Becas para la formación de médicos especialistas académicos del Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile / Academic residents fellowship program at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital

The mission of the University of Chile Clinical Hospital is to be the main University Hospital in the country. Along with training of health professionals in clinical practice and research, the Hospital provides comprehensive health solutions to the community. Since its foundation, it played an important role in the training of health professionals and specialists. To fulfill this mission, it is important to have outstanding academics and a system that allows their renewal and replacement. From January 25, 2001, the University of Chile approved the regulations that rule the Residents Program Fellowship, aimed to train the new generations of clinical academics. These regulations allow the financing of training programs in basic or primary specialties (such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, among others) or in specialties derived from them (such as cardiology, gastroenterology and reproductive medicine, among others.) The different clinical departments and the Hospital Direction define each year how many places will be offered and in which specialties. The Faculty of Medicine Graduate School carries out the formal selection of the applicants. This article reviews the results of this program between 2013 and 2021, analyzing in detail the traceability of each graduate over the years.

¿Cómo es la salud mental de los hijos de madres deprimidas consultantes a servicios de atención primaria? / Psychopathology and social functioning among offspring of depressed women

Background: Offspring of depressive parents have two times more risk of developing a depression, other psychiatric diseases or a poor social functioning. Aim: To assess psychopathology and social functioning among offspring of currently depressed mothers. Material and methods: We enrolled 290 depressed mother-child pairs in five primary-care clinics in Santiago. A two-stage screening process to identify female primary-care patients with current major depressive illness with children aged 6-16 years, was used. AH eligible and consenting patients were asked to complete the general health questionnaire (GHQ-12). Those scoring 5 or more were invited to participate in a baseline assessment. The final sample consisted of 290 mother-child pairs. Patients with a current DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression were eligible unless they had current psychotic symptoms, imminent suicide risk, history of mania, or current alcohol abuse. Child psychopathology was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), a highly reliable and widely used parent-rated checklist to assess competencies and behavioural and emotional problems in children 4 to 18 years of age. Results: Fifty percent (95 percent confidence interval (CI): 43.9-55.7) of children had overall CBCL psychopathology scores in clinical range. Internalizing symptoms were more prevalent than externalizing symptoms (62.2 percent [9596CI: 56.3-67.8] and 35.7 percent [9596CI: 30.2-41.5]. Conclusions: A large proportion of children of depressed poor mothers attending primary care clinics in Chile, had psychopathological symptom scores in the clinical range, with a predominance of internalizing symptoms. These results are similar to those previously reported in the United States of America.

Efectividad de un programa de tratamiento de la depresión posparto en la atención primaria a tres y seis meses de seguimiento / Effects of a treatment programme postpartum depression in primary care to three and six month follow-up

La depresión posparto (DPP) corresponde a un trastorno del ánimo que ocurre en el puerperio. Es un problema frecuente en los servicios de atención primaria en la mayoría de los países. Hipótesis. La intervención programada para el tratamiento de la DPP es más efectiva que el tratamiento actual de dicha patología en la atención primaria a los tres y seis meses de seguimiento. Metodología. Ensayo clínico controlado y randomizado. Participaron 230 mujeres que sufrieron un episodio depresivo en el posparto. Se realizó una intervención multicomponente que incluyó un grupo psicoeducativo, tratamiento médico y farmacoterapia para los casos más graves. Ésta se comparó con el tratamiento habitual en los consultorios. La principal variable a evaluar fue el puntaje en la Escala de Depresión posparto de Edimburgo (EPDS) que se aplicó basalmente a los3 y 6 meses después de la randomización. Secundariamente se evaluó la calidad de vida de las mujeres. Resultados. Las mujeres tuvieron una mejor respuesta cuando recibieron el tratamiento multicomponente en comparación con el tratamiento habitual (8,5 v/s 12,7), a los 3 meses, siendo esta diferencia significativa. La diferencia entre ambos grupos fue menor a los 6 meses(10,9 v/s 12,5 respectivamente) pero igualmente significativa. Conclusiones. La intervención con el tratamiento multicomponente es considerablemente mejor que el tratamiento habitual a los3 meses de seguimiento. Esta diferencia disminuye después de los tres meses. Las mujeres que reciben tratamiento farmacológico interrumpen el tratamiento después de los 3 meses por diversos factores. Se requieren futuras investigaciones para evaluar el manejo de la DPP después de estos tres meses de tratamiento.

Postnatal Depression (PND) is a mood disorder that occurs in the puerperium. It is a common problem in primary care services in most countries. Hypothesis: The planned intervention for the treatment of PND is more effective than the current treatment of this disease in primary care at three and six months of follow-up. Methods: Randomized controlled trial. Two hundred and thirty mothers with major depression attending postnatal clinics were randomly allocated to either a multi-component intervention or usual care. The multi-component intervention involved a psycho educational group, treatment adherence support, and pharmacotherapy if needed. The main outcome measure was the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 3 and 6 months after randomization. Women quality of life was assesed as a secondary issue. Results: Women had a better response when receiving the multicomponent treatment (8.5 v/s the usual treatment 12.7) at 3 months, which is a significant difference. Even though the difference between the two groups was less at 6 months (10.9 v / s 12.5 respectively) it´s considered equally significant. Conclusions: This intervention improved considerably the outcome of depressed low-income mothers compared to usual care for the first 3 months. However, some ofthese clinical gains were not maintained thereafter, most likely because a large portion stopped taking medication. Further refinements to this intervention are needed to ensure treatment compliance after the three months of the treatment.