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A Salazar

Publications and source records attributed to A Salazar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Effectiveness and safety of an emergency department short-stay unit as an alternative to standard inpatient hospitalisation.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department short-stay units (EDSSUs) are currently emerging worldwide as an alternative to standard inpatient hospitalisation. In our hospital, a 960-bed teaching tertiary institution in Barcelona, Spain, an EDSSU has been in operation during winter periods (November-March) since 1997. AIM: To determine the efficacy and safety of our EDSSU. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of activity and quality outcomes, assessment of patient satisfaction levels and determination of the diagnostic-related groups that were mainly responsible for admissions to the EDSSU, comparing the clinical characteristics of those patients with the characteristics of patients with similar clinical diagnoses admitted to standard hospitalisation units. RESULTS: 5666 patients were treated in the EDSSU, with a progressive increase in the number of patients admitted per period, ranging from 707 in 1997-8 to 1227 in 2003-4 (73.5% increase). The mean length of stay ranged from 3.1 to 2.8 days, mortality from 2.5% to 5.1%, home discharge rate from 84% to 90%, and hospital readmission rate within the first week after discharge from 3.9% to 6.2%. In all, 98% of patients were satisfied with their stay at the EDSSU. The main diagnostic-related groups were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD = 50%) and acute heart failure (28%). Patients with COPD admitted at the EDSSU (n = 545) showed significantly (p = 0.05) lower mean length of stay (3.4 v 12 days) and mortality (1.7% v 8.1%), but a higher hospital readmission rate (9.9% v 7%) than those admitted to standard inpatient units (n = 1961). CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, the EDSSU proved to be an effective and safe alternative to standard inpatient hospitalisation.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Incidence and molecular typing of Mycobacterium kansasii in a defined geographical area in Catalonia, Spain.

A retrospective population-based study was conducted between January 1990 and December 1998 to investigate the incidence of Mycobacterium kansasji disease and the heterogeneity of the isolates in a well-defined geographical area in Catalonia, Spain. A total of 136 patients were identified. Overall incidence and incidence in AIDS patients was 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-1.8) and 1089.6 (95% CI 689-1330) cases/100,000 persons per year respectively, which is comparable to that reported from most of other geographical areas. Surprisingly, although 7 subtypes of M. kansasii have been consistently reported, in the present study 91 of the 93 isolates (97.8%) tested for genotype were subtype I, regardless of HIV status of the patients. In conclusion, the high rate of infection observed in the AIDS population contributes significantly to the burden of the M. kansasii disease in our area. M. kansasii disease in our geographical area was almost exclusively caused by subtype I regardless of HIV status.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

Comparison of the performance of the Gea extracorporeal knot with the Roeder extracorporeal knot and the classical knot.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopy is useful to treat surgical diseases, yet tying sutures in the cavity is a challenge. A knot to secure tissue approximation, which would be hand-made, secure, simple, easy, quick, reliable, and extracorporeal without extra mechanical devices, was developed and named the Gea knot. METHODS: A comparative study of the Gea knot, the Roeder knot, and the classical surgical knot, as the gold standard, using polypropylene, silk, catgut, polyglycolic acid, and Polyglactin 910, all of them of 1-0 caliber, was performed in pigs. Measurements were time to perform, slippage, and breaking point which was measured with a manual digital tensiometer. RESULTS: The Gea knot was significantly faster statistically to perform than the Roeder knot and more resistant against rupture and slippage. The slippage rate was significantly lower statistically in the Gea knot than in the Roeder knot when Polyglactin 910 and polypropylene were used. CONCLUSION: The Gea knot is a good alternative for laparoscopic procedures.

Absorbable Implants↗
PubMed2003

Laparoscopic hand-assisted living donor nephrectomy: the Calgary experience.

Laparoscopic techniques, such as hand-assisted live donor nephrectomy (HALDN), have the potential to increase the number of living kidney donors. For these techniques to be acceptable, however, the standards for donor, recipient, and graft survival achieved by the open technique need to be matched. In this study we present the results of the first 20 HALDN procedures at our center. The 20 donors included nine men and 11 women of mean (+/-SD) donor age 41 (+/-10) years and mean donor weight 78 (+/-13) kg. Mean operative time was 174 (+/-32) minutes. Only one patient required an open conversion to procedure because of venous bleeding. All kidneys were successfully implanted; there were no episodes of primary nonfunction or delayed graft function. There were no surgical complications, either in the donor or the recipient. The range of postoperative stay was 3 to 5 days. One recipient died 62 days after transplant from influenza virus pneumonia. There were no other causes of graft loss. Our preliminary results suggest that HALDN is safe and is associated with short-term donor, recipient, and graft outcomes that are at least comparable to the standard open technique.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

APOE genotype influences acquisition and recall following traumatic brain injury.

APOE has been demonstrated to influence traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcome. The relationship between APOE genotype and memory following TBI was examined in 110 participants in the Defense and Veterans' Head Injury Program. Memory performance was worse in those who had an APOE epsilon 4 allele (n = 30) than those who did not (n = 80), whereas genotype groups did not differ on demographic or injury variables or on measures of executive functioning. These data support a specific role for the APOE protein in memory outcome following TBI, and suggest an APOE isoform-specific effect on neuronal repair processes.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of donepezil in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.

