Transscleral resection without hypotensive anaesthesia vs iodine-125 plaque brachytherapy in the treatment of choroidal melanoma.

AimsThe aim of this study was to compare transscleral resection technique performed without hypotensive anaesthesia (TSRWH) with iodine-125 brachytherapy (IBT) in the treatment of choroidal melanoma.Patients and methodsThis was a retrospective surgical cohort study. Nineteen eyes treated with TSRWH were matched with 53 eyes treated with IBT according to: tumour size, distance to fovea, distance to optic nerve, and follow-up time. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), local recurrence, secondary enucleation, metastasis, overall and specific survival, and complications were evaluated.ResultsPatients treated with TSRWH had significantly better BCVA than those treated with IBT. The local recurrence risk was significantly higher when ciliary body was involved (HR=11.4, 95% CI 2.24-49.7, P=0.04). Metastatic disease was observed in 14 of 53 patients (26.4%) in the IBT group vs 3 patients (15.8%) in the TSRWH group (P=0.531). Multivariate analysis showed that iris involvement (HR=16.0, 95% CI 4.2-170.2, P=0.033) and large tumour (HR=2.3, 95% CI 1.2-4.8, P=0.04) increased the probability of metastasis. During follow-up, six patients (11.3%) in IBT group died vs two (10.5%) in the TSRWH group (P≥0.999). Nine patients required secondary enucleation: 5 (9.4%) in the IBT group vs 4 (21.1%) in the TSRWH group (P=0.231). The most common complications in IBT group were radiation-induced retinopathy (45.3%), neovascular glaucoma (28.3%), and macular oedema (24.5%), whereas rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (21.1%), ocular hypertension (21.1%), and submacular haemorrhage (15.8%) were the most frequent complications after TSRWH.ConclusionTSRWH is a technically challenging procedure. However, when performed successfully, this technique achieves better preservation of visual acuity than IBT and without the limitations inherent in hypotensive anaesthesia.

Estudio de incidencia de los errores de medicación en los procesos de utilización del medicamento: prescripción, transcripción, validación, preparación, dispensación y administración en el ámbito hospitalario / Incident study of medication errors in drug use processes: prescription, transcription, validation, preparation, dispensing and administering in the hospital environment

Objetivo: Determinar la incidencia global y por etapas de los errores de medicación en 6 hospitales de Cataluña, así como los tipos de error y las consecuencias. Método: Diseño prospectivo, cuya variable global es el error de medicación. Se han excluido los errores potenciales. En cada hospital se estudiaron los ingresados en 2 unidades hasta 300 pacientes y se observaron 1.500 administraciones. Se aplicó la taxonomía del National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention. El error de prescripción se detectó mediante la revisión de las prescripciones, en la que se comprobaron paciente, medicamento, adherencia a protocolos, interacciones, contraindicaciones, omisión, duplicidad terapéutica, dosis, frecuencia, vía y falta de seguimiento. En la transcripción/validación se comprobó la coincidencia con la orden médica original. En la dispensación, antes de enviar los carros de unidosis, se revisó el contenido de los cajetines, y se contrastó con el listado generado informáticamente. En planta, los observadores comprobaron transcripción, preparación y administración. En todos los procesos se registraron los datos en una hoja específica. La concordancia entre revisores fue moderada (kappa = 0,525). Resultados: Se detectaron 16,94 errores por 100 pacientes-día y 0,98 por paciente: 16 % en prescripción, 27 % en transcripción/validación, 48 % en dispensación y 9 % en administración. El 84,47 % pertenecía a la categoría B (no se alcanzó al paciente), y menos del 0,5 % causaron daño. La población, de 65 años de media, se distribuyó en una relación varón/mujer de 60/40. Los principales grupos terapéuticos fueron: agentes contra la úlcera péptica y el reflujo gastroesofágico, antitrombóticos, y otros analgésicos y antipiréticos, en los que predominaba la forma farmacéutica (..) (AU)

