Manifestaciones cutáneas de diabetes mellitus / Cross sectional search for skin lesions in 118 diabetic patients

Background: Thirty percent of patients with diabetes mellitus have some skin lesion that is directly related to the disease or caused by infections, complications or treatments used. Aim: To determine the frequency and type of skin lesions in diabetic patients. Material and methods: Cross sectional examination of 26 patients with type 1 diabetes, 75 patients with type 2 diabetes and 17 patients with gestational diabetes. A complete skin physical examination and a direct mycological examination and culture when Onychomycosis was suspected, were performed. Results: In 56 percent of patients, diabetes lasted more than 10 years and 52 percent had some complication of the disease. A mean of 1.4±0.1 skin lesions per patient was found among subjects with type 1 or 2 diabetes. No skin lesion was found in patients with gestational diabetes. The lesions found were Onychomycosis in 27 percent, diabetic dermatopathy in 17 percent, macroangiopathy in 15 percent, tine a corporis in 14 percent and neurosis in 14 percent. Conclusions: Onychomycosis is the most commonly found skin lesion in diabetic patient.

Resultados de la cirugía laparoscópica en el tratamiento electivo de la enfermedad diverticular de colon / Results of laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of diverticular disease of the colon

The laparoscopic approach is an alternative for the elective treatment of diverticular colon disease (DCD). Aim: To analyze the results of patients electively operated for DCD using a laparoscopic technique. Material and Methods: Data of patients with DCD operated using laparoscopy at the Catholic University of Chile Clinical Hospital were prospectively recorded from January 1999 to August 2006. Indications for surgery were repetitive crises of acute diverticulitis, the persistence of the symptoms or anatomic deformity after the first crisis and complicated diverticulitis (Hinchey 1-2) that responded to the medical treatment. The laparoscopic technique used five ports and the surgical specimen was extracted through a suprapubic approach. Results: One hundred and six patients aged 32 to 82 years (49 percent females) were operated in the study period. Fifty five percent had a previous abdominal surgery. The mean operative time was 213 minutes (range: 135-360). Four patients were converted to open surgery (3.7 percent). One or more early post-operative complications were observed in five patients (4.7 percent). The mean time for passing gases and reinitiate liquid diet was 1.7 and 2.4 days respectively. The median post operative stay after surgery was 4 days. There was no operative mortality. Mean follow-up time was 27 months and only one patient (0.9 percent) had a new episode of acute diverticular disease, with a satisfactory response to medical treatment. No patient has developed bowel obstruction. Conclusions: The laparoscopic approach is a safe alternative in the elective surgical treatment of DCD.

Estudio y evaluación en niños con episodios recurrentes de rinosinusitis / Study and evaluation in children with recurrent rhinosinusitis

La Rinosinusitis (RS) es una patología frecuente en la población pediátrica. Anualmente un niño cursa aproximadamente 6 a 8 episodios de infecciones respiratorias altas de origen viral, de éstos, entre 5-13 por ciento se complican con una RS bacteriana. El diagnóstico del episodio agudo es esencialmente clínico. Se define RS recurrente a la presencia de 3 o más episodios de RS en 6 meses o 4 en un año con periodos libre de sintomatología entre los episodios. Estos niños requieren un manejo especial, basado en tratamiento antibiótico de segunda línea junto a la certificación con imágenes de la resolución del cuadro. Pasado el episodio agudo, es esencial realizar estudio de factores predisponentes, buscando causas potencialmente modificables, lo que conjuntamente con derivación oportuna al especialista determinará el manejo futuro.