Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Spanish version of the Anesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) assessment tool.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Establish the transcultural validity of Anesthetists Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) in a Spanish-speaking country. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Clinical simulation center. SUBJECTS: Forty-two Anesthesia PY2 and PY3 residents participated in the study. INTERVENTIONS: Four clinical scenarios simulating anesthesia crises were assessed with a Spanish version of ANTS. Every simulated scenario was run twice with a time span of 3 to 4 months between them. MEASUREMENTS: Two anesthesiologists independently assessed all simulated sessions using ANTS. The ANTS indicators of construct validity were obtained by confirmatory factor analysis. Various goodness-of-fit indices of the factorial model were calculated: Comparative Fit Index (CFI); Tucker-Lewis Adjustment Index (TLI) and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). The standardized factor loadings and the determination coefficient (R2) was also estimated. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 212 clinical scenarios were analyzed. The specified factorial model had the same grouping of elements in four domains as the original version of ANTS. The CFI index and the TLI were 0.99 and the RMSEA reached 0.07 (95% CI 0.06-0.08). All the standardized factor loadings were found to be >0.4. Also, the elements obtained an R2 value that fluctuated between 0.54 and 0.92. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of ANTS is a valid, reliable and a useful tool to assess non-technical skills in Spanish-speaking countries. The applicability of the instrument was comparable to the original setting. The high reliability of ANTS in our setting allows us to propose its use not just in an educational and research setting; it can be used as an assessment tool of non-technical skills.

Three patients with injection of intravitreal vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors and subsequent exacerbation of chronic proteinuria and hypertension.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor inhibition is a commonly used tool to prevent vascular proliferation in tumors and retinal diseases. The antiangiogenic effects of these drugs have made them potent adjunct therapies when given systemically for malignancies. They are also useful tools to ameliorate diminishing eyesight in retinopathy. Hypertension and proteinuria have been observed in systemic VEGF inhibitor therapy, with rarer presentations involving nephrotic-range proteinuria due to glomerulopathies. Pharmacokinetic studies have shown detectable blood levels of anti-VEGF inhibitors up to 30 days postintravitreal injection. Animal studies have also demonstrated binding of VEGF inhibitors in simian glomeruli 1 week after a single intravitreal injection. We report three patients who received intravitreal bevacizumab and/or aflibercept with worsening hypertension, proteinuria and renal injury. Data regarding emerging evidence of VEGF inhibitor nephrotoxicity after intravitreal injections are also presented. The clinical data and the existing literature are reviewed to support the hypothesis that intravitreal anti-VEGF agents may be unrecognized nephrotoxins. These agents are given to vulnerable patients with diabetes, hypertension and preexisting nephropathy and proteinuria. This case series is reported to spur further study of the systemic effects of intravitreal VEGF inhibitors.

Delayed clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen and development of hepatitis B surface antibody in a chronic hemodialysis patient.

The introduction of hepatitis B vaccination and infection control in 1977 has greatly decreased the prevalence of hepatitis B. Currently, approximately 2.8% of the end-stage renal disease population is hepatitis B positive with a presence in 27.7% of the USA hemodialysis (HD) units according to the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study data. The behavior of hepatitis B infection differs significantly between immunocompetent and immunosuppressed hosts. Immunosuppressed hosts present more subtly with complications of chronic hepatitis B infection, being more challenging to detect. It is also well known that patients with chronic infection on HD have a small chance of clearing the virus. We report here a case of a hepatitis B positive HD patient who underwent spontaneous delayed serological clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen and development of immunity via appearance of hepatitis B surface antibody. This is a rare occurrence, and the few similar reported cases will be discussed.

The utility and accuracy of four equations in predicting sodium levels in dysnatremic patients.

