A case-control study of factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare Workers (HCW) are repeatedly exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCW in one of the largest cities in Colombia. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study, where cases had a positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and controls had a negative result. Participants were randomly selected and interviewed by phone. Analyses were performed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 110 cases and 113 controls were included. Men (AdjOR 4.13 95% CI 1.70-10.05), Nurses (AdjOR 11.24 95% CI 1.05-119.63), not using a high-performance filtering mask (AdjOR 2.27 95% CI 1.02-5.05) and inadequate use of personal protective equipment (AdjOR 4.82 95% CI 1.18-19.65) were identified as risk factors. Conversely, graduate (AdjOR 0.06 95% CI 0.01-0.53) and postgraduate (AdjOR 0.05 95% CI 0.005-0.7) education, feeling scared or nervous (AdjOR 0.45 95% CI 0.22-0.91), not always wearing any gloves, caps and goggles/face shields (AdjOR 0.10 95% CI 0.02-0.41), and the use of high-performance filtering or a combination of fabric plus surgical mask (AdjOR 0.27 95% CI 0.09-0.80) outside the workplace were protective factors. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the protection provided by high-performance filtering masks or double masking among HCW. Modifiable and non-modifiable factors and the difficulty of wearing other protective equipment needs to be considered in designing, implementing and monitoring COVID-19 biosafety protocols for HCW.

Effect of vaccination against oral HPV-16 infection in high school students in the city of Cali, Colombia.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, an association between HPV-16 and oropharyngeal cancers has been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate whether vaccination decreases the exposure of HPV-16 in the oral cavity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of vaccination on oral HPV-16 infection in high school students in the city of Cali, Colombia. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, HPV-16 DNA was detected in samples from the oral cavity and throat of 1,784 high school students of both genders, aged 14-17 years old, in 21 schools in the city of Cali, Colombia. The number in vaccinated girls were 944 vs., 95 unvaccinated girls and 745 unvaccinated boys. RESULTS: The HPV exposure percentages were: 0.7% in vaccinated girls, 3.2% in unvaccinated girls and 2.3% in unvaccinated boys. The odds ratio (OR) of detection of HPV-16 in vaccinated versus unvaccinated students was 0.28 (95% CI: 0.07-0.88), representing a 72% reduction in HPV-16 detection in students immunized with two doses. The odds of detection of HPV-16 in unvaccinated male students were 3.6 times those of vaccinated girls (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.21-12.81) and increased to almost eight-fold in boys who had initiated sexual activity (OR = 7.74, 95% CI: 1.53-75.09). CONCLUSIONS: HPV vaccination was associated with the reduction of HPV-16 exposure percentages in the oral and oropharyngeal cavity.

Interaction between DNA and Drugs Having Protonable Basic Groups: Characterization through Affinity Constants, Drug Release Kinetics, and Conformational Changes.

This paper reports the in vitro characterization of the interaction between the phosphate groups of DNA and the protonated species of drugs with basic groups through the determination of the affinity constants, the reversibility of the interaction, and the effect on the secondary structure of the macromolecule. Affinity constants of the counterionic condensation DNA-drug were in the order of 106. The negative electrokinetic potential of DNA decreased with the increase of the proportion of loading drugs. The drugs were slowly released from the DNA-drug complexes and had release kinetics consistent with the high degree of counterionic condensation. The circular dichroism profile of DNA was not modified by complexation with atenolol, lidocaine, or timolol, but was significantly altered by the more lipophilic drugs benzydamine and propranolol, revealing modifications in the secondary structure of the DNA. The in vitro characterization of such interactions provides a physicochemical basis that would contribute to identify the effects of this kind of drugs in cellular cultures, as well as side effects observed under their clinical use. Moreover, this methodology could also be projected to the fields of intracellular DNA transfection and the use of DNA as a carrier of active drugs.

Cardiomiopatía inducida por antraciclinas en pacientes tratadas por cáncer de mama / Induced cardiomiopathy by anthracyclines in patients treated for breast cancer

Las antraciclinas son agentes quimioterapéuticos que se consolidaron como la “piedra angular” para múltiples combinaciones de regímenes de quimioterapia, pero a pesar de ser un tratamiento alentador cuenta con diversos efectos adversos entre los que se destacan reportes de afección cardiaca caracterizada por efectos arritmogénicos, eventos cardiacos isquémicos, miocardiopatía e insuficiencia cardiaca; esto disminuye la calidad de vida de los pacientes y en casos más severos puede llevar a cardiotoxicidad fatal. El objetivo del presente artículo es llamar la atención acerca de los posibles efectos adversos que se pueden presentar en los pacientes oncológicos con el uso de estos agentes quimioterapéuticos. Para tal propósito, se hace la descripción de dos casos clínicos de pacientes con cáncer de mama, en donde se presentó como evento adverso la cardiotoxicidad secundaria al uso de antraciclinas, resaltando así la necesidad de un manejo medico integral y multidisciplinario. Adicionalmente se revisa la literatura haciendo énfasis en los mecanismos fisiopatológicos, la presentación clínica, la detección temprana y el abordaje terapéutico de este evento adverso..

Anthracyclines are chemotherapeutic agents that were considered the cornerstone for multiple chemotherapy regimes. Despite being anencouraging treatment, it faces several side-effects, some of the more prominent are heart condition characterized by arrhythmogenic,cardiac ischemic events, cardiomyopathy and cardiac failure; these side-effects diminish the patient ́s quality of life and in more severecases it can lead to fatal cardiotoxicity. The objective of the present article is to emphasize on the possible side-effects that oncologicpatients may present when using anthracyclines as oncologic agents. For that purpose the descriptions of two patients with breast cancerare presented, where the side effect presented is cardiotoxicity secondary to the use of anthracyclines; such cases stress the need for acomplete, integral and multidisciplinary management. In addition to this, literature was revised making emphasis on pathophysiologicalmechanisms, clinical presentation, early detection, and the therapy for the side-effect previously mentioned..