Boletin de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana. Pan American Sanitary Bureau最新文献

This study sought to reveal the patterns of medical care given to patients with neurologic diseases in Colombia. To that end, it tracked the daily activities of 30 neurologists chosen from a representative sample of 119 neurologists registered in Colombia in 1993. The information was requested by means of a previously standardized questionnaire and was complemented by demographic and epidemiologic data. The results showed that demand for specialized neurologic care depended more on cultural perceptions than on objective measures of prevalence. Moreover, it was found that education in neurology should place greater emphasis on ambulatory treatment as an alternative to hospital treatment. The survey also offered preliminary information on the prevalence and incidence of the primary neurologic diseases in the country. The prevalence of these diseases far exceeds the supply of specialized neurologic care. Finally, the results point out the advantages and deficiencies of this type of care, findings that might guide future efforts in this field in other countries and under different circumstances.

To study the possible relationship between vitamin A status and the severity of pneumonia, an analysis was made of serum retinol levels, conjunctival cytology, and clinical severity of the disease in 178 children admitted to a pediatric hospital in Havana for acute infectious pneumonia. The pneumonia was considered to be complicated (n = 57) when the patient presented pleural discharge, pulmonary abscesses, or both; if not, it was considered uncomplicated (n = 121). Serum retinol values in both groups were similar and were not found to be associated with the severity of the pneumonia. On the other hand, children with alterations in conjunctival cytology were twice as likely to have complicated pneumonia as those with normal cytology (relative risk = 2.2, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.1 to 4.5).

This study was performed to analyze the chemical stability of sodium hypochlorite (with 2.6% or 26.0 mg/mL of free residual chlorine) in the various types of containers when exposed to different light levels. Over a period of eight months, several samples of that solution were put into containers made of glass (amber or clear) and plastic (opaque white, opaque green, or clear) with and without a top, and were exposed to three different lighting conditions (continuous light, total dark, and ambient light of the laboratory where the study was carried out). The stability of the solution was analyzed by measuring the concentration of free residual chlorine in the samples exposed as described above. The environmental factors tested were chosen as representative of the various conditions under which this effective, cheap, and widely available household disinfectant is often stored and used by the general public. The results indicated that chemical instability increased with the presence of light, the absence of a top, and the length of time the solution was stored. The most suitable containers were those made of amber glass, opaque green plastic, or opaque white plastic, although the last one offered the least protection of the three.

The sera of 176 patients with epidemiologic antecedents or radiologic and clinical signs of hydatidosis were tested by counter-immunoelectrophoresis (CIE) and enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). A semipurified antigen from cysts of human origin were used for both techniques. The results were compared with those obtained from complementary radiologic studies and were confirmed by examination of excised cysts. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of hydatidosis in 65 patients (37%) and revealed the presence of other diseases in the remaining 111 (63%). Of the original 176 patients, 36 (20.4%) were positive by CIE and 62 (35.2%) by ELISA. Both techniques showed an excellent correlation with postsurgical diagnosis; neither produced any false positives, and the ELISA gave false negative results for only three patients (4.6%) with cysts that were infected, infertile, or calcified to some degree. The paper describes standardization of an inexpensive and easy-to-use microELISA.