Objective: To determine both the global Incident, and the Incident for stages of medication errors in six Catalonian hospitals, the types of error and the consequences. Method: A prospective design, with the global variable of the medication error. Potential errors have been excluded. The patients admitted to each hospital were studied in 2 groups of up to 300 patients and 1,500 administrations were observed. The NCCMERP taxonomy was applied. The prescription error was detected through the review of prescriptions, checking the patient, medication, adherence to protocols, interactions, contraindications, omission, duplicated therapy, doses, frequency, method, and lack of follow-up. During the transcription/validation, it was verified that the prescription matched the original order. In the dispensing process, the content of the drawers was checked, comparing it to the computer generated list, before sending out the single dose trolley. The transcription, preparation and administration were observed on the wards. The information for all the procedures was registered in a specific data sheet. There was moderate concordance amongst the inspectors (kappa = 0.525). Results: 16.94 errors were detected per 100 patients-day and 0.98 errors per patient: 16 % in prescription, 27 % in transcription/validation, 48 % in dispensing, and 9 % in administration. 84.47 % were category B errors (they did not reach the patient), and < 0.5 % of the errors were harmful. The population, with an average age of 65, had a male/female ratio of 60/40. The principal therapeutic groups were: agents against peptic ulcer and GERD, antithrombotic agents, and other analgesics and antipyretics, (..) (AU)

[Incident study of medication errors in drug use processes: prescription, transcription, validation, preparation, dispensing and administering in the hospital environment]. / Estudio de incidencia de los errores de medicación en los procesos de utilización del medicamento: prescripción, transcripción, validación, preparación, dispensación y administración en el ámbito hospitalario.

OBJECTIVE: To determine both the global Incident, and the Incident for stages of medication errors in six Catalonian hospitals, the types of error and the consequences. METHOD: A prospective design, with the global variable of the medication error. Potential errors have been excluded. The patients admitted to each hospital were studied in 2 groups of up to 300 patients and 1,500 administrations were observed. The NCCMERP taxonomy was applied. The prescription error was detected through the review of prescriptions, checking the patient, medication, adherence to protocols, interactions, contraindications, omission, duplicated therapy, doses, frequency, method, and lack of follow-up. During the transcription/validation, it was verified that the prescription matched the original order. In the dispensing process, the content of the drawers was checked, comparing it to the computer generated list, before sending out the single dose trolley. The transcription, preparation and administration were observed on the wards. The information for all the procedures was registered in a specific data sheet. There was moderate concordance amongst the inspectors (kappa = 0.525). RESULTS: 16.94 errors were detected per 100 patients-day and 0.98 errors per patient: 16 % in prescription, 27 % in transcription/validation, 48 % in dispensing, and 9 % in administration. 84.47 % were category B errors (they did not reach the patient), and < 0.5 % of the errors were harmful. The population, with an average age of 65, had a male/female ratio of 60/40. The principal therapeutic groups were: agents against peptic ulcer and GERD, antithrombotic agents, and other analgesics and antipyretics, principally in a solid oral drug form (58 %). The medications per patient-day were 5.5 and the units of medication were on average 11.21, varying greatly among the institutions. The adjustment of 10 units made the results more uniform. In all the stages, omission was the most frequent error. DISCUSSION: The different methods used and different areas of the investigations make comparisons difficult. This is evident in the harmful errors, the proportion of which is affected by the detection procedure. The number of mistakes avoided during the execution of this project demonstrates the need to improve the planning of the work systems and to establish safety measures.

The importance of a standing position in the diagnosis of Nutcracker phenomenon by duplex sonography.

AIM: To determine the clinical usefulness of Doppler ultrasonography in the diagnosis of the Nutcracker phenomenon, as an alternative to computed tomographic scans (CT). METHODS: This study consisted of 52 patients that presented with intermittent hematuria of unknown origin between January 2006 to April 2008. Doppler ultrasonography was used to assess the left renal vein (LRV) by measuring the anteroposterior (AP) diameter and peak systolic velocity (PSV) in supine and standing positions, at the hilar and interaortomesenteric portions of the LRV. These data were compared with CT scans. The sensitivity and specificity of duplex sonography was determined using the AP diameter and PSV ratios to assess the cut-off levels. Kappa (k) statistic was also evaluated. RESULTS: mean AP diameters of the LRV measured by Doppler sonography were 8.38 mm at the hilar and 3.17 mm under the SMA, compared to 9.3 mm (hilar) and 3.2 mm (SMA) in the supine and standing position respectively. The PSV in the supine position was 25.77 cm/s and 115.48 cm/s, respectively, compared to 25.54 cm/s and 125.96 cm/s in the standing position. The cut-off levels were 3.85 (sensitivity: 61.5%, specificity: 80.8%, k:0.42) for the supine and 4.12 (sensitivity:61.5%, specificity: 65.4%, k: 0.27) for the standing AP diameter, 2.99 (sensitivity: 92.3%, specificity: 73.1%, k: 0.65) for the supine and 3.73 (sensitivity: 96.4%, specificity: 79.2%, k: 0.76) for the standing PSV. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that the standing PSV ratio is the best parameter for to detecting entrapment of the LRV.

