Laparoscopic intracorporeal rectus aponeuroplasty (LIRA) technique versus intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM plus) for ventral hernia repair: a comparative analysis.

PURPOSE: Primary aim of this study is to compare the postoperative outcomes of the laparoscopic intracorporeal rectus aponeuroplasty (LIRA) technique to the intraperitoneal onlay mesh closing the defect (IPOM plus), in terms of recurrence and bulging rates at one-year follow-up; secondary aim is to compare the postoperative complications, seroma and pain at 30 days and one-year after surgery. METHODS: Patients with midline ventral hernia of 4-10 cm in width were included. Computed tomography scan was performed before, 1 and 12 months after surgery. Pain was evaluated using the visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Forty-five and forty-seven consecutive patients underwent LIRA and IPOM plus, respectively. Preoperatively, smoke habits and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rates were statistically significantly higher in the LIRA group (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Two bulgings (4.4%) occurred in the LIRA group, while in the IPOM plus group occurred 10 bulgings (21.3%) and three recurrences (6.4%) (p = 0.017 and p = 0.085, respectively). Postoperatively, seven (15.6%, Clavien-Dindo I) and four complications (8.5%, two Clavien-Dindo I, two Clavien-Dindo III-b) occurred in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.298). One month after surgery, clinical seroma, occurred in five (11.1%) and eight patients (17%) in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.416). During follow-up, pain reduction occurred, without statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, even if we analysed a small series, LIRA showed lower bulging and recurrence rates in comparison to IPOM plus at one-year follow-up. Further prospective studies, with a large sample of patients and longer follow-up are required to draw definitive conclusions.

[Evaluation of compliance with the antibiotic prophylaxis protocol in hysterectomy. Prospective cohort study]. / Evaluación de la adecuación al protocolo de profilaxis antibiótica en histerectomías. Estudio de cohortes prospectivo.

OBJECTIVE: Health care-related infections are a public health problem, among them surgical site infection (SSI) are the most frequent in hospitals. The objetive of this study was to assess the effect of the compliance to antibiotic prophylaxis protocol on the incidence of surgical site infection in hysterectomized patients. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was carried out between October 2009 and December 2018. The incidence of SSI was studied after a maximum period of 30 days from the moment of surgery. The degree of adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in hysterectomy and the effect of its inadequacy on the incidence of infection was evaluated using relative risk (RR) adjusted with a logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 1,025 interventions were studied in 1,022 women. The cumulative incidence of SSI was 2,1% (n = 22). The most frequent etiology of infection was Escherichia coli (23.1%) and Proteus mirabilis (23.1%). Antibiotic prophylaxis was indicated in 1,014 interventions (98.9%) being administered in 1,009 of them (99.5%). The adherence to the protocol was 92,5%. The main cause of non-compliance was the time of onset (40.9%), followed by the choice of the antibiotic (35.2%). The effect of inadequate prophylaxis on the incidence of infection was RR = 0.9; 95% CI 0.2-3.9; p> 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis was very high, with a low incidence of surgical site infection. No association was found between adequacy of prophylaxis and incidence of infection in hysterectomy. The continuous improvement of epidemiological surveillance in gynecology should be emphasized.

[Evaluation of compliance with the antibiotic prophylaxis protocol in breast surgery and its effect on the incidence of surgical infection]. / Evaluación de la adecuación al protocolo de profilaxis antibiótica en cirugía de mama y su efecto sobre la incidencia de infección quirúrgica.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic prophylaxis is one of the most effective ways to avoid surgical site infection (SSI). The present study evaluates compliance with the antibiotic prophylaxis protocol and the effect of non-compliance on the incidence of SSI in breast surgery. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was carried out from July 2008 to July 2018. It assessed the degree of compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis in breast surgery and the causes of non-compliance: choice of antibiotic, route of administration, time of onset, dose and duration. The incidence of SSI was studied during the 30 days after intervention (90 in the case of implants or prostheses). Relative risk (RR) was used to assess the effect of inadequate prophylaxis. RESULTS: We studied 1,328 interventions in 1,212 women. The cumulative incidence of SSI was 1.7% (n=22) and the most common etiology was Staphylococcus aureus (47.1%). Overall antibiotic prophylaxis protocol compliance was 95.3%, (including the 568 interventions where it was not indicated). The principle causes of non-compliance were the time of onset (46.8%) and choice of antibiotic (40.3%). Non-compliance significantly increased both incidence of SSI (8.1 vs 1.3%, p=0,003) and its risk (RR=6.5, CI95% 2.3-18.1). CONCLUSIONS: The overall protocol compliance rate was very high. Non-compliance with prophylaxis protocol at least doubled the risk of SSI in breast surgery.

