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Objective: To characterize frequency and type of use of theories or models on papers of a Latin-American journal in public health between 2000 and 2004., Methods: The Revista de Saúde Pública was chosen because of its history of periodic publication without interruption and current impact on the scientific communication of the area. A standard procedure was applied for reading and classifying articles in an arbitrary typology of four levels, according to the depth of the use of models or theoretical references to describe problems or issues, to formulate methods and to discuss results., Results: Of 482 articles included, 421 (87%) were research studies, 42 (9%) reviews or special contributions and 19 (4%) opinion texts or assays . Of 421 research studies, 286 (68%) had a quantitative focus, 110 (26%) qualitative and 25 (6%) mixed. Reference to theories or models is uncommon, only 90 (19%) articles mentioned a theory or model. According to the depth of the use, 29 (6%) were classified as type I, 9 (2%) as type II, 6 (1.3%) were type III and the 46 remaining texts (9.5%) were type IV., Conclusions: Reference to models was nine-fold more frequent than the use of theoretical references. The ideal use, type IV, occurred in one of every ten articles studied. It is of relevance to show theoretical and models frames used when approaching topics, formulating hypothesis, designing methods and discussing findings in papers.

En 2005 se publicaron recomendaciones para la tipificación de hemopatías malignas en Latinoamérica. Se consideró necesario realizar una reunión nacional para actualizarlas. Se convocaron y reunieron 95 profesionales expertos en el tema para analizar y contrastar alternativas y llegar a un consenso. Se alcanzaron opiniones de consenso en lo relativo a indicaciones, tipos y manejo de muestras, anticuerpos, nomenclatura e informe de resultados para el diagnóstico y seguimiento de las leucemias agudas. Las recomendaciones se describen en este artículo y se hace hincapié en la necesidad de que los laboratorios nacionales se apeguen a ellas., (Copyright: © 2019 SecretarÍa de Salud.)

The obesity epidemic is a phenomenon that has been widely studied in recent decades but is still incompletely understood, and its control is far from the desirable level in view of the increasing prevalence figures observed worldwide. This paper conducts a narrative review with the aim of providing updated evidence on the global obesity epidemic, and particularly on the situation in Latin America and Argentina, identifying the main challenges and future directions for addressing this public health problem. It first describes the current burden and increasing trends in the prevalence of obesity, in the overall population and by population groups, and its possible association with genetic and epigenetic aspects. It also summarizes the direct and indirect socioeconomic consequences of this epidemic, as well as recent strategies and initiatives focused on obesity prevention, with special attention to those reported as the most efficient in the Latin American context. This review identified some pending challenges in the region, the integrated approach to the double burden of malnutrition and the growing childhood overweight; and it points out some emerging approaches, such as the syndemic approach, as potentially useful to understand and address this complex problem in the current context. In conclusion, it highlights the importance of implementing renewed, more efficient and evidence-based strategies to control the growing prevalence of obesity, which would also impact on the burden of related chronic diseases, and thus on the economy and well-being of Latin American societies.

Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) prevalence varies considerable between regions and epidemiology of TRD in Argentina is lacking. Based on the Treatment-Resistant Depression in America Latina (TRAL) study, epidemiology and burden of TRD in MDD patients from Argentina is reported in this paper. A sample of adult MDD patients (n=396) from 5 sites in Argentina, with clinical diagnosis were included. Patients with psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, dementia, with severe chemical dependence or currently participating in another clinical trial were excluded. Patient reported outcomes and clinical assessment scales were used as outcomes. The prevalence of TRD in MDD patients in Argentina is 33.2%, based on TRAL data. Patients in TRD are older compared to those without TRD, and was more evident in married/consensual union MDD patients. Higher suicidality, greater comorbidity based on MINI, and worse scores in MADRS and PHQ-9 were identified in TRD patients. The prevalence identified in TRAL study for Argentina is substantial comparing with other Latin American countries and worldwide prevalence. TRD represents a disproportional burden to society, and efforts should be placed on reducing the burden of MDD and TRD in Argentina by improving early diagnosis, therapeutic management and ensuring that all patients have better access to mental healthcare.

Coagulopathy and thrombosis associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represent a major issue in the management of this disease. In the past months, clinical studies have demonstrated that COVID-19 patients present with a particular hypercoagulable state, in which a markedly increased D-dimer concomitant with increased levels of fibrinogen are observed. This hypercoagulable state leads to an increased risk of thrombosis, which seems to be higher among those patients with critical symptoms of COVID-19. The best therapeutic approach to prevent thrombotic events in COVID-19 has not been determined yet and several questions regarding thromboprophylaxis therapy, such as the time to initiate anticoagulation, type of anticoagulant and dose regimen, have emerged among physicians. To address these concerns, several medical societies have published position papers to provide the opinion of thrombosis experts on the management of coagulopathy and thrombosis associated with COVID-19. In line with this, the Latin America Cooperative Group of Hemostasis and Thrombosis (Grupo CLAHT) has constituted a panel of experts in thrombosis and hemostasis to discuss the available data on this topic. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence regarding hemostatic impairment and thrombotic risk in COVID-19 and to provide a carefully revised opinion of Latin American experts on the thromboprophylaxis and management of thrombotic events and coagulopathy in patients with suspected COVID-19.