Estudio comparativo de pacientes con agudización de EPOC tratados con moxifloxacino oral frente a otros antibióticos por vía endovenosa en una unidad de corta estancia de urgencias / COPD exacerbation treated with oral moxifloxacin versus other intravenous antibiotics at a short-stay emergency outpatient clinic: a comparative study

I ntroducción: La aparición de las nuevas fluorquinolonas pueden representar una alternativa por vía oral (vo) al tratamiento endovenoso (ev) con otros antibióticos, en los pacientes con agudización de patología respiratoria crónica que requieren ingreso hospitalario urgente. Objetivos: Comparar la eficacia del tratamiento con moxifloxacino oral frente a otros antibióticos por vía ev en paciente con agudización de patología respiratoria crónica. Material y métodos: Estudio observacional, retrospectivo, de los pacientes incluidos que ingresaron en la Unidad de Corta Estancia de Urgencias (UCEU) del Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge (HUB) entre diciembre de 2004 y marzo de 2005, distinguiendo dos grupos: grupo A tratados desde el inicio con moxifloxacino 400 mg al día por vo, grupo B tratados inicialmente con otros antibióticos por vía ev y posteriormente con el tratamiento oral equivalente (tratamiento clásico). Análisis descriptivo de la edad, género, estancia promedio, destino al alta, retorno/reingreso a los 10 días durante todo el período estudiado, así como comparación de ambos grupos según tests paramétricos (X2 o Fisher, t de Student) o no paramétricos (U de Mann Whitney). Resultados: El total de pacientes que se incluyeron en el estudio fue de 287 (120 grupo A y 167 grupo B), sin apreciarse diferencias significativas en la distribución por edad, género, severidad de la descompensación y comorbilidad. De forma estadísticamente significativa la estancia media fue de 2,51 d (DS ± 0,95) en el grupo A y de 3, 10 (DS ± 1,05) en el grupo B (p < 0,001), sin que se observaran diferencias significativas en el retorno/reingreso a urgencias/ hospital a los 10. Conclusiones: Moxifloxacino oral desde el inicio es una alternativa eficaz en el tratamiento de la agudización del paciente con patología crónica respiratoria que requiere ingreso en una UCEU (AU)

B ackground: The newer fluoroquinolones may represent an oral therapy alternative to i.v. therapy with other antibiotics in patients with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring urgent admission. Aims: To compare the efficacy of oral moxifloxacin therapy to that of other i.v. antibiotics in patients with acute COPD exacerbations. Material and methods: Retrospective observational study of patients admitted to the short-stay emergency outpatient clinic of the Bellvitge University Hospital between December 2004 and March 2005, with comparison of two groups. Group A received, from the beginning, moxifloxacin 400 mg/day p.o., while group B initially received other i.v. antibiotics and then the equivalent oral therapy (classical management). Descriptive analysis of age, gender, average duration of admission, destination upon discharge and return / readmission within ten days over the study period; the two groups were compared using both parametric (Fisher’s or X2 tests, Student’s t-test) or nonparametric (Mann-Whitney U-test) tests as adequate. Results: A total of 287 patients were included in the study (120 in group A and 167 in group B); there were no significant differences in the age, gender, severity of decompensation or comorbility distributions. The mean duration of admission was significantly different, 2.51 ± 0.95 days in group A and 3.10 ± 1.05 days in group B (p < 0.001); there were no significant differences in the ten-day return / readmission rates. Conclusions: Ab initio oral moxifloxacin is an effective alternative in the management of exacerbations in patients with COPD requiring admission to a short-stay emergency outpatient clinic (AU)

[Age of smoking initiation as predictor in smoking cessation]. / Edad de inicio en el consumo del tabaco como predictor de la deshabituación tabáquica.

