Plasma acylcarnitines and risk of cardiovascular disease: effect of Mediterranean diet interventions.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that metabolite profiles of elevated acylcarnitines were associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in populations with established coronary disease. However, to our knowledge, this association has not been evaluated in the context of primary cardiovascular prevention. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association between 28 plasma acylcarnitine species and risk of incident CVD and the potential modifying effect of Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) interventions. DESIGN: We measured plasma acylcarnitines with the use of high-throughput liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry at baseline and after 1 y of follow-up, both individually and classified into short-, medium-, or long-chain scores, in a case-cohort study within the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) study, which is a randomized Mediterranean dietary intervention for primary cardiovascular prevention. A randomly selected subcohort (n = 751) and all available incident CVD cases (n = 229) after 4.8 y of follow-up were included in the current study. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and other CVD risk factors, participants in the highest quartile of baseline short- and medium-chain acylcarnitines had a higher risk of CVD than did participants in the lowest quartile [HRs: 1.80 (95% CI: 1.11, 2.91; P-trend 0.01) and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.48; P-trend = 0.04), respectively]. Increased short-chain acylcarnitines after 1 y were associated with higher risks of total CVD and stroke. Participants with higher baseline concentrations of short-, medium-, and long-chain acylcarnitines who were randomly assigned to the control group had a higher risk of CVD than did subjects with lower concentrations of acylcarnitines who were assigned to the MedDiet group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the conclusion that metabolite profiles characterized by elevated concentrations of acylcarnitines are independently associated with risks of total CVD and stroke alone in participants at high risk of CVD. MedDiet interventions may mitigate the adverse associations shown between higher concentrations of acylcarnitines and CVD. This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN35739639.

Evaluación y mejoría del dolor en niños atendidos por enfermeras acreditadas: estudio descriptivo / Pain assessment and improvement in children treated by accredited nurses: descriptive study

Antecedentes: la evaluación del dolor es una tarea compleja que requiere de un esfuerzo considerable dada su naturaleza multidimensional. Esta evaluación es, si cabe, más compleja en el caso de los niños debido a las dificultades de comunicación y dominio del lenguaje. Objetivos: analizar la reducción del dolor logrado por enfermeras acreditadas, en función de la edad de los niños atendidos. Metodología: se utilizaron 161 evaluaciones del dolor percibido en niños de entre 0 y 15 años, realizadas por 93 enfermeras acreditadas entre septiembre de 2006 y julio de 2011. Para la elaboración de los análisis descriptivos se utilizó el test estadístico Chi-cuadrado. Se calcularon las Odds ratio para la probabilidad de reducir el dolor a 0 en los niños según su edad. Resultados: los resultados evidenciaron que las enfermeras presentan un mayor nivel de competencias en la reducción del dolor en niños de edades comprendidas entre 2 y 3 años, observándose hasta los 10 años una leve tendencia negativa en la capacidad de reducir el dolor a cero por parte de las enfermeras, a medida que aumenta la edad del niño. Conclusiones: este trabajo aborda la evaluación del dolor, realizada por el conjunto de enfermeras de cuidados infantiles, que trabajan en los servicios de salud públicos de Andalucía, y que han sido acreditadas por la Agencia de Calidad Sanitaria de Andalucía, España. Las enfermeras utilizaron distintos tipos de escalas de medición del dolor, en función del desarrollo cognitivo de los niños atendidos.

Background. Pain assessment is a complex task that requires considerable effort due to its multidimensional nature. This assessment is, if anything, more complex in the case of children due to the difficulties of communication and language proficiency. Aim. To analyse pain reduction achieved by accredited nurses depending on the age of the children treated. Method. 161 assessments of perceived pain in children aged 0 to 15 years conducted by 93 accredited nurses between September 2006 and July 2011 were used. Chi-square tests were applied for descriptive analysis. Odds ratio for probabilities of reducing pain to 0 was calculated according the age of the children. Results. The results show that nurses have a higher level of competency in reducing pain in children aged between 2 and 3 years, showing a mild negative trend in the ability to reduce pain to zero, with increasing child's age. Conclusions. This paper addresses the assessment of pain, held by all child-care nurses who work in Public Health Services of Andalusia (Spain), which have been accredited by the Andalusian Agency for Healthcare Quality. Nurses have used different types of pain measurement scales, depending on the cognitive development of children treated.