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Introduction: Rapid microbiology reporting can enhance both clinical and economic outcomes. Material and Methods: This three-year, quasi-experimental study, single-group pretest–posttest study, conducted at a university medical center, aimed to evaluate the clinical and economic impact of rapid microbiological identification reporting using MALDI-TOF MS. A total of 363 consecutive hospitalized patients with bacterial infections were evaluated, comparing a historical control group (CG, n = 183) with an intervention group (IG, n = 180). In the CG, microbiological information (bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility) was provided between 18:00 and 22:00 h, while in the IG, bacterial identification was reported between 12:00 and 14:00 h, and antibiotic susceptibility was reported between 18:00 and 22:00 h. Results: The IG demonstrated a significant reduction in the number of patients undergoing Microbiology (p = 0.01), Biochemistry (p = 0.05), C-Reactive Protein (p = 0.02), Radiological Tests (p = 0.05), Computed Tomography Tests (p = 0.04), and Pathology (p = 0.01). However, no statistically significant reduction was observed in economic costs related to microbiological testing (p = 0.76) or antibiotic consumption (p = 0.59). The timely reporting of microbiological identification to clinicians resulted in fewer patients undergoing additional diagnostic tests, ultimately contributing to reduced healthcare resource utilization without adversely affecting clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the Americas, deaths by diseases avoidable with vaccines are a significant contributor to child mortality. An essential means of reducing this is through broad vaccine coverage. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a potential disruption to vaccine coverage due to its effects on the healthcare system. Objectives: this study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DTP3 vaccination coverage in the Americas, investigating trends from 2012 to 2022 to identify significant changes, regional disparities, and the overall effect of the pandemic on progress towards global immunization targets. Methods: This study used the coverage data for the third dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (DTP3) pulled from UNICEF databases spanning 2012 to 2022. We conducted a Joinpoint regression to identify points of significant trend changes. The annual percentage change (APC) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for America and its regions. We also used segmented regression analysis. Using the Chi-square test, we compared DTP3 vaccination coverage for each country between 2019 and 2022. Results: Overall, America saw a decrease in vaccine coverage during this period, with an APC of −1.4 (95% CI −1.8; −1.0). This trend varied across regions. In North America, the decrease was negligible (−0.1% APC). South America showed the steepest decrease, with an APC of −2.5%. Central America also declined, with an APC of −1.3%. Our findings suggest a concerning trend of declining DTP-vaccination rates in the Americas, exacerbated in certain regions, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The absolute decrease in vaccine coverage in the Americas was −4% between 2019 and 2022, with the most important drop being in Central America (−7%). However, six countries reported increased vaccination rates post-COVID-19, led by Brazil, with a 7% increase. Conversely, twenty-two countries registered a decline in DTP3 vaccine coverage, with the average decrease being −7.37%. This decline poses an important challenge to achieving the WHO's target of 90% coverage for the third dose of DTP by 2030, as evidenced by the reduction in the number of countries meeting this target from 2019 to 2022. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted vaccine coverage in America, leading to a decrease, especially across Central America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe cognitive decline is one of the major public health problems in developed countries. Finding modifiable risk factors could become essential to develop strategies to prevent or delay dementia progression and stop its rising incidence. Objective: Our aim was to investigate the association between hypertension and cognitive function and to assess whether better adherence to the Mediterranean diet may modify this association. Methods: A subsample of 764 participants from the 'Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra' (SUN) cohort older than 55 years was evaluated with the Spanish Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m) at two-time points, separated by 6 years. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models were used to prospectively assess the association between hypertension –also according to adherence to the Mediterranean diet– and 6-y changes in cognitive function. Results: The adjusted between-group difference in the 6-year change of the TICS-m score between hypertensive participants and their non-hypertensive counterparts was −0.36 (95% CI −0.70, −0.02). This association was stronger among participants with a lower adherence to the Mediterranean diet [−0.62 (95% CI: −1.09, −0.15)] but the differences between hypertensive and non-hypertensive participants were no longer significant among participants with a higher baseline adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Conclusion: In this Mediterranean cohort, hypertension was inversely associated with cognitive function, but an attenuation of this detrimental association by a moderate/high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Limited Health Literacy implies an insufficient understanding of relevant health information, being associated with various variables. The objective of the study was to measure the prevalence of the level of Limited Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy (AS-SR), its associated variables and the differences in scores between levels of AS-SR, universities and science of study in Chilean university students., Methods: A multicenter and cross-sectional study, which applied a validated scale to measure levels of AS-SR, was carried out in a sample of 2,186 Chilean university students, categorizing it as high, medium high, medium low and low. The level of Limited AS-SR was obtained by adding the medium-low and low categories. Tests were carried out: descriptive, psychometric and reliability; association, logistic regression and differences between variables of interest., Results: The prevalence of Limited AS-SR was 52.7%. The variables most associated with the level of Limited AS-SR were: low interest in information about health care (OR=2.819; 95% CI: 2.132-3.726), prevention (OR=2.564; 95% CI: 1.941-3.388), sexuality (OR=2.497; 95% CI: 1.807-3.452) and health promotion (OR=1.515; 95% CI: 1.239-1.853); certain sources of Information (OR=1.915; 95% CI:1.614-2.272); low economic income (OR=1.661; 95% CI: 1.361-2.026), among others. There were statistically significant differences in scores between categories of AS-SR levels, universities and study science. The scale had a reliability of 0.940., Conclusions: More than half of the students have Limited AS-SR, mainly associated with low interest in health information. The scale presents excellent psychometric indicators, being recommended for diagnoses of health situations.