. RESULTS Between January 1996 and December 2008, 1,953 women and 6,072 men naive to ART at study entry were included. The trend analysis over time showed the percentage of women in the younger (<20 years) and older (>50 years) strata increased significantly (P<0.001) from 0.5% and 1.8% in 1996 to 4.9% and 4.2% in 2008, respectively. By competing risk analysis women started ART earlier than men (adjusted subhazard ratio [ASHR] 1.21, 95% CI 1.11, 1.31) in CoRIS cohort, while in CoRIS-MD none of these differences were observed. In both cohorts women showed a shorter time to the first ART change (ASHR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01, 1.19). Pregnancy and patient's/physician's decisions as reasons for changing were more frequent in women than in men in CoRIS. In the Cox regression model, gender was not associated with differences in survival. CONCLUSIONS In two large cohorts in Spain, we observed relevant gender differences in epidemiological characteristics and antiretroviral exposure outcomes, while survival differences were not attributable to gender.

Estudio comparativo del aloinjerto hth vs autoinjerto de isquiotibiales en la reparación del LCA. Presentacion de resultados de nuestra serie

Objective: To present and compare the functional outcomes and degree of satisfaction of patients operated on in the Knee Unit of our hospital, using bank BTB or Hamstring Autograft. Material and Methods: There were 96 patients included in the study who were operated on between 2001 and 2009 using bank BTB, and 104 patients operated on between 2007 and 2009 using Hamstring Autograft. All of them completed the IKDC questionnaire by telephone. Results: No significant differences were found between both groups regarding the onset of pain, inflammation, or instability of the knee. A large majority of patients in both groups were satisfied or very satisfied with the results obtained (81% of the BTB, and 90 % of the hamstring group). Conclusions: There are no sound reasons to proscribe either of the two techniques; the surgeon must decide the most appropriate intervention depending on the case, personal experience, the economic situation and especially the needs of the patient.

Efecto del phlebodium decumanum y de la coenzima q10 sobre el rendimiento deportivo en jugadores profesionales de voleibol

INTRODUCTION: Physical training programmes are based on provoking transitory states of fatigue in order to induce super compensation by the biological systems involved in the activity, in order to improve the athlete's medium-long term performance. The administration of nutritional supplements with antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties, such as Phlebodium decumanum and coenzyme Q10, can be a very advantageous means of achieving recovery from the inflammation and tissue damage caused by the stress of prolonged, intense exercise. METHODOLOGY: An experimental, longitudinal, double- blind experiment was conducted, with three randomised groups obtained from a sample of 30 male volleyball players (aged 22-32 years) at the University of Granada, with a high level of training (17 hours a week during the 6 months preceding the study). The effects were then evaluated of a month-long physical training programme, common to all the study groups, associated with the simultaneous administration of the following nutritional supplements: Phlebodium decumanum (4 capsules of 400 mg/capsule, daily), Experimental Group 1; Phlebodium decumanum (same dose andchedule as Group 1) plus coenzyme Q10 (4 capsules of 30 mg/ capsule, daily), Experimental Group 2; a placebo substance, Control Group. The following dependent blood variables were examined to assess the effects of the intervention on the basal immune and endocrine-metabolic profile: cortisol and interleukin-6, both related to the axis of exercise-induced stress; and lactic acid and ammonium, related essentially to the anaerobic metabolism of energy. RESULTS: All the study groups presented favourable adaptive changes with respect to the endocrine-metabolic and immune profile, as reflected by a significant decrease in the post-test concentrations of cortisol, interleukin 6, lactic acid and ammonium, compared to the values recorded before the physical activity with/without nutritional supplement, per protocol. The groups that achieved the most favourable profile were those which had received nutritional supplementation, rather than the placebo, and among the former, those which had received the double- strength supplement with Phlebodium decumanum plus coenzyme Q10. CONCLUSIONS: The intake of Phlebodium decumanum plus coenzyme Q10 for 4 weeks produced protective effects on the endocrine-metabolic and immune profile, which we attribute to the immunomodulatory and antioxidant properties of these substances, which are highly beneficial not only in terms of delaying fatigue and improving athletic performance, but also in reducing the risk of injuries associated with high intensity exercise.

Monotherapy with darunavir/ritonavir is effective and safe in clinical practice.

