Research courses’ characteristics in Peruvian medical schools

Aim: To evaluate the research courses’ characteristics and the scientific output of its teachers within Peruvian medical schools. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed, using data from the medical schools existing in Peru in 2011. The research courses’ syllabi and its teachers were evaluated. The number of courses, its teachers and the scientific output of them were assessed. Results: Schools had a median of 5.5 [range 2 to 18] credits of research courses, and 1.75% [0.6 to 6.3] was the median of percentages of total credits. In 18/32 (56%) schools existed at least one course requiring the student to present a final inform, and only one school entailed the students to publish the courses’ products in scientific journals. Furthermore, only five (16%) schools employed at least one instructor that had ever published at least one original article as the corresponding author in a Scopus-indexed journal. Conclusion: Peruvian medical schools’ research courses do not include the publication process as a targeted skill and its teachers have a poor scientific output.

Author(s): Taype Rondán, Á; Huaccho Rojas, J.; Pereyra Elías, R.; Mejia, C. R; Mayta Tristán, Percy
Source: Archivos de Medicina

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/555579

Reducing salt in bread: a quasi-experimental feasibility study in a bakery in Lima, Peru

Objectives: To explore salt content in bread and to evaluate the feasibility of reducing salt contained in ‘pan francés’ bread. Design: The study had two phases. Phase 1, an exploratory phase, involved the estimation of salt contained in bread as well as a triangle taste test to establish the amount of salt to be reduced in ‘pan francés’ bread without detection by consumers. In Phase 2, a quasi-experimental, pre–post intervention study assessed the effects of the introduction of low-salt bread on bakery sales. Setting: A municipal bakery in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Subjects: Sixty-five clients of the bakery in Phase 1 of the study; sales to usual costumers in Phase 2. Results: On average, there was 1·25 g of salt per 100 g of bread. Sixty-five consumers were enrolled in the triangle taste test: fifty-four (83·1 %) females, mean age 58·9 (SD 13·7) years. Based on taste, bread samples prepared with salt reductions of 10 % (P = 0·82) and 20 % (P =0·37) were not discernible from regular bread. The introduction of bread with 20 % of salt reduction, which contained 1 g of salt per 100 g of bread, did not change sales of ‘pan francés’ (P=0·70) or other types of bread (P =0·36). Results were consistent when using different statistical techniques. Conclusions: The introduction of bread with a 20 % reduction in salt is feasible without affecting taste or bakery sales. Results suggest that these interventions are easily implementable, with the potential to contribute to larger sodium reduction strategies impacting the population’s cardiovascular health.

Author(s): Saavedra Garcia, Lorena; Sosa Zevallos, Vanessa; Diez Canseco, Francisco
Source: Public Health Nutrition (Public Health Nutrition)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/555477

An unidentified cluster of infection in the Peruvian Amazon region

Introduction: Bartonella bacilliformis is the etiological agent of Carrion’s disease, which is a neglected disease linked to people in low-socioeconomic populations in Andean valleys. An outbreak of B. bacilliformis was reported in a rural area of the Peruvian Amazon region. The aim of this study was to characterize this outbreak using molecular techniques. Methodology: Fifty-three blood samples from patients diagnosed with Carrion’s disease were analyzed by molecular tools, using both a Bartonella-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and an universal PCR, both based on 16S rRNA gene amplification. Additional water samples from the area were also analyzed. Results: Unexpectedly, the samples were positive only when the universal PCR was used. Although environmental contamination cannot be ruled out, the results showed that Sphingomonas faeni was the possible causative agent of this outbreak, and that water was the most feasible infection source. Conclusions: Diagnosis by clinical criteria or microscopy may lead to misdiagnosis. There is a need to include molecular tools in the routine diagnosis of febrile syndromes, including Carrion’s disease.

Author(s): Cornejo Tapia, Ángela; Gomes, Cláudia; Suárez Ognio, Luis; Martínez Puchol, Sandra; Bustamante, Pershing; Pons, Maria J.; Ruiz, Joaquim; Del Valle Mendoza, Juana
Source:  The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries (J Infect Dev Ctries.)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/555445

Atypical presentation of Gorham-Stout syndrome. Case report

Gorham-Stout syndrome is an extremely rare pathology, of unknown etiology. It is characterized by proliferation of vascular channels that causes destruction and reabsorption of the bone matrix. We present a nine year-old male patient with an acute episode characterized by fever, chest pain, respiratory distress and dyspnea. The patient was submitted to computed tomography scan and a biopsy. The findings in the biopsy were multiple lytic lesions, osteolysis, and a mediastinal lymphangioma (lymphangiomatosis). The diagnosis was Gorham-Stout syndrome with atypical presentation

Author(s): González Luna, Alejandro; Nuñez Pizarro, Jorge Luis; Rodríguez Echegaray, Clodo Iván
Source:  Archivos argentinos de pediatría (Arch. argent. pediatr.)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/555429

Characterization of two Achromobacter xylosoxidans isolates from patients with pertussis-like symptoms

Objective: To characterize two Achromobacter xylosoxidans recovered from 2 patients diagnosed with pertussis during a Bordetella pertussis surveillance program. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs from 2 children under 1 year of age with clinical suspicion of pertussis were analyzed by culture and PCR. Results: Two Achromobacter xylosoxidans A8, closely related to Bordetella spp. were recovered from 2 patients diagnosed of pertussis, both carrying the ptxA gene and IS418 the pertussis toxin encoding gene. Subsequently, antibiotic susceptibility was evaluated by disk-diffusion method and by PCR. Conclusions: Although more detailed studies are needed, the present data highlight the possibility that Achromobacter xylosoxidans, closely related Bordetella pertussis microorganisms and not covered under the vaccine umbrella, might also result in cases of whooping cough. Thereby further surveillance is necessary to determine the extension and relevance of their pathogenic role in order to discriminate their real public health implication.

Author(s): Pons, Maria J.; Gomes, Cl觃udia; Bada, Carlos; Reyes, Isabel; Del Valle Mendoza, Juana; Ruiz, Joaquim
Source:  Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine (Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/554305