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Introducción: El paraganglioma es un tumor neuroendocrino poco frecuente que surge de los paraganglios autonómicos extraadrenales en diversos lugares del organismo. También se les conoce como feocromocitomas extraadrenales. Alrededor de 90 % son benignos y se curan mediante la extirpación quirúrgica, el restante 10 % son malignos, y pueden provocar metástasis a distancia. El diagnóstico es importante por su riesgo de malignidad, por las implicaciones de otras neoplasias asociadas y dada la posibilidad de realizar estudios genéticos para la detección de otros casos dentro de una misma familia. Objetivo: Exponer aspectos clínico-epidemiológicos de esta enfermedad y las implicaciones perioperatorias concernientes a la conducta anestésica perioperatoria de estos pacientes. Caso clínico: Paciente femenina, de 56 años de edad con antecedentes de hipertensión arterial de más dos años de evolución y difícil control, diabetes mellitus e historia de cefalea, palpitaciones y sensación de calor. Diagnóstico imagenológico de una masa pararrenal sospechosa de paraganglioma que se confirmó por estudio histopatológico posterior a la exceresis. Conclusiones: La técnica anestésica para la resección de estos tumores es un desafío importante para el anestesiólogo que debe enfrentar dicha intervención quirúrgica, planteándose los riesgos de las etapas pre-, intra- y posoperatoria

Fundamento: El incremento de la enfermedad meningocócica por serogrupo C en la Comunidad Valenciana durante 1996-1997 motivó la realización de una campaña de vacunación antimeningocócica A+C en la población de 18 meses a 19 años de edad (entre septiembre y diciembre de 1997). El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el impacto de la campaña en cuanto a la epidemiología, clínica, evolución de la enfermedad meningocócica y estado de vacunación de la población infantil con el fin de valorar la efectividad vacunal. Métodos: Los datos se obtuvieron de las historias clínicas de los niños menores de 15 años, que presentaron síntomas y signos clínicos sugestivos de enfermedad invasora con aislamiento de Neisseria. meningitidis y/o que cumplían con los criterios de definición de caso establecidos, atendidos en todos los hospitales públicos de la Comunidad Valenciana entre 1996-2000. La evolución de la incidencia se valoró mediante tasas de incidencia. La clínica y su evolución (secuelas y letalidad) mediante la frecuencia y distribución por serogrupo y edad. La efectividad vacunal se calculó según la fórmula de Orestein. Resultados: Se registró un total de 302 casos de enfermedad invasora por N. meningitidis. La tasa de incidencia por serogrupo C en niños menores de 15 años disminuyó tras la campaña de vacunación desde 5,82/10(5) habitantes en 1997 a 1,68/10(5) habitantes en 1998. Tres años después de la campaña se ha vuelto a tasas similares a la época prevacunal, con un aumento por serogrupo B en los 2 últimos años. El 61% de las secuelas se da en menores de 5 años. La letalidad fue más elevada para el serogrupo C. La efectividad vacunal al tercer año tras la campaña ha sido del 83,7% para el grupo de 5-14 años y del 69,1% para el grupo de 19 meses-4 años. Conclusión: La vacuna polisacarídica se mostró efectiva para interrumpir el brote. La disminución de la incidencia del serogrupo C es atribuible a la efectividad vacunal obtenida.