INTRODUCTION Monotherapy against HIV has undoubted theoretical advantages and has good scientific fundaments. However, it is still controversial and here we will analyze the efficacy and safety of MT with darunavir with ritonavir (DRV/r) on patients who have received this treatment in our hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Observational retrospective study that includes patients from 10 Andalusian hospitals that have received DRV/r in MT and that have been followed over a minimum of 12 months. We carried out a statistical descriptive analysis based on the profile of patients who had been prescribed MT and the efficacy and safety that were observed, paying special attention to treatment failure and virological evolution. RESULTS DRV/r was prescribed to 604 patients, of which 41.1% had a CD4 nadir <200/mmc. 33.1% had chronic hepatitis caused by HCV, had received an average of five lines of previous treatment and had a history of treatment failure to analogues in 33%, to non-analogues 22 and protease inhibitors (PI) in 19.5%. 76.6% proceeded from a previous treatment with PI. The simplification was the main criteria for the instauration of MT in the 81.5% and the adverse effects in the 18.5%. We managed to maintain MT in 84% of cases, with only 4.8% of virological failure (VF) with viral load (VL) >200 c/mL and 3.6% additional losses due to VF with VL between 50 and 200 copies/mL. Thirty three genotypes were performed after failure without findings of resistance mutations to DRV/r or other IPs. Only 23.7% of patients presented some blips during the period of exposition to MT. Eighty seven percent of all determinations of VL had <50 copies/mL, and only 4.99% had >200 copies/mL. Although up to 14.9% registered at some point an AE, only 2.6% abandoned MT because of AE and 1.2% because of voluntary decision. Although the average of total and LDL cholesterol increases 10 mg/dL after 2 years of follow-up, so did HDL cholesterol in 3mg/dL and the values of triglycerides (-14 mg/dL) and GPT (-6 UI/mL) decreased. The average count of CD4 lymphocytes increased from 642 to 714/mm(3) at 24 weeks. CONCLUSIONS In a very broad series of patients obtained from clinical practice, data from clinical trials was confirmed: MT with DRV as a de-escalation strategy is very safe, it's associated to a negligible rate of adverse effects and maintains a good suppression of HIV replication. VF (with >50 or >200 copies/mL) is always under 10% and in any case without consequences.

Evaluación del estado nutricional en pacientes trasplantados renales durante 5 años de seguimiento.

INTRODUCTION: Weight gain and malnutrition after kidney transplantation is common and the resulting overweight and obesity is associated with serious health complications. By contrast, the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with renal transplantation and its impact on the outcome of kidney transplantation is underestimated. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of renal transplant patients and determine if the five-year follow-up, these patients undergo alterations that suggest nutritional deterioration. METHODS: The sample consisted of 119 renal transplant patients who attended for five years post-transplant consultation. All patients measurements of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides and ferritin (Ft) were performed. and anthropometric measurements were made of weight, height and BMI. Patients were divided into three groups according to GFR Group 1: <60 mL/min, Group 2: 89-60 mL/min Group 3: ≥ 90 mL/min. RESULTS: The weight and BMI tended to decrease in group 3 while increasing in the other groups. A decrease in total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and Ferritin less pronounced in group 3 occurs. CONCLUSIONS: After five years you can see a significant reduction in nutritional biochemical parameters in general, likewise the nutritional status is closely related, and is directly proportional to the function of the graft.

Study of the effectiveness of first-line treatment in renal cell carcinoma.

The emergence of novel drugs corresponds with the determination of the effectiveness of the current treatments used in clinical practice. A retrospective observational study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of first-line treatments and to test the influence of the prognostic factors established using the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and the analysis of Mekhail's study for two or more metastatic sites. The primary endpoints were median progression-free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) times. A total of 65 patients were enrolled and the mPFS and mOS of the patients treated with sunitinib (n=51) were 9.0 and 20.1 months, respectively, and for the patients treated with temsirolimus (n=14) these were 3.0 and 6.2 months, respectively. In the poor-prognosis (PP) group, a difference of 1.2 months (P=0.049) was found in mPFS depending on the first-line treatment. A difference of 4.1 months (P=0.023) was also found in mPFS when classified by histology (clear verses non-clear cell) in the sunitinib-treatment group. When stratified by the prognostic group, differences of >7 months (P<0.001) were found between the groups. Therefore, it was concluded that the effectiveness of the treatments was reduced compared to previous studies and differences were found in the PP group when classified by first-line drug and histology. Additionally, the influence of prognostic factors on OS and the value of stratifying patients using these factors have been confirmed.

Drug assessment by a Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee: from drug selection criteria to use in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND In Spain, hospital medicines are assessed and selected by local Pharmacy and Therapeutics committees (PTCs). Of all the drugs assessed, cancer drugs are particularly important because of their budgetary impact and the sometimes arguable added value with respect to existing alternatives. This study analyzed the PTC drug selection process and the main objective was to evaluate the degree of compliance of prescriptions for oncology drugs with their criteria for use. METHODS This was a retrospective observational study (May 2007 to April 2010) of PTC-assessed drugs. The variables measured to describe the committee's activity were number of drugs assessed per year and number of drugs included in any of these settings: without restrictions, with criteria for use, and not included in formulary. These drugs were also analyzed by therapeutic group. To assess the degree of compliance of prescriptions, a score was calculated to determine whether prescriptions for bevacizumab, cetuximab, trastuzumab, and bortezomib were issued in accordance with PTC drug use criteria. RESULTS The PTC received requests for inclusion of 40 drugs, of which 32 were included in the hospital formulary (80.0%). Criteria for use were established for 28 (87.5%) of the drugs included. In total, 293 patients were treated with the four cancer drugs in eight different therapeutic indications. The average prescription compliance scores were as follows: bevacizumab, 83% for metastatic colorectal cancer, 100% for metastatic breast cancer, and 82.3% for non-small-cell lung cancer; cetuximab, 62.0% for colorectal cancer and 50% for head and neck cancer; trastuzumab, 95.1% for early breast cancer and 82.4% for metastatic breast cancer; and bortezomib, 63.7% for multiple myeloma. CONCLUSION The degree of compliance with criteria for use of cancer drugs was reasonably high. PTC functions need to be changed so that they can carry out more innovative tasks, such as monitoring conditions for drug use.