[Hand hygiene compliance with hydroalcoholic solutions in medical students. Cross-sectional study]. / Adherencia a la higiene de manos con soluciones hidroalcohólicas en estudiantes de medicina. Estudio descriptivo transversal.

OBJECTIVE: To assess hand hygiene compliance covertly in medical students in a university teaching hospital. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Hand hygiene compliance in medical students was assessed in the units of Neonatology, Paediatrics, Neurology and Orthopaedic surgery. The five moments were covertly observed so as the hand rub technique. Hand hygiene compliance was described with the compliance percentages of the five moments. RESULTS: We studied 456 opportunities of hand hygiene. Global compliance was 44.3%. The most registered unit was Orthopaedic surgery (59.6%). According to the different moments, global compliance was better "after touching a patient" (60.2%). The unit with the highest hand hygiene compliance was Neonatology (60%). Hand hygiene compliance was better in the different hospitalisation units (50%) than in the office rooms (33%) (P<0.05) and the mean duration of hand hygiene was 22 seconds. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the moments were registered in the unit of Orthopaedic surgery and the moment with the highest hand hygiene compliance was "after touching a patient". The most hand hygiene compliance percentage was observed in Neonatology. Hand hygiene compliance was moderate, and it could and must be improved.

[Presurgical preparation and surgical site infection in neck surgery. The effect of the protocol adequacy in the improvement of the health care quality]. / Impacto de la adecuación del protocolo de preparación prequirúrgica en la incidencia de infección de localización quirúrgica en cirugía cervical.

BACKGROUND: Surgical wound infection is one of the leading causes of healthcare-associated infections. One of the most common measures for its reduction is the pre-surgical preparation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy to the pre-surgical protocol in patients undergoing neck surgery and the relationship with the incidence of surgical wound infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational cohort study, conducted from January 2011 to December 2017. Variables related to patient, pre-surgical preparation and infection were collected. Infection rate was calculated after a maximum period of 30days after surgery. The effect of the pre-surgical preparation's adequacy and infection was evaluated. RESULTS: The study included 131 patients. The global adequacy of the pre-surgical protocol was 84.7%, being the main cause of inadequacy the application of the mouthwash (7.6% of the interventions). The overall incidence of surgical wound infection during the follow-up period was 4.6% (95%CI: 1.0%-8.2%). No relationship between the adequacy to the protocol and the presence of infection was found (P=.59). CONCLUSIONS: Adequacy of the pre-surgical preparation in our hospital was high and the incidence of surgical wound infection was low, and no relationship was found between the two. The results show a high safety culture in this surgery. However, there is still room for improvement in the quality of care of our patients.

Incidence of surgical wound infection in renal surgery. The effect of antibiotic prophylaxis appropriateness. A prospective cohort study. / Incidencia de infección de herida quirúrgica en cirugía renal. Efecto de la adecuación de la profilaxis antibiótica. Estudio de cohortes prospectivo.

OBJECTIVE: To assess compliance with the antibiotic prophylaxis protocol for patients who underwent renal surgery and its effect on the incidence of surgical wound infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study and assessed the overall compliance and each aspect of the antibiotic prophylaxis (start, administration route, antibiotic of choice, duration and dosage) and reported the compliance rates. The qualitative variables were compared with the chi-squared test, and the quantitative variables were compared with Student's t-test. We studied the effect of antibiotic prophylaxis compliance on the incidence of surgical wound infection in renal surgery, with the relative risk. RESULTS: The study included 266 patients, with an overall compliance rate of 90.6%. The major cause of noncompliance (3.8%) was the start of the prophylaxis, and the incidence rate of surgical wound infections was 3.4%. We found no relationship between antibiotic prophylaxis noncompliance and surgical wound infections (RR=0.26; 95%CI: 0.1-1.2; P>.05). Laparoscopic surgery had a lower incidence of surgical wound infections than open surgery (RR=0.10; 95%CI: 0.01-0.79). CONCLUSIONS: The antibiotic prophylaxis compliance was high. The incidence of surgical site infection was low, and there was no relationship between the incidence of surgical site infection and antibiotic prophylaxis compliance. The incidence of infection was lower in laparoscopic surgery.

GHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on mixture profiles (GHEP-MIX06). Reporting conclusions: Results and evaluation.

One of the main goals of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of forensic genetics. Due to this fact, GHEP-ISFG holds different working commissions that are set up to develop activities in scientific aspects of general interest. One of them, the Mixture Commission of GHEP-ISFG, has organized annually, since 2009, a collaborative exercise on analysis and interpretation of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) mixture profiles. Until now, six exercises have been organized. At the present edition (GHEP-MIX06), with 25 participant laboratories, the exercise main aim was to assess mixture profiles results by issuing a report, from the proposal of a complex mock case. One of the conclusions obtained from this exercise is the increasing tendency of participating laboratories to validate DNA mixture profiles analysis following international recommendations. However, the results have shown some differences among them regarding the edition and also the interpretation of mixture profiles. Besides, although the last revision of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 gives indications of how results should be reported, not all laboratories strictly follow their recommendations. Regarding the statistical aspect, all those laboratories that have performed statistical evaluation of the data have employed the likelihood ratio (LR) as a parameter to evaluate the statistical compatibility. However, LR values obtained show a wide range of variation. This fact could not be attributed to the software employed, since the vast majority of laboratories that performed LR calculation employed the same software (LRmixStudio). Thus, the final allelic composition of the edited mixture profile and the parameters employed in the software could explain this data dispersion. This highlights the need, for each laboratory, to define through internal validations its criteria for editing and interpreting mixtures, and to continuous train in software handling.

[Prophylactic antibiotherapy in hip arthroplasty. Cohort study]. / Antibioterapia profiláctica en la artroplastia de cadera. Estudio de cohortes.

OBJECTIVE: The surgical site infection is the main cause of nosocomial infection in surgical patients, being antibiotic prophylaxis one of the most important factors for preventing it. This study evaluates adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in hip arthroplasty surgery as well as its effect on preventing surgical site infection. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was carried out from January 2011 to December 2016. We assessed the degree of adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in hip arthroplasty. Incidence of surgical site infection was studied after a maximum incubation period of 90 days. In order to assess the effect of inadequate prophylaxis on surgical site infection we used the relative risk adjusted with a logistic regression model. RESULTS: We studied 681 patients. Incidence of surgical site infection was 4% (95% CI 2.5-5.5). Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in 99% of cases, with an overall protocol adequacy of 74%. The main cause of non-compliance was the length of prescription (22.2%; 149 patients). The effect of inadequate prophylaxis on surgical site infection was RRadjusted=0.47; 95%CI 0.19-1.17, (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis was high. No relationship between prophylaxis adequacy and incidence of surgical site infection was founded. Surveillance allows us to assess surgical site infection and risk factors.

[Incidence of surgical site infection in colon surgery and antibiotic prophylaxis adequacy: prospective cohort study]. / Incidencia de infección de localización quirúrgica en cirugía de colon y adecuación de la profilaxis antibiótica: estudio de cohortes prospectivo.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) has a considerable clinical and economic impact at the hospital level, so prevention and monitoring are considered a high priority. The objective of this study was to assess compliance with the protocol of antibiotic prophylaxis in colon surgery and the effect of its inadequacy for the incidence of SSI. METHODS: Prospective cohort study from July 2008 to July 2016. Compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis protocol and the causes of non-compliance were evaluated in colon surgery: duration and starting, choice, route of administration and dose of the antibiotic. The incidence of SSI was studied after a maximum incubation period of 30 days. Relative risk (RR) was used to evaluate the non-compliance causes of prophylaxis. RESULTS: The study included 771 patients. The cumulative incidence of SSI was 5.8% (n=45), of which 2/3 were superficial incisional infections. The most common cause of SSI was Escherichia coli (28%). Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in 97.8% of patients, with an overall protocol compliance of 91.9%. The principle cause of non-compliance was the choice of antibiotic (58.2%). No relationship between the inadequacy of prophylaxis and incidence of surgical site infection was found (RR=0.5; CI95% 0.1-1.8). CONCLUSIONS: The overall adequacy rate to antibiotic prophylaxis protocol was high. No significant association between the adequacy of prophylaxis and incidence of surgical site infection in colon surgery was found.

