Blood disorders among workers exposed to a mixture of benzene-toluene-xylene (btx) in a paint factory.

Objectives. Evaluate the three blood cell series and identify the presence of hypochromia, macrocytosis, leucopenia, lymphopenia, and thrombocytopenia in a group of workers exposed to the mixture of benzene-toluene-xylene (BTX). Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study which included 97 workers from a paint factory in Mexico. The participants underwent conventional blood count and tests for potential cumulative daily dose of BTX fumes, to estimate exposure. Results. From the total of workers, 19.6% showed macrocytosis, 18.6%, lymphopenia, hypochromia 10.3%, 7.2% and 5.2% thrombocytopenia leukopenia. The crude association of macrocytosis with exposure to high doses of BTX mixture was the only with statistical significance (OR: 3.6, 95% CI 1.08 to 13.9, P = 0.02), and the base for a logistic regression model (OR: 6.7, 95% CI 1.33 to 13.55, P = 0.02) adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Conclusions. All blood cytological components analyzed demonstrated mild changes, potentially associated with exposure to the mixture of BTX. Macrocytosis could constitute an early manifestation worthy for surveillance.
Authors: Haro García, Luis; Vélez Zamora, Nadia; Aguilar Madrid, Guadalupe; Guerrero Rivera, Susana; Sánchez Escalante, Vanessa; Muñoz, Sergio R.; Mezones Holguin, Edward; Juárez-Pérez, Cuauhtémoc
Source: Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/314358

Actions for legionellosis prevention and control: a challenge for public health in Spain.

Legionellosis is a respiratory disease originating in systems that produce aerosol and contain Legionella sp. In recent decades, Spain has developed a regulatory framework for prevention and control of legionellosis. This article describes the epidemiology of legionellosis and the importance of controlling the transmission of bacteria in the fight against the disease. In that regard, it becomes clear the role of reviewing critical facilities and the inclusion of new ones in the preventive legislation, the estimation of risk, and the improvement in the diagnostic processes and progress in new prevention protocols.
Authors:Gea-Izquierdo, Enrique; Mezones Holguin, Edward; Haro-García, Luis
Source: Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/314357

School Motivation Questionnaire for the Portuguese Population: Structure and Psychometric Studies.

It is presented the structure and psychometric studies of the “School Motivation Questionnaire”. The SMQ is a self-report questionnaire with 101 items, organized in sixteen scales that measure the students´ goal orientations, the perceived classroom goal structures, the perceived teacher’s autonomy support and the use of learning strategies. Twelve scales are adapted from the “Learning Climate Questionnaire”, “Perceptions of Instrumentality” and “Cuestionário a Estudiantes”. Four scales and five additional items are created new. The psychometric studies rely on a convenience sample consisting of 9th and 12th grade students ( = 485) of Portuguese schools. The factorial and construct validity, verified through several exploratory factorial analyses to the data, presents a final solution of six factors, labelled Strategies (F1), Teacher Extrinsic Goals (F2), Student Extrinsic Goals, Externally Regulated (F3) Teacher Intrinsic Goals (F4), Student Extrinsic Goals, Internally Regulated (F5), and Student Intrinsic Goals (F6). The six-factor solution explains a significant variance of the scale results (53.95%). Good coefficients of internal consistency are obtained for all factors, never below (.858; F6). In sum there is strong evidence to support the multi-dimensionality of SMQ, upholding that the data obtained is exploratory and applies for future validation studies
Authors: Gomes Cordeiro, Pedro Miguel; Couceiro Figueira, Ana Paula; Tomás da Silva, José; Matos, Lennia
Source: The Spanish Journal of Psychology

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/314342

Pharmacist intervention in the improvement of adherence in HIV/AIDS patients with antiretroviral treatment in Lima (Peru)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the pharmaceutical intervention in the improvement of the medication adherence of the patients with HIV and AIDS, and to identify the factors that infl uence on medication adherence and which one could be modifi ed by the pharmaceutical intervention during pharmaceutical care. Methods: Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up was realized for 23 months to 52 patients, older than 18 years, with antiretroviral treatment for up to three months, consent informed was obtained from patients. Medication adherence was evaluated with CEAT-HIV (questionnaire to evaluate the adhesion to the antiretroviral treatment) at the beginning and at the end of the study (6 months). Results: The fi nal score from CEAT-HIV (p <0.05; 95% IC), treatment compliance (p <0.001) and patient’s beliefs to the disease and antiretroviral treatment (p <0.001) improved signifi cantly with the pharmaceutical intervention. The more frequent pharmaceutical intervention was education to the patient to increment the adherence to the treatment (46%). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the pharmacists’ intervention through pharmacotherapeutic follow-up improves the adherence to the antiretroviral treatment. The pharmacist was able to improve aspects of compliance and patient’s beliefs about the treatment and disease. The pharmacist could utilize CEAT-VIH as an instrument to evaluate the adherence in HIV/AIDS patients.
Authors: Tafur Valderrama, E.J.; Ortiz Alfaro, C.; García-Jiménez, E.; Faus Dader, M.J.; Martínez Martínez, F.
Source: Pharm Care Esp

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/314353

Competence-based professional training in physical therapy. A real application at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas

En la actualidad, numerosas escuelas de terapia física en Perú proponen formar profesionales con el diseño curricular por competencias, incluyendo en su agenda anual sesiones de capacitación y guía al docente que dictará durante el semestre. Estas sesiones, además de tediosas y con poca estructuración, muchas veces guían inadecuadamente al docente en esta manera de enseñanza, ya que ni la misma institución tiene claras las competencias con las cuales quiere formar a sus profesionales. De esta manera, en base a diversos artículos publicados en Educación Médica [1-3], exponemos nuestra experiencia en la carrera de terapia física de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, en Lima. Desde hace ya dos años, como parte de su agenda anual, la carrera de terapia física convoca dos reuniones previas a los docentes que dictarán durante ambos semestres; dentro de ellas exponen los pilares de la carrera, como las competencias generales de la universidad y la visión, misión y objetivos que se plantea la institución docente para lograr la excelencia en la formación universitaria. Luego se exponen las principales competencias diseñadas para el licenciado en terapia física y los respectivos criterios de cada competencia, que se diseñan estratégicamente para que el licenciado sea un profesional competente en el ámbito internacional. De esta manera, el docente comienza el proceso de creación de su curso guiado por las competencias sugeridas, diseñando rubricas específicas y adaptándolas al sistema vigesimal utilizado en Perú, ya que para evaluar las competencias exige disponer de instrumentos de cuantificación estandarizados y de un referente claro de lo que es un profesional competente.
Authors: Becerra-Bravo, Giancarlo; Zuzunaga-Infantes, Flor
Source: Educ Med 
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/314305