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Samuel Ponce-de-León

Publications and source records attributed to Samuel Ponce-de-León.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

The Mexican schedule to conduct allogeneic stem cell transplantation is related to a low risk of cytomegalovirus reactivation and disease.

The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation and disease after non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation is largely unknown. Using fludarabine combined with alemtuzumab or antithymocyte globulin in the conditioning regimen, some authors have found increased prevalences of CMV disease, whereas other authors using different schedules have observed decreased prevalences. In a group of 17 individuals allografted using the Mexican conditioning regimen, which employs fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and busulfan, we assessed CMV reactivation, morbidity, and mortality. Before transplant, IgG anti-CMV antibodies were found in 11 patients and in 10 donors; in 8 cases, both donor and patient had IgG anti-CMV antibodies. In only one case (6%) was CMV mRNA identified 30 days after the allograft during grade IV acute graft-versus-host disease. CMV reactivation, disease, and mortality were very low using our non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation schedule, which has been shown to be useful for allografting with minimal toxicity and reduced costs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infection control: old problems and new challenges.

Infection control faces radical changes at the beginning of the third millennium. The first part of this review focuses on problems not yet solved, such as 1) surveillance systems, which should be active and extremely flexible; 2) infection outbreaks in hospitals and strategies to avoid them; 3) hand washing and alternatives such as rapid hand antisepsis; 4) water and food in the hospital as potential reservoirs of nosocomial pathogens; 5) upgrading of infection control programs to turn them into systems to improve the quality of care; 6) fatal Gram-negative bacteremias in hospitals from developing countries, which can be avoided with better standards of care; 7) the elemental role of the microbiology laboratory in the prevention and control of infections; 8) the unprecedented crisis due to the emergence of specific multi-resistant pathogens; 9) the risks for healthcare workers, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, SARS, and hemorrhagic fevers; and 10) the need for the consistent application of guidelines. The second part of this review focuses on new challenges for infection control, such as 1) the ever-growing number of immunocompromised patients and basic control measures to avoid opportunistic infections; 2) the concerns about the capacity of the public health systems to deal with terrorist acts; 3) the practice of high-risk procedures in facilities lacking trained personnel, efficient laboratories, and protective items; and 4) gene therapy and its potential infectious complications. Consideration is given to the asymmetric development of infection control globally.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Facing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mexico: the response of the health sector].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the challenges and accomplishments of the Mexican health system as it faced the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the 20 years since discovery of the virus. METHODS: A review of the relevant literature was done. The topics revised were: HIV/AIDS epidemiology, the early response of the health system and civil society, prevention and risk behaviors, care and treatment, and financing and resources allocation. DISCUSSION: In Mexico a rapid initial public response surely contributed to containing any early spread of the epidemic to select populations; whether that spread will continue to be contained is an open question. Sexual risk practices remain high not only among traditional risk populations but also among youth. Even though the epidemic remains concentrated in Mexico, principally among MSM and IDU, only 13% of public HIV prevention funds are directed to key populations at especially high risk of becoming infected or infecting others. In recent years antiretroviral coverage has increased rapidly with funding increasing from 30 to 367 million pesos from 2001 to 2003 and coverage now approaching 100%. Of all health spending on HIV/AIDS in the public sector, 82.4% is spent by the social security institutes and 17.6% by the Ministry of Health. The former provides medical care to about half of PLHA while the latter, in addition to caring for the other half, supports the large majority of prevention expenses. One of the challenges faced by the health system which has largely achieved universal antiretroviral coverage is how to provide quality care with appropriate monitoring, promotion of adherence and recognition and treatment of resistance and adverse effects--without dramatically increasing costs.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