Antibiotic prophylaxis adequacy in knee arthroplasty and surgical wound infection: Prospective cohort study. / Adecuación de la profilaxis antibiótica en la artroplastia de rodilla e infección del sitio quirúrgico: estudio de cohortes prospectivo.

OBJECTIVE: Antibiotic prophylaxis is the most suitable tool for preventing surgical wound infection. This study evaluated adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery for knee arthroplasty and its effect on surgical site infection. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Prospective cohort study. We assessed the degree of adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis, the causes of non-adequacy, and the effect of non-adequacy on surgical site infection. Incidence of surgical site infection was studied after a maximum incubation period of a year. To assess the effect of prophylaxis non-adequacy on surgical site infection we used the relative risk adjusted with the aid of a logistic regression model. RESULTS: The study covered a total of 1749 patients. Antibiotic prophylaxis was indicated in all patients and administered in 99.8% of cases, with an overall protocol adequacy of 77.6%. The principal cause of non-compliance was the duration of prescription of the antibiotics (46.5%). Cumulative incidence of surgical site infection was 1.43%. No relationship was found between prophylaxis adequacy and surgical infection (RR=1.15; 95% CI: .31-2.99) (P>.05). DISCUSSION: Surveillance and infection control programs enable risk factors of infection and improvement measures to be assessed. Monitoring infection rates enables us to reduce their incidence. CONCLUSIONS: Adequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis was high but could be improved. We did not find a relationship between prophylaxis adequacy and surgical site infection rate.

[Assessment of antibiotic prophylaxis adequacy in rectal surgery]. / Evaluación de la adecuación de la profilaxis antibiótica en la cirugía de recto.

OBJECTIVE: Antibiotic prophylaxis is the most suitable tool for preventing surgical site infection (SSI), so the development of guidelines and assessment of its monitoring is essential. In this study protocol compliance of antibiotic prophylaxis in rectal surgery and the effect of its adequacy in terms of pre-ention of SSI was assessed. METHODS: Prospective cohort study was conducted from 1 January 2009 to 30 December 2015. The degree of compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis and causes of non-compliance in rectal surgery was evaluated. The incidence of SSI was studied after a maximum period of 30 days of incubation. To assess the effect of prophylaxis non-compliance on SSI the relative risk (RR) adjusted with the aid of a logistic regression model was used. RESULTS: The study covered a total of 244 patients. The patients infected reached 20 cases with a SSI cumulative incidence of 8.2% (CI95%: 4.8-11.6). Antibiotic prophylaxis was indicated in all patients and was administered in 98% of cases, with an overall protocol compliance 92.5%. The principal cause of non-compliance was the choice of antibiotic 55.6% (n=10). The effect of inadequacy of antibiotic prophylaxis on surgical infection was RR=0.58, CI95%: 0.10-4.10 (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis was high. No relationship between the adequacy of prophylaxis and incidence of surgical site infection in rectal surgery was found.

Recent climatic events controlling the hydrological and the aquifer dynamics at arid areas: The case of Huasco River watershed, northern Chile.

The investigation assesses the influence of recent climatic events in the water resources and the aquifer dynamics in the Huasco watershed by means of the analysis of precipitation, streamflow and piezometric levels during the last 50years. These hydrological and hydrogeological parameters were evaluated by an exploratory geostatistical analysis (semivariogram) and a spectral analysis (periodogram). Specifically, the hydrological and hydrogeological data analyses are organized according to three sub-basins, the Del Carmen River (Section I), the El Tránsito River (Section II), and the Huasco River (Section III). Data ranges for rainfall are from 1961 to 2015, for streamflow from 1964 to 2015, and for groundwater levels from 1969 to 2014, available from Water Authority of Chile. The analyses allowed the identification of cycles in the hydrological and hydrogeological records. The study area is located in a transient climatic fringe where the convergence of several climatic systems can be identified in the hydrological and hydrogeological records. Results indicate that the nival areas and the small glaciers are especially important to the recharge processes in the Huasco watershed during the spring-summer snowmelting. Water reservoirs in the main aquifer (Section III) and in the Santa Juana dam are highly sensitive to ENSO oscillation climatic patterns. The main climatic events that control this record are the El Niño and La Niña events. In addition, the climatic influence of the westerlies and the SE extratropical moisture were also identified. Spectral analysis identified the presence of a 22.9-yearcycle in piezometric levels of the alluvial aquifer of the Huasco River. This cycle is consistent with the 22-year Hale solar cycle, suggesting the existence of a solar forcing controlling the ENSO oscillations. Moreover, semivariogram and spectral analysis identified a 10.65-yearcycle and a 9.2-yearcycle in groundwater, respectively, which were attributed to the strong mode of ENSO oscillations.

GHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on mixture profiles of autosomal STRs (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03): results and evaluation.

One of the main objectives of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the area of forensic genetics. Due to this fact, GHEP-ISFG holds different working commissions that are set up to develop activities in scientific aspects of general interest. One of them, the Mixture Commission of GHEP-ISFG, has organized annually, since 2009, a collaborative exercise on analysis and interpretation of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) mixture profiles. Until now, three exercises have been organized (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03), with 32, 24 and 17 participant laboratories respectively. The exercise aims to give a general vision by addressing, through the proposal of mock cases, aspects related to the edition of mixture profiles and the statistical treatment. The main conclusions obtained from these exercises may be summarized as follows. Firstly, the data show an increased tendency of the laboratories toward validation of DNA mixture profiles analysis following international recommendations (ISO/IEC 17025:2005). Secondly, the majority of discrepancies are mainly encountered in stutters positions (53.4%, 96.0% and 74.9%, respectively for the three editions). On the other hand, the results submitted reveal the importance of performing duplicate analysis by using different kits in order to reduce errors as much as possible. Regarding the statistical aspect (GHEP-MIX02 and 03), all participants employed the likelihood ratio (LR) parameter to evaluate the statistical compatibility and the formulas employed were quite similar. When the hypotheses to evaluate the LR value were locked by the coordinators (GHEP-MIX02) the results revealed a minor number of discrepancies that were mainly due to clerical reasons. However, the GHEP-MIX03 exercise allowed the participants to freely come up with their own hypotheses to calculate the LR value. In this situation the laboratories reported several options to explain the mock cases proposed and therefore significant differences between the final LR values were obtained. Complete information concerning the background of the criminal case is a critical aspect in order to select the adequate hypotheses to calculate the LR value. Although this should be a task for the judicial court to decide, it is important for the expert to account for the different possibilities and scenarios, and also offer this expertise to the judge. In addition, continuing education in the analysis and interpretation of mixture DNA profiles may also be a priority for the vast majority of forensic laboratories.

Mitochondrial DNA sequences for 118 individuals from northeastern Spain.

A population database was generated from 118 unrelated Caucasoid individuals living in Spain. Sequence polymorphisms of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region, hypervariable regions I and II (HVRI and HVRII) were determined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. A total of 102 different sequences were found as defined by 105 variable positions. The most common sequence occurred six times, and this sequence is also the most frequent in other European populations such as Austria, Germany and Britain. The mean pair-wise difference for the two HVR regions taken together was 7.74. The study revealed that transitions made up the majority of the variations (88%), whereas we observed a significantly lower frequency of transversions (8%). Also one individual in this study was observed with two positions of heteroplasmy at nucleotides 150 (C/T) and 153 (G/A). A statistical estimate of the results for this population showed a genetic diversity of 0.99. The probability of two random individuals showing identical mtDNA haplotypes is 1.3%. In order to use the mtDNA analysis in forensic casework, we consider that it is of crucial importance to know the frequency of the different sequences of mtDNA, and this data base study could be a useful tool to statistically evaluate the results.

Allele frequency distributions of 13 PCR-based systems in a population from North-East Spain.

Population data studies were carried out on a Caucasian population from North-East Spain (n = 129-292 individuals) for 13 PCR-based polymorphic DNA loci: six short tandem repeat loci (HumTH01, HumTPOX, HumCSF1PO, HumF13A01, HumFES/FPS, HumvWFA31), the six PM loci (HLA-DQ alpha, LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, GC) and one variable number tandem repeat locus (D1S80). The genotypes distributions were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg expectations. The combined use of the 13 polymorphic systems provides a high power of discrimination and power of exclusion for use in forensic casework and paternity testing.