Prevalencia de enfermedad arterial oclusiva crónica de extremidades inferiores en pacientes de alto riesgo cardiovascular pertenecientes a un centro de atención primaria mediante el uso del índice tobillo-brazo / Prevalence of peripheral arterial disease of lower extremities in high cardiovascular risk patients from primary care using the ankle-brachial index

Resumen Objetivo: La enfermedad arterial oclusiva crónica de extremidades inferiores (EAOC EEII) ha sido subestimada y subdiagnosticada especialmente a nivel de atención primaria. El objetivo de este estudio fue estimar la prevalencia de EAOC EEII en pacientes de alto riesgo cardiovascular pertenecientes a un centro de salud familiar. Materiales y Método: Estudio observacional de corte transversal. Se calculó un tamaño muestral de 246 pacientes, con una potencia estadística del 80% y un nivel de confianza del 95%, seleccionándolos aleatoriamente de 1.361 pacientes con riesgo cardiovascular alto del CESFAM Cordillera Andina, a quienes se les realizó la medición del índice tobillobrazo (ITB). Se estimaron IC 95% para cada media y porcentaje reportado, considerándose un valor de p significativo menor de 0,05 en las pruebas estadísticas utilizadas. Resultados: Se observó un ITB < 0,9 en el 43,2% (114), donde el 33,7% (89) refería síntomas de claudicación intermitente, mientras que un 9,5% (25) se encontraba asintomático. El mayor porcentaje de pacientes con EAOC EEII se observó en el grupo etario entre 60 y 80 años, que en conjunto alcanzaba el 85,1% de los pacientes con esta patología, siendo significativamente menor en pacientes menores de 60 y mayores de 80 años (p < 0,001). Conclusión: Encontramos una prevalencia de enfermedad arterial oclusiva crónica de extremidades inferiores de un 43,2% en pacientes de riesgo cardiovascular alto, quienes no presentaban este diagnóstico previamente. El índice tobillobrazo corresponde a un examen simple, rápido y con una gran utilidad diagnóstica por lo que debería considerarse su incorporación en las guías ministeriales para la evaluación de pacientes cardiovasculares en atención primaria.

Aim: The peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has been underestimated and underdiagnosed particularly at primary care setting. Our aim was to calculate the prevalence of PAD in high cardiovascular risk patients from a primary care center. Materials and Method: Is an observational, cross section study. We calculated a sample size of 246 patients, with a power of 80% and a significance level of 95%, who were selected randomly from 1.361 high cardiovascular risk patients according to the Framingham score, who attended at Cordillera Andina primary care center, measuring the anklebrachial index (ABI) in this group of patients. A 95% confidence interval was calculated for each mean and proportion and a p value less than 0.05 were considered as significant for all statistic tests. Results: We found an ABI < 0.9 in the 43.2% (114) of the sample, where 33.7% (89) presented symptoms of intermittent claudication, while 9.5% (25) did not have symptoms. The highest proportion of PAD was detected in patients between 60 and 80 years, who represented 85.1% of the patients with PAD, being significantly less its prevalence in people under 60 and over 80 years (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A prevalence of PAD of 43.2% in high cardiovascular risk patients who did not have this diagnosis before was found. The anklebrachial index is an easy, fast and very useful test to diagnose PAD in the majority of patients at primary care level, as consequent, its incorporation to clinical guidelines should be evaluated.

The Design of a Practice-based Study of Attendees at Chiropractic Offices in Western Australia.

Introduction: This paper presents the protocols for a pilot study that will provide a design critique and collect information to describe the patients who attend chiropractors in Western Australia. Aims and Objectives: 1. Provide a critique of the research design and methodology, including enrolment and recruitment, data collection, and sample size calculations. 2. Describe the patient demographics, reason for consultation and baseline health status of patients that present to chiropractic practices in Western Australia. Methods/Research Design: This will be a prospective, cross-sectional, practice-based pilot study of patients seeking chiropractic services in Western Australia. A minimum of seven (7) independent private chiropractic practices across urban, regional, rural and remote settings will be recruited. Consecutive adult patients that self-present to these practices for the first time will be invited to participate. Data for analysis will be collected in participating clinics using a computer-based online questionnaire. Data collected will include; patient demographics; age, gender, primary language, occupation, payment source, presenting complaint, prior treatment, pre-existing health conditions, medications, attendance at other health practitioners, lifestyle choices, previous use of chiropractic and human quality of life measures (HQoL’s; SF-12 and PIQ-R). Priori sample size estimation indicates a total sample of 320 would be sufficient to achieve a study power of >80% (assumed effect size 0.2, α=0.05, assumed df=5). Conclusion: Innovative electronic and internet portals for gathering practice-based data are to be assessed. Information describing patients who attend allied and complementary practitioners is critical to facilitate appropriate and effective health system planning and administration in Western Australia.

Improving access to liver transplantation: the University of Puerto Rico experience

Liver transplantation is the only treatment for end-stage liver disease. It is costly, difficult, and not performed in Puerto Rico. For these reasons, it has been a limited option for Puerto Ricans with advanced cirrhosis, especially for those with no medical insurance to cover for the procedure. In an effort to improve access to the procedure and offer this chance of life to more Puerto Ricans facing death from complications of advanced liver disease, the Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Division of the University of Puerto Rico, in collaboration with LifeLink Transplant Institute in Tampa, Florida and the Office of Catastrophic Funds of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, opened a clinic for liver transplant evaluation at the Medical Sciences Campus. The purpose of this clinic is to coordinate the pre-transplant evaluation of candidates for this therapy, provide the evaluation by the transplant surgeon in Puerto Rico, expedite the process in seriously ill patients, and offer post-transplant follow-up upon the patient's return to Puerto Rico. The purpose of this article is to describe the experience in this clinic from 1999 to 2003. One hundred ninety-three patients were seen from September 1999 to January 2003. The most common causes for liver disease were hepatitis C and alcohol, alone or in combination. One hundred thirty four were accepted as candidates for evaluation. Of these, 63 had completed the process, 33 were listed for transplantation and 21 had been transplanted by January 2003. Neither education level, marital status, health insurance nor Child score were associated with successful outcome. This clinic offers Puerto Ricans, especially those with limited resources, with a viable access to liver transplantation.