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M C Fernández Merino

Publications and source records attributed to M C Fernández Merino.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

[A population study of the efficacy of pulsioxymetry in diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome].

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use at home of night-time pulsioxymetry to diagnose obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in the general population. DESIGN: Cros-sectional study of diagnostic tests. PARTICIPANTS: Random sample of 70 individuals chosen from a Health Centre´s appointment records. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Anamnesis concerning sleep and respiratory disorders during sleep, anthropometric measurements, Epworth´s sleepiness scale, home night-time pulsioxymetry and polysomnography. RESULTS: Visual inspection by oxymetry gave 82% sensitivity (95% CI, 62-93) and 69% specificity (95% CI, 53-82) for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Other indices such as the time with oxygen saturation below 90% and the number of desaturations above 4% gave a sensitivity of 82% and 86% and specificity of 63% and 65%, respectively. All the cases of clinically significant obstructive apnoea were diagnosed by pulsioxymetry. CONCLUSIONS: Night-time pulsioxymetry is a useful test for general screening of obstructive sleep apnoea.

Humans↗
PubMed1996

[Chronic morbidity and self-perception of health in the elderly of a rural community].

OBJECTIVES: To find chronic morbidity, self-perception of health status and its relationship with different socio-economic and health variables, among the elderly in our health area. DESIGN: A crossover study using a home questionnaire. SETTING: A rural area in Galicia. PARTICIPANTS: 408 people over 65, chosen by simple random sampling from the census. INTERVENTIONS: Data referring to socio-demographic features, chronic morbidity, self-perception of health, use of health services and drugs consumption, were extracted from a previously validated questionnaire containing 100 items. RESULTS: A high prevalence of chronic pathologies was found. 72% of those surveyed stated that they had some chronic illness, with eye disorders (71%), arthrosis (71%) and hypoacusia (44%) being the most common. 73% said they had taken medicine during the previous fortnight. 32% had consulted a health professional in the previous two weeks. Almost a quarter (23.8%) of those surveyed had self-perception of poor health, which was associated with feminine gender (p = 0.001), drug consumption (p = 0.0002), considering their economic resources insufficient (p = 0.02) and getting on badly with their family (p = 0.008). However, we found no association with living alone, nor with consulting health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: There is high prevalence of chronic illnesses among the elderly. Self-perception of poor health is related not only to health problems, but also to economic and family problems.

Aged↗