Oclusión de la vena safena con cianocrilato, una alternativa para el tratamiento de insuficiencia venosa crónica. Experiencia inicial en el Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social ­ IGSS / Occlusion of the saphenous vein with cyanoacrylate, an alternative for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. Initial experience at the Guatemalan Social Security Institute - IGSS

Las técnicas de termo ablación han revolucionado el tratamiento de la insuficiencia venosa crónica, siendo actualmente el estándar de tratamiento. Con el avance tecnológico han surgido nuevas técnicas quirúrgicas, no térmicas, no tumescentes; como el uso de cianocrilato para la oclusión venosa, el cual ha demostrado ser seguro y eficaz en el tratamiento, y tener menos complicaciones posoperatorias. Objetivo: Describir la experiencia en nuestro hospital con el uso de cianocrilato para la oclusión de vena safena mayor para el tratamiento de insuficiencia venosa crónica. Describir la eficacia a corto y mediano plazo del cierre, las complicaciones y la mejoría de la sintomatología utilizando el cuestionario CIVIQ-20 y EVA. Material y métodos: Estudio retrospectivo observacional. Entre enero y diciembre de 2019 que incluye a pacientes con insuficiencia de unión safeno femoral, sintomáticos. Con diagnóstico mediante clasificación CEAP y ultrasonido Doppler. Seguimiento clínico y ecográfico valorando oclusión de los segmentos tratados y presencia de venas varicosas a los 3 y 6 meses. Se trataron 5 pacientes con oclusión venosa con cianocrilato (100% mujeres). Valoramos la calidad de vida mediante cuestionario CIVIQ-20 y EVA (Escala Analógica Visual) previo y un mes después del procedimiento. También se describe la tasa de éxito y complicaciones inmediatas y tardías. Resultados: La totalidad de los procedimientos se realizaron con anestesia local, siendo bien tolerados. Con un éxito inmediato del 100 % sin necesidad de conversión. Solo se presentó como complicación urticaria en un paciente en el trayecto de la vena tratada con cianocrilato, la cual se trató con esteroides y resolvió. El CIVIQ-20 mostró mejoría global pasando de 35 a 29 puntos en promedio; siendo el parámetro de actividad física el que mostró una mejoría mayor. EVA demostró que la pesadez (principal síntoma) se redujo un 67%. Durante el seguimiento, ningún caso presento repermeabilización o recanalizaciones segmentarias. Conclusiones: El tratamiento endovenoso de la insuficiencia venosa crónica con las nuevas técnicas no térmicas, no tumescentes es seguro y efectivo. A corto-mediano plazo ofrecen resultados similares a las técnicas termoablativas obviando el inconveniente de la tumescencia y el uso de medias compresivas en el posoperatorio, evitando lesiones térmicas y observándose mejoría en la sintomatología. (AU)

Thermo ablation techniques have revolutionized the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, being currently the standard of treatment. With technological advancement, new non-thermal, non-tumescent surgical techniques have emerged; such as the use of cyanoacrylate for venous occlusion, which has been shown to be safe and effective in treatment, and have fewer postoperative complications. Objective: To describe the experience in our hospital with the use of cyanoacrylate for occlusion of the greater saphenous vein for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. Describe the shortand medium-term efficacy of closure, complications, and symptom improvement using the CIVIQ-20 questionnaire and VAS. Material and methods: Retrospective observational study. Between January and December 2019 that includes patients with symptomatic saphenous femoral junction insufficiency. With diagnosis by CEAP classification and Doppler ultrasound. Clinical and ultrasound follow-up evaluating occlusion of the treated segments and the presence of varicose veins at 3 and 6 months. 5 patients with venous occlusion were treated with cyanoacrylate (100% women). We assessed the quality of life using the CIVIQ-20 questionnaire and VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) before and one month after the procedure. The immediate and late success rate and complications are also described. Results: All the procedures were performed under local anesthesia, being well tolerated. With immediate 100% success without the need for conversion. Urticaria only presented as a complication in a patient in the path of the vein treated with cyanoacrylate, which was treated with steroids and resolved. The CIVIQ-20 showed global improvement, going from 35 to 29 points on average; being the physical activity parameter the one that showed the greatest improvement. VAS showed that heaviness (main symptom) was reduced by 67%. During follow-up, no case presented segmental recanalization or recanalization. Conclusions: Endovenous treatment of chronic venous insufficiency with new non-thermal, non-tumescent techniques is safe and effective. In the short-medium term, they offer results similar to thermoablative techniques, avoiding the inconvenience of tumescence and the use of compression stockings in the postoperative period, avoiding thermal injuries and observing improvement in symptoms. (AU)

Assessing the use of cell phones to monitor health and nutrition interventions: Evidence from rural Guatemala.

