Reinserción laboral de personas con una ostomía en la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia / Reintegration into the work force of persons with ostomy in the Autonomous Community of Galicia

OBJETIVO: conocer y analizar la realidad del paciente ostomizado desde el punto de vista de su posible reinserción laboral en la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia. MÉTODO: estudio descriptivo, transversal y multicéntrico sobre los pacientes ostomizados desde la perspectiva de su reincorporación o no a la actividad laboral. El periodo de la investigación fue de octubre de 2014 a septiembre de 2015. Se realizó una única visita, en la que se recogieron una serie de datos basales con respecto a la ostomía, los antecedentes, la calidad de vida y cuestiones acerca de la situación laboral del paciente. Se emplearon el Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida (Stoma-QoL) y el Instrumento para la valoración de la piel periestomal (DET Score). RESULTADOS: se reclutaron un total de 138 pacientes entre los seis centros participantes en la Comunidad Autónoma de Galicia. La edad media de los participantes fue de 52,97 años y la mediana de 54,50 años. En el 71% de los casos incluidos se trataba de una ostomía definitiva frente a un 29% en el que esta tenía intención temporal. La neoplasia resultó ser el motivo más frecuente, con un porcentaje mayor al 68% de los casos, seguido por patologías inflamatorias con más del 15%. Un 80,26% de los pacientes ostomizados declaró su intención de reincorporarse a la vida laboral, sin embargo, solamente un 21,80% se reincorporó a su anterior puesto de trabajo. De los pacientes ya reincorporados a la vida laboral un 18,18% manifiesta haberse visto obligado a hacerlo por exigencias externas a su voluntad. Un 16,03% de la muestra declaró que la condición de la piel ha sido una barrera importante en su reincorporación laboral. CONCLUSIONES: aunque para el paciente ostomizado existen numerosas barreras para poder trabajar de nuevo, el estudio demuestra que los pacientes ostomizados que vuelven a su actividad laboral previa a la cirugía tienen una mayor calidad de vida, por lo que se evidencia la necesidad del apoyo de personal experto en el cuidado de las personas con ostomías, así como de un equipo multidisciplinar, no solo para el cuidado desde la perspectiva de la salud física, sino para intentar abarcar y dar apoyo sociolaboral

OBJECTIVE: to understand and analyze the reality of patients with ostomy from the point of view of their potential reintegration into the work force in the Autonomous Community of Galicia. METHOD: a descriptive, transversal and multicenter study on patients with ostomy from the perspective of their reintegration to the work activity. The period of research was from October, 2014 to September, 2015. A single visit was conducted, where a series of basal data were collected regarding the ostomy, background, quality of life, and questions about the working status of the patient. The Questionnaire on Quality of Life (StomaQoL) and the Tool for Peristomal Skin Assessment (DET Score) were used. RESULTS: in total, 138 patients were recruited from the six participating centres in the Autonomous Community of Galicia. The mean age of participants was 52.97 years, with a median 54.50 years. In 71% of cases included, the ostomy was permanent, vs. 29% of cases where it was intended as temporary. Neoplasia appeared as the most frequent reason, with a >68% percentage of cases, followed by inflammatory conditions in >15% of cases. An 80.26% of ostomates declared their intention to reincorporate to working life; however, only 21.80% could return to their previous job position. From those patients already reintegrated to working life, 18.18% stated that they had been forced to do it by demands outside their own will, while 16.03% of the sample declared that the status of their skin had been a major barrier to their reincorporation to work. CONCLUSIONS: even though there are numerous barriers for ostomates to work again, this study showed that those patients with ostomy who returned to the work activity they held previously to surgery had a better quality of life; this makes evident the need for support by staff with expertise on care for ostomates, as well as for a multidisciplinary team, not only for care from a physical health perspective, but in order to try to include and provide social and occupational support

Analysis and enhancement of astaxanthin accumulation in Haematococcus pluvialis.

The green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis was cultured with different concentrations of NaNO(3) to determine the effect on cell growth and astaxanthin accumulation. The optimum nitrate concentration to obtain astaxanthin and to avoid the cessation of cell division was 0.15 g/l NaNO(3). The ratio chlorophyll a/total carotenoids proved a good physiological indicator of nitrogen deficiency in the cell. The effect of different carbon sources, malonate and acetate, on astaxanthin accumulation was also studied; up to 13 times more carotenoids per cell were accumulated in cultures with malonate than in cultures without this compound. The pigment analysis was performed by a new low toxicity HPLC method capable of separating chlorophylls a and b, carotenes and xanthophylls in a short-period of time, using low volumes of solvents and with an economical price. With this method even echinenone was separated, which had been unsuccessful by any other method.

Potential use of flow cytometry in toxicity studies with microalgae.

Cytotoxic effects of aquatic pollutants on microalgae are very heterogeneous, and they are influenced by environmental conditions and the test species. Stress produced by copper or paraquat addition to the culture medium of two microalgae was analysed by flow cytometry. Parameters assayed were: cell volume, chlorophyll a fluorescence and cell viability. The variety of results obtained in the present study reveals that flow cytometry is a useful tool in the toxicity tests with microalgae, both marine and freshwater species, and for different kind of pollutants.

A comparison of the relative sensitivity of structural and functional cellular responses in the alga chlamydomonas eugametos exposed to the herbicide paraquat.

The effect of the herbicide paraquat on the freshwater microalga Chlamydomonas eugametos was studied in function of different parameters such as growth, elemental composition, total lipids, and photosynthetic pigments content and others assayed by flow cytometry (cell viability, cell volume, and granularity). The study reveals that paraquat concentrations above 0.15 microM are toxic for the microalga C. eugametos, inducing an inhibition of all the physiological parameters analyzed and strong structural changes. However, lower concentrations cause alterations in certain cellular components that are especially sensitive to the toxic action of the herbicide; so total lipids and photosynthetic pigments content are affected by concentrations such low as 0.037 microM. Taking into account these results, these parameters are better indicators of the cellular state than data on biomass or growth rate.