OBJECTIVE: To determinate the relationship between the age of smoking initiation and the success of the smoking cessation program. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Smoking Cessation Unit, in the University Hospital of Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 2801 smokers of 10 or more cigarette per day, who started a smoking cessation program between January 1993 to December 2002. METHODS: Kaplan-Meier method was used to obtain the probability of relapse. The log-rank test was used to determine relapse differences in time between groups of age at smoking initiation. Hazard ratios (HR) of quitting were estimated with a Cox model. RESULTS: The mean age at smoking onset was 15.5+/-4.1 years for men and 17.7+/-5.4 years for women. The age of onset smoking was significant for relapse during smoking cessation in men with a HR=1.42 (95% CI, 1.09-1.86), and for women who started to smoke before 14 years old compared with the reference group a HR=1.25 (95% CI, 0.76-1.49). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that age of smoking onset predicts higher rates of relapse in a smoking cessation program in men. The low motivation for cessation was in both sex a significative factor for relapse and the low and high nicotine dependence were in women.

Edad de inicio en el consumo del tabaco como predictor de la deshabituación tabáquica / Age of smoking initiation as predictor in smoking cessation

Objetivo. Determinar la relación entre la edad de inicio del consumo del tabaco y el éxito de un programa de deshabituación tabáquica. Diseño. Estudio de cohortes prospectivo. Emplazamiento. Unidad de Deshabituación Tabáquica del Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, en L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). Participantes. Participaron en el estudio 2.801 fumadores de 10 o más cigarrillos al día, que iniciaron un programa de deshabituación tabáquica entre enero de 1993 y diciembre de 2002. Mediciones principales. Se utilizó un análisis de Kaplan-Meier para obtener la probabilidad de recaída, y la prueba de rangos logarítmicos, para determinar diferencias de recaída en el tiempo entre los grupos de edad de inicio. El riesgo relativo (RR) de recaída se estimó mediante un modelo de Cox. Resultados. La edad media ± desviación estándar de inicio de los varones fue de 15,5 ± 4,1 años, y la de las mujeres, de 17,7 ± 5,4 años. La edad de inicio al consumo mostró ser un factor de riesgo significativo para la recaída durante la deshabituación tabáquica, con un RR de 1,42 (intervalo de confianza del 95%, 1,09-1,86) para los varones que iniciaron el consumo a una edad inferior a los 14 años y con un RR de 1,25 (intervalo de confianza del 95%, 0,76-1,49) para las mujeres que también lo iniciaron a dicha edad. Conclusiones. El inicio del consumo del tabaco en edades tempranas es un factor predictor de recaída en los programas de cesación tabáquica entre los varones. En cambio, la escasa motivación en ambos sexos y la dependencia alta a la nicotina en las mujeres son factores que favorecen la recaída

Objective. To determinate the relationship between the age of smoking initiation and the success of the smoking cessation program. Design. Prospective cohort. Setting. Smoking Cessation Unit, in the University Hospital of Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Participants. 2801 smokers of 10 or more cigarette per day, who started a smoking cessation program between January 1993 to December 2002. Methods. Kaplan-Meier method was used to obtain the probability of relapse. The log-rank test was used to determine relapse differences in time between groups of age at smoking initiation. Hazard ratios (HR) of quitting were estimated with a Cox model. Results. The mean age at smoking onset was 15.5±4.1 years for men and 17.7±5.4 years for women. The age of onset smoking was significant for relapse during smoking cessation in men with a HR=1.42 (95% CI, 1.09-1.86), and for women who started to smoke before 14 years old compared with the reference group a HR=1.25 (95% CI, 0.76-1.49). Conclusions. This study shows that age of smoking onset predicts higher rates of relapse in a smoking cessation program in men. The low motivation for cessation was in both sex a significative factor for relapse and the low and high nicotine dependence were in women