Papel del factor precipitante de un episodio de insuficiencia cardiaca aguda en relación al pronóstico a corto plazo del paciente: estudio PAPRICA / The influence of precipitating factors on short-term prognosis in acute heart failure: the PAPRICA study

Objetivos: Hay pocos estudios que analicen el papel que juegan los factores precipitantes (FPre) en el manejo de la insuficiencia cardiaca aguda (ICA). El estudio PAPRICA pretende analizar la relación entre la identificación de diferentes FPre con la mortalidad precoz y las reconsultas a los 30 días. Método: Estudio retrospectivo, multicéntrico, con seguimiento de cohortes a partir del os datos incluidos en el registro EAHFE (Epidemiology Acute Heart Failure Emergency). Se recogieron datos de todos los episodios de ICA en 8 servicios de urgencias hospitalarios(SUH) españoles durante el mes de abril de 2007. Se recogieron datos del perfil clínico y la evolución a corto plazo (mortalidad y reconsulta a los 30 días). La variable clasificadora del estudio fue la ausencia o presencia conocida de FPre del episodio de ICA. Sólo se recogió un FPre por episodio. Resultados: Se incluyeron 662 casos. El 51,4% de los casos presentaron un FPre. A los30 días se registró una mortalidad del 6,2% y un índice de reconsultas del 26,6%. Los FPre más frecuentes fueron las infecciones (22,2%), las taquiarritmias (13%), la emergencia hipertensiva (4,9%), la transgresión del tratamiento (4,2%), la anemia (3,9%) yla isquemia coronaria (3,7%). En conjunto, no hubo diferencias (..) (AU)

Background and objective: Few studies have analyzed the impact of precipitating factors on the management of acute heart failure (AHF). The PAPRICA study sought to explore the relationship between identifying the precipitating factor in AHF and the 30-day mortality and emergency department revisit rates after the episode. Methods: Retrospective, multicenter study of AHF cases with follow-up data in the EAHFE registry (Epidemiology of Acute Heart Failure Emergencies). From the records of AHF episodes attended in 8 Spanish emergency departments in April 2007, we extracted the clinical characteristics of each episode and the short-term outcomes (30-day mortality and revisits). Patients were classified by absence or presence of a known precipitating factor for the AHF episode. Only the precipitating factor responsible for the episode was recorded. Results: Data for 662 cases were included. A precipitating factor was registered for 51.4% of the cases. At 30 days, overall mortality was 6.2% and revisits were made by 26.6% of the patients. The most common precipitating factors(..) (AU)

3-Hydroxybutyrate co-infused with noradrenaline decreases resulting plasma levels of noradrenaline in Wistar rats.

Pentobarbital-anaesthetized male Wistar rats were infused with 6microgkg-1min-1 of noradrenaline. The infusion was supplemented with 8.5 mgkg-1min-1 of D-3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) for 15 min in order to determine its effect on the adrenergic response of the rat. Plasma levels of noradrenaline rose to a plateau of approximately 50 nmoll-1 with infusion. In the group infused with noradrenaline alone, noradrenaline levels were maintained for 1h. Supplementation with 3-OHB induced a decrease in plasma noradrenaline level that was inversely correlated with 3-OHB level. Aortic and interscapular brown adipose tissue temperatures increased with noradrenaline infusion, but the rise was arrested by 3-OHB; replacing 3-OHB with glucose had no effect. Infusion of saline, glucose or 3-OHB in the absence of noradrenaline did not induce a rise in temperature in either tissue. Blood 3-OHB concentration increased to 1.2 mmoll-1 during 3-OHB infusion, decreasing rapidly at the end of infusion. Blood glucose levels increased with noradrenaline infusion; the presence of high 3-OHB levels decreased glucose concentration. The effects observed were transient and dependent on 3-OHB concentration; these effects may help explain most of the other effects of noradrenaline described here. The role of 3-OHB as a regulator of adrenergic responses seems to be part of a complex fail-safe mechanism which prevents wasting.

[Microbial resistance: what is to be done? Information from the panel of experts]. / Resistencia microbiana: qué hacer? Informe del panel de expertos.

This document represents the recommendations of a panel of Spanish experts on antibiotic use and resistance. In a Task Force, under the auspices of the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs that took place in 1994 in Madrid, the members were gravely concerned about the national increase in antibiotic resistance. They analysed the development, evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance among community-acquired human bacterial pathogens in Spain, its relation with antibiotic consumption, and they proposed future surveillance strategies for monitoring the patterns of antibiotic use and consumption. Success will require a collective action among the producers (pharmaceutical industry), prescribers (doctors, veterinarians), dispensers (pharmacists), and consumers (patients). Two similar documents have been recently published by the American Society of Microbiology and the World Health Organization showing the global concern about this topic.

Compression of the anterior interosseous nerve after use of a Robert-Jones type bandage for a distal end clavicle fracture: case report.

There are some controversies in the medical literature about the causes of the anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) compression syndrome. The present case is, to our knowledge, the first reported resulting from an extrinsic compression of the AIN from a Robert-Jones type bandage in a patient with a distal end clavicle fracture.

Tuberculosis of the neural arch. A report of four cases.

Four cases of spinal tuberculosis involving the posterior neural elements are reported; all the patients were from Africa. The condition is rare and its incidence may be different in different races. Neural arch involvement is likely to be associated with neurological complications.