Fundamento: La introducción de la vacuna conjugada anti Haemophilus influenzae tipo b (Hib) en niños ha provocado un llamativo descenso de la incidencia de la enfermedad por H. influenzae. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar las características más relevantes de la enfermedad invasora por H. influenzae en cuanto a la epidemiología, clínica, evolución y estado de vacunación de la población infantil de la Comunidad Valenciana en el periodo 1996-2000. Método: Los datos se recogen de las historias clínicas de los niños menores de 15 años que hayan presentado síntomas y signos clínicos sugestivos de enfermedad invasora con aislamiento de Haemophilus influenzae y/o que cumple con los criterios de definición de caso establecidos, atendidos en todos los hospitales públicos de la Comunidad Valenciana entre 1996 y 2000. La evolución de la incidencia se valoró mediante tasas de incidencia. La clínica y su evolución (secuelas y letalidad) mediante la frecuencia y distribución por edad. Resultados: Se registraron un total de 36 casos de enfermedad invasora por Haemophilus influenzae. La tasa de incidencia en niños menores de 15 años pasó de 3,56/10(5) en 1996 a 1,07/10(5) en 1997 (coincidiendo con la campaña de vacunación y la posterior inclusión de la vacuna conjugada anti Hib en el Calendario de Vacunaciones Sistemáticas de la Comunidad Valenciana) y 0,30/10(5) en 1998, situación que se sigue manteniendo en los años posteriores. El 53% de los casos se dan en menores de 18 meses. Tanto las secuelas como los fallecimientos se producen en la época anterior a la aplicación rutinaria de la vacuna conjugada. Ningún niño vacunado correctamente falleció. Se registraron 2 casos de H. influenzae tipo no b en niños vacunados. Conclusiones: La incidencia de la infección por Haemophilus influenzae tipo b disminuyó drásticamente desde el inicio de la vacunación sistemática de la población infantil.

Background: the gold-standard diagnostic protocol (GSDP) for COVID-19 consists of a nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) sample processed through traditional RNA extraction (TRE) and amplified with retrotranscription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Multiple alternatives were developed to decrease time/cost of GSDP, including alternative clinical samples, RNA extraction methods and nucleic acid amplification. Thus, we carried out a cross comparison of various alternatives methods against GSDP and each other., Methods: we tested alternative diagnostic methods using saliva, heat-induced RNA release (HIRR) and a colorimetric retrotranscription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) as substitutions to the GSDP., Results: RT-LAMP using NPS processed by TRE showed high sensitivity (96%) and specificity (97%), closely matching GSDP. When saliva was processed by TRE and amplified with both RT-LAMP and RT-qPCR, RT-LAMP yielded high diagnostic parameters (88%-96% sensitivity and 95%-100% specificity) compared to RT-qPCR. Nonetheless, when saliva processed by TRE and detected by RT-LAMP was compared against the GSDP, the resulting diagnostic values for sensitivity (78%) and specificity (87%) were somewhat high but still short of those of the GSDP. Finally, saliva processed with HIRR and detected via RT-LAMP was the simplest and fastest method, but its sensitivity against GSDP was too low (56%) for any clinical application. Also, in this last method, the acidity of a large percentage of saliva samples (9%-22%) affected the pH-sensitive colorimetric indicator used in the test, requiring the exclusion of these acidic samples or an extra step for pH correction., Discussion: our comparison shows that RT-LAMP technology has diagnostic performance on par with RT-qPCR; likewise, saliva offers the same diagnostic functionality as NPS when subjected to a TRE method. Nonetheless, use of direct saliva after a HIRR and detected with RT-LAMP does not produce an acceptable diagnostic performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Segura-Ulate, Apú, Cortés, Querol-Audi, Zaldívar, Ortega, Flores-Mora, Gatica-Arias and Madrigal-Redondo.)

During some trail running races, athletes have to carry hydration support, food, and technical and safety equipment, which generates an additional load that must be mobilized during the race. The aim of the present study was to determine the physiological responses to overload running and the effect they may have on metabolic zones. Seventeen well-trained male trail runners (n = 17) completed three maximal treadmill tests with weighted vests at 0%, 5%, and 10% of their body mass (L0, L5, and L10). Their gas exchange was monitored to assess their ventilatory thresholds 1 (VT1) and 2 (VT2), maximal fat oxidation zone (FatMax), and peak oxygen consumption (VO 2peak ). Their heart rate (HR), power, and velocity (V) were tracked to compare their behavior. One-way ANOVA showed significant differences in the V ( p < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.4620) as a limitation for reaching the peak velocity (V peak ), with a significant decrease in the V peak with the L10 compared to the L0 ( p = 0.002) and L5 ( p = 0.004). In addition, one-way ANOVA showed significant differences in the peak absolute power ( p < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.468) among the groups, detecting higher power production between the L10 and L0 ( p < 0.001) and between the L10 and L5 ( p = 0.015). Loads higher than L5 could generated important physiological and mechanical modifications, while a load of L5 managed to maintain the working conditions without overloading. These insights shed light on nuanced strategies for optimizing performance and endurance, offering valuable considerations for athletes seeking to enhance their training regimens during overload conditions.