OBJECTIVE: There is no effective treatment for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Because results of immunochemical and pharmacologic studies suggest that the cholinergic system may play a role in the cognitive and motor features of PSP, the authors investigated the effects of donepezil (10 mg/day), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in 21 patients with PSP (mean age +/- SD; 65.7 +/- 4.7 years) by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. METHODS: Donepezil and placebo were administered for 6 weeks each with a 1-month washout period. Patients were evaluated before and at the end of each treatment phase. Outcome measures evaluated neuropsychiatric, global cognitive, frontal, memory, motor, and activities of daily living (ADL) status. RESULTS: Two patients withdrew during the washout phase because of unrelated medical problems. Donepezil-induced systemic side effects were transient and generally mild. Because of worsening of motor function, three patients received 5 mg/day of donepezil. All patients achieved blood and CSF therapeutic levels of donepezil. While the patients were taking donepezil, their Double Memory Test scores improved, whereas their ADL/mobility scores significantly worsened. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil have at best selective, modest effects on cognition in patients with PSP. In light of its deleterious effects on ADL/mobility, donepezil is not recommended for this patient population.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Estimation of the EEG power spectrum using MRI T(2) relaxation time in traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVES: To study the relationship between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T(2) relaxation time and the power spectrum of the electroencephalogram (EEG) in long-term follow up of traumatic brain injury. METHODS: Nineteen channel quantitative electroencephalograms or qEEG, tests of cognitive function and quantitative MRI T(2) relaxation times (qMRI) were measured in 18 mild to severe closed head injured outpatients 2 months to 4.6 years after injury and 11 normal controls. MRI T(2) and the Laplacian of T(2) were then correlated with the power spectrum of the scalp electrical potentials and current source densities of the qEEG. RESULTS: qEEG and qMRI T(2) were related by a frequency tuning with maxima in the alpha (8-12Hz) and the lower EEG frequencies (0.5-5Hz), which varied as a function of spatial location. The Laplacian of T(2) acted like a spatial-temporal "lens" by increasing the spatial-temporal resolution of correlation between 3-dimensional T(2) and the ear referenced alert but resting spontaneous qEEG. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of traumatic brain injury can be modeled by a linear transfer function that relates the molecular qMRI to qEEG resonant frequencies.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Serum amyloid A and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: serum markers of inflammation in sarcoidosis and other systemic disorders.

Hypocholesterolemia has been observed in several inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, myeloproliferative disorders, systemic lupus erythematosus and sarcoidosis. Serum amyloid A is an acute-phase reactant that is related to the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This review discusses the relationship between the activation of the cells of the monocyte-macrophage system, determined by the serum amyloid A levels, and the lipid metabolism, measured as alterations in plasma lipoprotein concentrations. The mechanisms of this association during acute inflammation are also discussed in this review.

Apolipoproteins↗
PubMed2001

Quantitative analysis of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis protein patterns: a method for studying genetic relationships among Globodera pallida populations.

A method based in two-dimensional protein gel electrophoresis has been developed in order to improve the analysis of genetic relationships among populations of Globodera. It has been used to estimate genetic divergence among nine Globodera pallida nematode populations. Sixty-one anonymous polypeptide spots were resolved using silver-stained high-resolution 2D gels and they were quantified in each population to establish genetic variation among G. pallida populations. The results of this analysis were compared with those obtained after a study of allelic frequency variation, which was carried out using seven previously described loci. Genetic distances among populations were calculated by means of both studies, the quantitative analysis and the allelic frequency variation, and phylogenetic trees were constructed for each type of analysis. A correlation analysis between the two distance matrices was carried out and a bootstrap analysis was performed to determine the strength of the clusters obtained with each method. The results obtained support the idea that quantitative protein analysis can be successfully applied to phylogenetic analysis of G. pallida populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Alterations of cell cycle regulators affecting the RB pathway in nonfamilial retinoblastoma.

We undertook the present study to examine alterations affecting the RB pathway in the G1 checkpoint and to determine their potential clinical significance in children affected with nonfamilial retinoblastoma. Using immunohistochemistry, patterns of expression of pRB, p16/INK4A, and E2F1 were analyzed in tissue from a cohort of 86 well-characterized patients with nonfamilial retinoblastoma diagnosed at the "Instituto Nacional de Pediatria" in Mexico City. The relationship of these phenotypes to proliferative index was assessed by analysis of Ki67 antigen expression. pRB expression was found in 11 (13%) cases. Using a hypophosphorylated specific pRB antibody, we observed low levels of underphosphorylated pRB expression in only 1 of 9 evaluable positive cases. These data suggest that the detected pRB products were hyperphosphorylated and thus had decreased functional activity. Increased p16 nuclear expression was found in only 6 tumors. No tumors showed deletions or mobility shifts of the INK4A gene. Undetectable pRB levels were significantly associated with undetectable p16 expression (odds ratio, 10.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-81.3; P =.03). All tumors showed nuclear immunoreactivities for E2F1 and Ki67. Increased Ki67 proliferative index was associated with increased staining for E2F1 (r =.44; P =.008) and increasing clinical stage (P =.03). Among children with unilateral disease, the mean Ki67 proliferative index was significantly higher in children with advanced clinical disease (stages 3 and 4) (mean 81.25; SD 6.78) than in those with earlier stage disease (mean 69.50; SD 9.45) (P = 0.001). Among children with bilateral disease, however, the mean proliferative index was not significantly higher for children with advanced clinical stage. When examining all cases together, there was a significant trend toward increasing proliferative index with increasing clinical stage (P =.03). In unilateral tumors, we also found that presence of detectable pRB was associated with a lower percentage of cells expressing E2F1 (46.7% v 70.8%) (P = 0.05), whereas there was no association between presence of pRB and E2F1 among bilateral tumors. We have found that expression of some of the cell cycle markers examined varies according to laterality, suggesting underlying differences in the capacity for cell cycle regulation between these 2 forms of the disease. Differences in capacities for cell cycle regulation may account for some differences in clinical behavior. Thus, the inclusion of molecular markers may become useful adjuncts to clinicopathological staging and subsequent determination of therapy.

Age Factors↗