The incidence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Latin America and Spain and its impact particularly on hospital emergency departments have been great, sustained, and unpredictable. Unfortunately, this situation will continue in the medium term, regardless of the diverse concepts and definitions used to identify cases or hypotheses about the role of staff. In the context of the worldwide pandemic, a multinational group of experts from the Latin American Working Group to Improve Care for Patients With Infection (GT-LATINFURG) has drafted various opinion papers for use by emergency care systems in the member countries. The GT-LATINFURG is comprised of representatives from the 13 scientific associations affiliated with the Latin American Federation for Emergency Medicine (FLAME). Experts from the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) also participated. The present consensus statement offers protocols and recommendations to facilitate the work of hospital emergency departments with regard to key issues the group identified, namely, the need for reorganization, triage, and routine test availability. Additional issues discussed include biomarkers; clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and microbiologic criteria for identifying patients with COVID-19; and risk and prognostic factors for mortality that emergency staff can use to quickly detect severe cases in our settings.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to overwhelm the capacity of hospitals and Intensive Care Units in Chile and Latin America. Thus local authorities have an ethical obligation to be prepared by implementing pertinent measures to prevent a situation of rationing of scarce healthcare resources, and by defining ethically acceptable and socially legitimate criteria for the allocation of these resources. This paper responds to recent ethical guidelines issued by a Chilean academic institution and discusses the main moral principles for the ethical foundations of criteria for rationing during the present crisis. It argues that under exceptional circumstances such as the current pandemic, the traditional patient-centered morality of medicine needs to be balanced with ethical principles formulated from a public health perspective, including the principles of social utility, social justice and equity, among others. The paper concludes with some recommendations regarding how to reach an agreement about rationing criteria and about their implementation in clinical practice.

The purpose a call for papers on "History and health" at Salud Colectiva was to contribute to the development of a historical perspective on health-disease processes. We are therefore interested in calling on the perspectives of history and the social sciences to shed light on the fact that both the definition of health conditions as well as populations' possibilities for accessing essential healthcare services are the result of social processes in which knowledge, ideology, politics, and interests come into play - far from a simple reflection of objective biomedical conditions. This implies, on the one hand, that the definition of which of a population's health problems are to be attended to - as well as how, where, and who is responsible for them - is the result of relations among diverse actors (healthcare professionals, public officials, firms, users, among others), and these relations are not free of conflict. At the same time, these actors mobilize the institutional frameworks, professional knowhow, and economic interests that they represent. On the other hand, the unequal distribution of economic, symbolic, and cultural resources implies differential access to healthcare services, both for individuals and for social groups.

Caustic ingestion represents a serious social-medical problem due to the devastating and irreversible consequences it can produce in the upper digestive tract. In Ibero-America, there are no published reliable data on the incidence or prevalence of caustic-induced injuries, and most of the available information on clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis is based on retrospective clinical series and, indeed, its clinical management is often based primarily on expert opinion. Re cently as an initiative of the Latin American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (LASPGHAN) and with the cooperation of the Spanish Society for Pediatric Gastroente rology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SEGHNP), we have designed a Clinical Practice Guideline that include a series of statements and recommendations aimed at optimizing patient medical care which is based on the systematic review of evidence. Two (2) separate papers focused on the evaluation of physiopathological and clinical-endoscopic diagnostic features of caustic esophagitis in children (1st. Paper) and, on the other hand, the most relevant therapeutic considerations (2nd. Paper). We expect this guideline to become a useful tool for the physician in the difficult decision-making process when assessing patients after caustic ingestion.

Ever since antimicrobial activity was observed at the end of the XIX century and antibiotics were produced on a large scale in the 40s, microorganisms have developed multiple resistance mechanisms, making treatment of infectious diseases difficult. For instance, several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria lowered their sensitivity to ß-Lactam antibiotics as a result of their inadequate use and abuse. For this reason, microbial resistance to these drugs represents an increasing health problem in Latin America due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains. This review aims to summarize and analyze scientific literature reporting resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics in Latin America. We compiled scientific papers published during the last five years from PubMed, SciELO, and LILACS-BIREME. We found that: (i) it is common to identify resistance genes for ß-lactams in the soil and animal farms, and (ii) over 40% of strains isolated from clinical samples developed resistance against ß-lactam antibiotics.