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Objectives: Socioeconomic status is a factor that influences health-related behaviour in individuals as well as health conditions in entire populations. The objective of the present study was to analyse the sociodemographic factors that may influence knowledge of stroke., Method: Cross-sectional study. A representative sample was selected by double randomisation. Face-to-face interviews were carried out by previously trained medical students using a structured questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. Adequate knowledge was previously defined. The Mantel-Haenszel test and adjusted logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between knowledge of stroke and the study variables., Results: 2411 subjects were interviewed (59.9% women; mean age 49.0 [SD 17.3] years) Seventy-three per cent were residents of urban areas, 24.7% had a university education, and 15.2% had a low level of schooling. Only 2.1% reported earning more than 40 000 euros/year, with 29.9% earning less than 10 000. Nearly 74% reported having an excellent or good state of health. The unemployment rate was 17.0%. Prevalence of "adequate knowledge" was 39.7% (95% CI: 37.7%-41.6%). Trend analysis showed an association between knowledge of stroke and income (z=10.14, P<0.0001); educational level (z=15.95, P<0.0001); state of health (z=7.92, P<0.0001); and employment status (z=8.98, P<0.0001)., Conclusions: Educational level, income, employment status, and state of health are independent factors for adequate knowledge of stroke. Public awareness campaigns should present material using simple language and efforts should be directed toward the most disadvantaged social strata in particular., (Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Intrapulmonary vascular dilatations (IPVD) are considered a complication of cirrhosis. The technique of choice for their diagnosis is contrast-enhanced echocardiography (CEE). The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of contrast-enhanced transcranial Doppler (CETD) in the diagnosis of IPVD., Method: We consecutively included patients evaluated for liver transplantation. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The investigator interpreting CETD was blind to the results of the gold standard (CEE). The accuracy of the diagnostic test was evaluated through sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and likelihood ratio., Results: CETD (n=43) showed a right-to-left shunt in 23 patients (62.2%): 4 early, 2 indeterminate and 17 late. Nineteen (51,4%) cases were classified as IPVD. With CEE (n=37), 10 procedures (27%) were negative for shunt, 27 (73%) were positive, and 21 (56.8%) were compatible with IPVD. Patients with and without IPVD showed no differences in age, sex, etiology, severity, or MELD score, independently of the diagnostic test. In the diagnostic validity study (n=37) of CETD versus CEE, the AUC for diagnostic yield was 0.813% (95%CI: 0.666-0.959; P=.001), sensitivity was 76.2% (95%CI: 54.9-89.4) and specificity was 90% (95%CI: 63.9-96.5). The positive likelihood ratio was 6.095., Conclusions: We found a high prevalence of IPVD in candidates for liver transplantation. When a late right-to-left shunt with recirculation is observed, CETD has a high probability of detecting IPVD, with few false-positive results. Because this technique has not previously been described in this indication, similar studies are needed for comparison., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEEH y AEG. All rights reserved.)

Population ecology of Crocodylus acutus (Reptilia: Crocodylidae) in Palmasola lagoon, Oaxaca, Mexico. Abundance and population structure are important parameters to evaluate and compare the conservation status of a population over time in a given area. This study describes the population abundance and structure of Crocodylus acutus in Palmasola lagoon, Oaxaca. The field works consisted of night surveys during the new moon phase, between the 21:00 and 24:00h. These were conducted during the dry and wet seasons and counted the number of individuals to obtain population estimates. Recorded encounter rates ranged from 32 to 109.3ind./ km in 40 journeys deployed with an average time of 18 minutes browsing. The estimated population size using the Messel's model ranged from 32.7 to 93 individuals. For both seasons, there was a marked dominance of subadults, followed by juveniles and to a lesser extent adult individuals, as well as undetermined individuals (i.e. unknown body/size/length), in both seasons. There was also a significant association with mangrove areas (26.1%) by juveniles; the subadults's individual use of superficial water (22.7%) and mangrove areas (15.7%); meanwhile the adults were observed on superficial water (9.7%). This information contributes to our understanding of the population ecology of C. acutus in the Palmasola lagoon where the estimated population size seems to show higher values when compared to other reports in the country.

Objective: In-hospital consultation (IHC) is a service that some medical specialties provide to others with the aim of resolving complications in patients admitted to different hospital units. The aim of this study is to perform a descriptive analysis and longitudinal study of IHCs received in our department during the last 5 years., Method: A retrospective study was conducted on the IHCs made within the period 2005-2009. The data analysed were as follows: department of origin of the IHC, reason for consult, date, priority of care, definitive diagnosis, need for follow-up, need for transfer, and the demographic data of the patients., Results: There were a total of 1458 IHCs in the period studied. The mean age of the patients was 58.2 ± 19.10 years, and 837 (57.6%) were males. The number of IHCs per year was: 2005: 263; 2006: 226; 2007: 239; 2007: 239, 2008: 329 and 2009: 401. The majority (86.8%) had normal priority, 8.5% high priority, and 4.7% were urgent. The Emergency Department (12%), Cardiology (10.9%), General Medicine (9.8%) and Psychiatry (8.9%) were the services with the highest demand. The most frequent reasons for consulting were loss of consciousness and epileptic seizures (24.6%), cerebral vascular disease (21.1%), and confusional states and cognitive impairment (13.4%). Over one third (36.8%) were resolved in the first consultation, and the remainder (63.8%) required follow up. Of all the cases assessed, 8.4% required transfer to Neurology., Conclusions: IHC is a complex activity that may not resolve all questions in a single visit. It involves a health care burden which is increasing annually. The increasing diagnostic complexity of the neurology, as well as the increasingly more specific treatments are the factors that lead to this higher demand., (Copyright © 2011 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To evaluate and to compare the findings of oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing in children with both spastic tetraparetic cerebral palsy (STCP) and with athetosic cerebral palsy (ACP)., Patients and Methods: 11 children were evaluated, with their ages ranging from 10 months to 8 years old, through both clinical assessment and videofluoroscopic evaluation., Results: The children with STCP were more involved at the neurologic, clinical and speech-language and hearing aspects. At the oral phases all the children had presented some involvement. At the pharyngeal phases the clinical signs of aspiration were identified in 10 children. It was observed aspirations in 80% of children with STCP and in 67% with ACP. The changes on swallowing were similar in both cerebral palsy groups, but the performance of the children with STCP was inferior., Conclusion: The videofluoroscopy was an important method which makes possible the verification of aspirations, helping the professionals at the therapeutical program for these children.