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Zulma Ortiz

Publications and source records attributed to Zulma Ortiz.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[A census of medical genetics services in Argentina].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the medical genetics services in Argentina, in order to help organize a network to coordinate those services, decrease inequity in access to them, and promote the comprehensive development of medical genetics in the country. METHODS: In April-August 2004 a survey was conducted of centers providing medical genetics services in Argentina, looking at their human resources, diagnostic procedures, the services that patients use, and funding. The survey covered service centers that conduct genetic assessment, cytogenetic diagnostic testing, molecular biology testing, and biochemical testing to detect birth defects or genetic disorders. Centers that were devoted exclusively to research were not surveyed. RESULTS: A total of 134 centers fulfilled the selection criteria for the survey; 84 of them were private services, and the other 50 were publicly managed services, at universities and hospitals. The 50 public facilities had a total of 67 physicians who had studied clinical genetics, plus 133 non-medical laboratory professionals. A majority of the 50 centers performed clinical and cytogenetic diagnoses, with a smaller number performing molecular, biochemical, and prenatal diagnoses. More than 70% of the centers and human resources were located in an area that includes the city of Buenos Aires, the province of Buenos Aires, and the nearby north-central provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe. The 50 public centers were found mainly in large cities; 10 of the country's 23 provinces had no public services. CONCLUSIONS: There is a great geographic disparity in the availability of resources as well as wide variability in the diagnostic procedures that are provided in the different service centers. The unequal distribution of the facilities is an organizational problem that will require the application of policies to guarantee minimum services for people in all regions of the country, as well as access to more complex diagnostic procedures.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Surveillance of health care errors. An overview of the published data in Argentina].

In the last decades, public health surveillance extended its scope of study to new fields, such as medical errors, in order to improve patient safety. This study was aimed to review all the evidence produced in Argentina about the surveillance of medical errors. An exhaustive literature search was performed. A total of 4656 abstracts were assessed (150 MEDLINE, 145 LILACS, and 4361 hand searched abstracts). Of them, 52 were analysed and 8 were considered relevant for health care error surveillance. Different approaches were used to study medical errors. Some of them have focused on patient safety and others on medical malpractice. There is still a need to improve the surveillance of this type of event. Mainly, the quality reports of study design and surveillance attributes were unclear. A critical appraisal and synthesis of all relevant studies on health care errors may help to understand not only the state of the art, but also to define research priorities.

Argentina↗
PubMed2005

Scope for improvement in the quality of reporting of systematic reviews. From the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of reporting in Cochrane musculoskeletal systematic reviews (excluding back and injury reviews). METHODS: This study assessed all the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group's systematic reviews from Issue 4, 2002, of the Cochrane Library Database of Systematic Reviews. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed quality. Two assessment tools were used, including an 18 item checklist and flow chart developed by the Quality of Reporting of Meta-analysis (QUOROM) consensus group, and a 10 item scale, the Oxman-Guyatt Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire (OQAQ). One question on the latter scale (item 10) scores overall quality on a 7 point scale, with high scores indicating superior quality. Data were analyzed using univariate approaches. RESULTS: The 57 systematic reviews assessed were found to have good overall quality, with scores on individual items revealing only minor flaws. Documenting the flow of included and excluded studies and summarizing the results are 2 areas needing improvement in reporting. According to the Oxman-Guyatt scale the overall scientific quality of the Cochrane musculoskeletal reviews was good [mean 5.02 (95% CI 3.71-6.32)]. CONCLUSION: Our study found that the reporting quality of Cochrane musculoskeletal systematic reviews was generally good, although there was room for improvement. For example, it might be feasible to develop specific guidelines for reporting protocols. Certainly more work is needed in reporting search results, documentation of the flow of studies, identification of the type of studies, and summarization of the key findings.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed2002

Meta-analyses of therapies for postmenopausal osteoporosis. VII. Meta-analysis of calcium supplementation for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize controlled trials examining the effect of calcium on bone density and fractures in postmenopausal women. DATA SOURCE: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE up to 1998 and the Cochrane Controlled Register up to 2000, and we examined citations of relevant articles and proceedings of international meetings. We contacted osteoporosis investigators to identify additional studies, and primary authors for unpublished data. STUDY SELECTION: We included 15 trials (1806 patients) that randomized postmenopausal women to calcium supplementation or usual calcium intake in the diet and reported bone mineral density of the total body, vertebral spine, hip, or forearm, or recorded the number of fractures, and followed patients for at least 1 yr. DATA EXTRACTION: For each trial, three independent reviewers assessed the methodological quality and extracted data. DATA SYNTHESIS: We found calcium to be more effective than placebo in reducing rates of bone loss after two or more years of treatment. The pooled difference in percentage change from baseline was 2.05% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-3.86] for total body bone density, 1.66% (95% CI 0.92-2.39) for the lumbar spine, 1.64% (95% CI 0.70-2.57) for the hip, and 1.91% (95% CI 0.33-3.50) for the distal radius. The relative risk (RR) of fractures of the vertebrae was 0.77, with a wide CI (95% CI 0.54-1.09); the RR for nonvertebral fractures was 0.86 (95% CI 0.43-1.72). CONCLUSIONS: Calcium supplementation alone has a small positive effect on bone density. The data show a trend toward reduction in vertebral fractures, but do not meaningfully address the possible effect of calcium on reducing the incidence of nonvertebral fractures.

Calcium↗