In-person (face-to-face) data collection methods offer many advantages but can also be time-consuming and expensive, particularly in areas of difficult access. We take advantage of the increasing mobile phone penetration rate in rural areas to evaluate the feasibility of using cell phones to monitor the provision of key health and nutrition interventions linked to the first 1,000 days of life, a critical period of growth and development. We examine response rates to calendarized text messages (SMS) and phone calls sent to 1,542 households over a period of four months. These households have children under two years old and pregnant women and are located across randomly selected communities in Quiche, Guatemala. We find that the overall (valid) response rate to phone calls is over 5 times higher than to text messages (75.8% versus 14.4%). We also test whether simple SMS reminders improve the timely reception of health services but do not find any effects in this regard. Language, education, and age appear to be major barriers to respond to text messages as opposed to phone calls, and the rate of response is not correlated with a household's geographic location (accessibility). Moreover, response veracity is high, with an 84-91% match between household responses and administrative records. The costs per monitored intervention are around 1.12 US dollars using text messages and 85 cents making phone calls, with the costs per effective answer showing a starker contrast, at 7.76 and 1.12 US dollars, respectively. Our findings indicate that mobile phone calls can be an effective, low-cost tool to collect reliable information remotely and in real time. In the current context, where in-person contact with households is not possible due to the COVID-19 crisis, phone calls can be a valuable instrument for collecting information, monitoring development interventions, or implementing brief surveys.

Software de gestión y análisis de los casos de intoxicaciones por plaguicidas - PlaguiTox / Management and analysis software for pesticide poisoning cases - PlaguiTox

Introducción: El Centro Nacional de Toxicología de Cuba, supervisa y controla la información de eventos atribuibles a la inmunización, vacunación e intoxicaciones con medicamentos y plaguicidas. Los casos que llegan al centro, se justifican mayormente por el uso de plaguicidas que tienen un alto nivel de toxicidad y riesgo de muerte. Los especialistas en toxicología, requieren facilidad para revisar las hojas de seguridad, el listado oficial de plaguicidas autorizados en Cuba y los casos anteriores. Esto permite analizar y emitir un diagnóstico, que salve la vida del afectado. Objetivo: Presentar un sistema para la gestión y el análisis de los casos intoxicados por plaguicidas. Métodos: El desarrollo se sustentó en la metodología de software Extreme Programming, modelado con la herramienta CASE Visual Paradigm 8.0 y lenguaje UML 2.0. Se utilizó Java con NetBeans 8.0.2 y como gestor de base de datos PostgreSQL 9.3. Resultados: Se desarrolló una herramienta de gestión de la información toxicológica, así como una base de casos de los síntomas, plaguicidas y diagnóstico por plaguicida. Los especialistas en toxicología cuentan con una herramienta de apoyo a la toma de decisiones, que reduce la ocurrencia de errores humanos(AU)

Introduction: The Cuban National Toxicology Center supervises and controls the information of events attributable to immunization, vaccination and poisonings with medications and pesticides. The cases that arrive at the center are mainly justified by the use of pesticides that have a high level of toxicity and risk of death. Specialists in toxicology require ease to review the safety sheets, the official list of authorized pesticides in Cuba and the above cases. This allows analyzing and issuing a diagnosis that saves the life of the affected person. Objective: To present a system for the management and analysis of cases poisoned by pesticides. Methods: The development was based on the Extreme Programming software methodology, modeled with the CASE Visual Paradigm 8.0 tool and the UML 2.0 language. Java was used with NetBeans 8.0.2 and as PostgreSQL 9.3 database manager. Results: A toxicological information management tool was developed, as well as a case database of symptoms, pesticides and pesticide diagnosis. Toxicology specialists have a decision support tool that reduces the occurrence of human errors(AU)