BACKGROUND: Improper correction of hyponatremia can cause severe complications, including osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS). The Adrogué-Madias equation (AM), the Barsoum-Levine (BL) equation, the Electrolyte Free Water Clearance (EFWC) equation and the Nguyen-Kurtz (NK) equation are four derived equations based on the empirically derived Edelman equation for predicting sodium at a later time (Na2) from a known starting sodium (Na1), fluid/electrolyte composition and input and output volumes. METHODS: Our retrospective study included 43 data points from 31 mostly hyponatremic patients. We calculated Na2 based on five sets of rules that were progressively more precisely calculated. Sets A-D included all 31 patients and 43 data points and set E was based on 15 patients and 27 data points. RESULTS: The root mean square error was calculated and found to be between 4.79 and 6.37 mmol/L (mEq/L) for all sets. Bland-Altman analysis showed high variability and discrepancies between the predicted and actual Na2. CONCLUSIONS: Like similar studies in hypernatremic patients, the data suggest that hyponatremic modeling equations are not reliably accurate in predicting Na2 from Na1 and available clinical data regarding sodium, potassium and fluid balance over longer time frames (12-30 h). Our study was retrospective and was done in an inpatient setting and thus was subject to limitations and laboratory measurement variability, but showed that all four equations are not able to reliably predict Na2 from Na1 and inputs across a 12-30 h period.

Multiple sites of calciphylaxis in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Calciphylaxis has seldom been reported in patients with acute renal failure or in pre-dialysis patients. It also has been reported at lower calcium phosphorous products and in patients with adynamic bone disease. We report a pre-hemodialysis (HD) patient with acute renal failure and biopsy-proven calciphylaxis involving multiple cutaneous sites with calcification of the perineal area resulting in dry gangrene of the penis that necessitated a partial penectomy. The patient had elevated serum calcium, phosphorous and parathyroid hormone level of 612 pg/mL. The same patient suffered subsequently from a calcium embolus that occluded his left ophthalmic artery and resulted in left eye blindness. Calciphylaxis is a devastating phenomenon and physicians should have a high clinical suspicion for it in HD patients as well as in patients with late stages of chronic kidney disease.

Construction and validation of questionnaire to assess recreational noise exposure in university students.

Recreational noise exposure and its impact on hearing is a problem to which increasing attention is being paid. In Spanish, it is necessary to have a reliable and valid instrument that is capable of describing the extent of noise exposure. The aim was to create and validate an instrument to determine listening habits and levels of recreational noise exposure in young people. We performed a transversal questionnaire validation study using university students. We assessed the validity of the content and appearance of the "Recreational Hearing Habits Questionnaire" (CHAR in Spanish) through experts' judgment. Then we piloted the administration of semantic adaptation with 30 students. Finally, the instrument was applied to 335 Chilean university students, obtaining with these indicators that demonstrated convergent validity of the construct, criterion and reliability. We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as correlation and agreement tests. It was confirmed that 14 questions in the questionnaire have a good item-test correlation, having also a factorial structure that indicates the existence of three-dimensions. The questionnaire has good internal consistency and convergent validity with the Noise Exposure Questionnaire. In addition, the score obtained in the CHAR is a predictor of the presence of notch at frequencies of 4 kHz in the right ear and 6 kHz in the left. The CHAR is useful for determining listening habits and thereby recreational noise exposure, indicating good psychometric properties.

Three Presentations of Takayasu's Arteritis in Hispanic Patients.

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a medium and large vessel vasculitis, defined as a nonspecific aortitis that usually involves the aorta and its branches Kobayashi and Numano (2002). Its etiology remains unclear, and its complications are diverse and severe, including stenosis of the thoracic and abdominal aorta, aortic valve damage and regurgitation, and stenosis of the branches of the aorta. Carotid stenosis, coronary artery aneurysms, and renal artery stenosis resulting in renovascular hypertension are also reported sequellae of TA Kobayashi and Numano (2002). The disease was first described in Japan, but has also been diagnosed in India and Mexico Johnston (2002). Its incidence in the United States has been quoted as 2.6 patients per 1,000,000 people/year Johnston (2002). In Japan, its incidence is 3.6 patients per 1,000,000 patients/year and prevalence is 7.85 patients per 100,000 per year Morita et al. (1996). The natural history of this disease, which is commonly present in Asian populations, has only recently been studied in Hispanic patients despite the notable incidence and prevalence of TA in Mexican, South American, and Indian populations (Johnston 2002, Gamarra et al. 2010 ). We present three cases of Hispanic patients who presented with TA at Olive-View-UCLA Medical Center (OVMC). We review their clinical and radiographic presentations. Finally, we review the literature to compare the clinical features of our three patients with data regarding the presentation of TA in more traditional Asian populations.