Thorax, pelvis and hip pattern in the frontal plane during walking in unilateral transtibial amputees: biomechanical analysis.

BACKGROUND Lower limb amputees exhibit postural control deficits during standing which can affect their walking ability. OBJECTIVES The primary purpose of the present study was to analyze the thorax, pelvis, and hip kinematics and the hip internal moment in the frontal plane during gait in subjects with Unilateral Transtibial Amputation (UTA). METHOD The participants included 25 people with UTA and 25 non-amputees as control subjects. Gait analysis was performed using the Vicon(r) Motion System. We analyzed the motion of the thorax, pelvis, and hip (kinematics) as well as the hip internal moment in the frontal plane. RESULTS The second peak of the hip abductor moment was significantly lower on the prosthetic side than on the sound side (p=.01) and the control side (right: p=.01; left: p=.01). During middle stance, the opposite side of the pelvis was higher on the prosthetic side compared to the control side (right: p=.01: left: p=.01). CONCLUSIONS The joint internal moment at the hip in the frontal plane was lower on the prosthetic side than on the sound side or the control side. Thorax and pelvis kinematics were altered during the stance phase on the prosthetic side, presumably because there are mechanisms which affect postural control during walking.

Expert study: A bolus calculator improves glycemic control and quality of life of type 1 diabetic patients (T1DM) (preliminary results)

Aims: To evaluate the impact on glycemic control and quality of life of a bolus calculator. Methods: Multicentre randomized prospective crosssectional study. Patients were randomized to control phase (3 months; calculation of prandial insulin according to insulinto-carbohydrate ratio and insulin sensitivity factor using a single strip meter) or intervention phase (3 months; calculation of prandial insulin with a bolus advisor), with a washout period (3 months). Patients wore a continuous glucosensor (7 days) and answered a quality of life questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of each phase. A questionnaire of satisfaction was obtained at the end of both phases. Inclusion criteria: Adults; T1DM> 1 year, HbA1c > 7.5%, basal-bolus therapy with insulin analogs, experience with carbohydrate Results: Data from the first 32 subjects with at least 1 ended phase (27 females, age 38 – 11 years, diabetes duration 16.8 – 7.5 years). Basal characteristics were comparable independently of the starting phase. No differences were found between phases in terms of mean blood glucose, standard deviation (from meter neither from sensor) and satisfaction. Conclusions: The use of a bolus calculator improves glycemic control and quality of life of T1DM subjects.

Should screening for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in HIV-men who have sex with men be recommended?

INTRODUCTION Sexually transmitted infections (STI) like Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) have been associated with increased risk of HIV acquisition (1). It has been also described as a high prevalence of asymptomatic CT and NG infections in men who have sex with men (MSM) (2). The aim of this study was to know the prevalence of CT and/or NG infections in asymptomatic HIV-MSM and the related factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Prospective study of a cohort of asymptomatic HIV-MSM with follow-up in Malaga (southern Spain) during October 2012-May 2014. Patients with an opportunistic event or who received active antibiotic therapy for CT and/or NG in the previous month were excluded. All of them completed a questionnaire about sexual behaviour, barrier methods and recreational drugs use. Demographical, epidemiological, clinical, analytical and therapeutic data were also collected. Pharyngeal and rectal swabs, and urine samples were collected to be tested for CT and NG by nucleic acid amplification test (c4800 CT/NG. Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) (3). STATISTICS ANALYSIS SPSS 17.0. RESULTS 255 patients were asked to participate and 248 of them accepted. Median age was 37.7 (30.6-46.3) years, median time since HIV diagnosis was 47.7 (10.5-104.1) months, and median CD4 cells count was 607 (440-824) cell/µL. There were 195 (78.6%) patients on antiretroviral therapy; 81.5% of them had undetectable viral load. 80.5% of the patients had a past history of STI. Infection by CT and/or NG was diagnosed in 24 (9.7%) patients. Overall four urine samples, two pharyngeal, and 15 rectal ones were positive for CT, and five pharyngeal and five rectal swabs were positive for NG. Two patients were co-infected by CT and NG: one with CT in urine and both in rectum, another with CT in urine and rectum and NG in pharynx. One patient presented CT in pharynx and rectum, and two patients NG in pharynx and rectum. Positive CT and/or NG tests were only related with detectable HIV viral load (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.2-7.4; p=0.01). It was not related with sexual behaviour, nor with alcohol or recreational drugs use. CONCLUSIONS STI screening had a great acceptance in this population. There was a high prevalence of asymptomatic CT and/or NG infections. Rectum sample was the most effective one. Viral suppression could protect from these STI. Screening should be recommended in HIV-MSM.