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At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Headache and cysticercosis in Ecuador, South America.

Intractable headaches have been described as the presenting complaint of many patients with T. solium neurocysticercosis. We conducted a house-to-house neuroepidemiological survey of 2,723 residents of an Andean community, known to be endemic for this infection. Migraine headaches were confirmed in 187 cases (68.7 per thousand), and tension headaches were diagnosed in 77 cases (28.3 per thousand). Fifty-seven migraine sufferers accepted computed tomography examination, and in 19 it revealed neurocysticercosis. In 11 out of 52 migraineurs who had their blood drawn, electron immunotransfer blot testing (EITB) was positive for anticysticercal antibodies. In a computer-generated random sample of this community, 109 headache-free individuals were examined by CT, and 87 had EITB. Of the 109 subjects examined by CT, 14 were positive for cysticercosis. Of the 87 individuals tested by EITB, 7 were positive. A statistically significant difference between the symptom-free general population and the migraine patients was obtained for both CT (odds ratio 3.39, P < 0.005) and EITB (odds ratio 3.07, P < 0.05) diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Neurocysticercosis appears to be a significant risk factor for the presentation of migraine-type headaches in areas endemic for T. solium infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Factors constraining adherence to referral advice for severely ill children managed by the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness approach in Imbabura Province, Ecuador.

AIM: Low referral completion rates in developing countries undermine the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy for lowering child mortality. This study sought to identify factors constraining adherence to referral advice in a health system using the IMCI approach. METHODS: Caregivers of 160 children urgently referred to hospital were prospectively interviewed. Caregivers who accessed and did not access hospital were compared for potential referral constraining factors, including demographics, family dynamics, the severity of their child's illness, their interaction with the health system, self-perceived problems, and physical and financial access. RESULTS: 67/160 (42%) referred children did not access hospital. Six factors were associated with non-access, including two health worker actions: not being given a referral slip [adjusted odds ratio (OR)= 15.3, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 4.4-64.6] and not being told to go to the hospital immediately (adjusted OR = 5.3, 95% CI 1.9-16.3). Receiving both of these interventions reduced the risk of not accessing hospital to 19%, from 96% for those who received neither intervention. Several indicators of illness severity, including caregivers' ranking of their children's illness severity, the presence of severe illness signs and mortality, were investigated and found not to be important explanatory factors. CONCLUSION: Providing a referral slip and counseling the caregivers of severely ill children to go to the hospital immediately appear to be powerful tools for increasing successful referral outcomes.

Catchment Area, Health↗
PubMed1960

Strontium-90 in Ecuador.

Samples of bone and soil collected in 1958 show highest values for Sr90 in the tropical region on the east side of the Andes. Lowest values are found in the high central valley, where samples used in estimating world-wide distribution of fallout were collected. If the major fallout deposition occurs in the interior of the South American continent, such estimates for these latitudes may be low by as much as a factor of ten. Although there has apparently been greater Sr90 deposition in regions of greater rainfall, analysis of data from 16 locations fails to show a significant correlation between rainfall and fallout.

Ecuador↗
PubMed2006

Genetics and congenital malformations: interpretations, attitudes and practices in suburban communities and the shamans of ecuador.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present article was to evaluate how shamans and the suburban communities of Quito interpret the terminology used in genetics. METHODS: One hundred people living in 5 suburban districts of Quito were surveyed as well as 19 shamans of the Salasaca community. RESULTS: The results show that members of both groups are little informed about genetics. As knowledge about genetics is correlated to educational level, which is very poor in both groups, knowledge and understanding of genetics are either very basic or nonexistent. As for the medical practices in treating genetic alterations, the surveys show that while in very severe cases scientific medicine is sought, in most cases explanations and a cure are given by shamanic medicine. CONCLUSION: There is limited knowledge of genetics and its terminology in the study population. Shamanic and marginal health practices seem to remain prevalent in these communities due to their low costs, the personal attention the individuals receive, and the holistic point of view employed. It is important that the community councils, the medical doctors and the shamans work together to set up community programs on medical education, particularly on genetics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Stroke subtypes among Hispanics living in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Results from the Luis Vernaza Hospital Stroke Registry.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Racial differences in stroke subtypes have been documented. Asians have a higher rate of cerebral hemorrhage than whites; however, there is little information about stroke subtypes among Hispanics. The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of stroke subtypes in a population of Hispanics. METHODS: Five hundred consecutive patients with a first stroke were included. Patients were collected from hospital wards, the emergency department, and the outpatient clinic to ensure inclusion of patients with a wide range of stroke severity. Computed tomography was available in all cases. Patients with pure subarachnoid hemorrhage were excluded. RESULTS: There were 313 (62.6%) patients with an infarct and 187 (37.4%) with a hemorrhage. Hypertensive arteriolopathy was the most common cause of both infarcts and hemorrhages. The carotid territory was involved in 70.6% of the 313 patients with infarcts, the vertebrobasilar territory in 17.9%, multiple territories in 6.7%, and a watershed area in 4.8%. Hemorrhages were most often lobar (36.4%), followed by putaminal (30.5%), brain stem (9.1%), cerebellar (8%), thalamic (8%), ventricular (5.3%), and caudate (2.7%). CONCLUSIONS: This hospital-based stroke registry suggests that stroke in Hispanics has a pattern different from that in whites but similar to that in Asians. Cerebral hemorrhages occur three times more frequently in Hispanics than in whites.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Outcomes of pregnancy among women living in the proximity of oil fields in the Amazon basin of Ecuador.

Oil companies have released billions of gallons of untreated wastes and oil directly into the environment of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This cross-sectional study investigated the environmental conditions and reproductive health of women living in rural communities surrounded by oil fields in the Amazon basin and in unexposed communities. Water from local streams was analyzed for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The women, aged 17 to 45 years, had resided for at least three years in the study communities. Socioeconomic and reproductive histories of the last three pregnancies were obtained from interviews. Information from the questionnaire was available for 365 exposed and 283 non-exposed women. The study was conducted from November 1998 to April 1999. Streams of exposed communities had TPH concentrations above the allowable limit. After adjustment for potential confounders, the pregnancies of women in exposed communities were more likely to end in spontaneous abortion (OR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.61-3.79; p < 0.01). No association was found between stillbirth and exposure. An environmental system to control and eliminate the sources of pollution in the area is needed.

Adolescent↗