Background: Cancer patients often have weakened immune systems, resulting in a lower response to vaccines, especially those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatment (OT). We aimed to assess the impact of OT on the humoral and T-cell response to the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with solid and hematological neoplasms., Methods: We conducted a prospective study on cancer patients, stratified into OT and non-OT groups, who received a two-dose series of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and a booster six months later. The outcomes measured were the humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 S IgG titers and ACE2-S interaction inhibition capacity) and cellular (SARS-CoV-2 S-specific T-cell spots per million PBMCs) responses against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant. These responses were evaluated four weeks after the second dose (n = 98) and eight weeks after the booster dose (n = 71)., Results: The humoral response after the second vaccine dose against the B.1 lineage and Omicron variant was significantly weaker in the OT group compared to the non-OT group (q-value<0.05). A booster dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine significantly improved the humoral response in the OT group, making it comparable to the non-OT group. The mRNA-1273 vaccine, designed for the original Wuhan strain, elicited a weaker humoral response against the Omicron variant compared to the B.1 lineage, regardless of oncological treatment or vaccine dose. In contrast, T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron variant, were already present after the second vaccine dose and were not significantly affected by oncological treatments., Conclusions: Cancer patients, particularly those receiving immunosuppressive oncological treatments, should require booster doses and adapted COVID-19 vaccines for new SARS-CoV-2 variants like Omicron. Future studies should evaluate the durability of the immune response and the efficacy of individualized regimens., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Zenker's diverticulum (ZD) is an uncommon disorder that can cause dysphagia with risk of aspiration. While surgical treatment has been the mainstay for many years, endoscopic diverticulotomy has emerged as a first-line option with favorable outcomes. We present the case of a 93-year-old woman with no significant past medical history who was diagnosed with a 6 cm ZD. Due to dysphagia, she experienced significant weight loss and was at risk of malnutrition. She developed aspiration pneumonia and required admission to our center. Given her condition and inability to swallow, a nasogastric tube was placed under radiological guidance for nutritional support pending definitive treatment. On radiographic localization of the ZD, a radiopaque metallic density image was observed that had not been identified in previous imaging. Suspecting a possible retained foreign body in the large diverticulum, a gastroscopy was performed. During the procedure, the ZD was accessed and a 10 mm metallic object was identified. The object was extracted using a Roth net, confirming the suspicion of a foreign body lodged in the ZD. The metallic piece was later identified as a patient's dental prosthesis. After resolution of the aspiration pneumonia, endoscopic-assisted diverticulotomy was performed. The procedure was carried out under deep sedation with cricopharyngeal myotomy without immediate complications. After 48 hours of hospitalization, the patient was discharged without requiring a nasogastric tube for feeding.

Background: Dermatitis is a skin condition caused by multiple causes, including radiotherapy treatment. Pharmacological treatments can become chronic and are not exempt from side effects. The latest recommendations of the American Academy of Dermatology establish the use of natural, nourishing, and moisturizing cosmetic products as prevention and the first therapeutic step for dermatitis. Alantel® is a cream developed to reduce redness and irritation, promote the local immune system, combat immunosenescence, and promote the healing of epidermal lesions. The objective was to evaluate the effect of a cream (Alantel) based on natural products at high concentrations for the preventive and curative treatment (at early stages) of radiation-induced dermatitis in patients with breast cancer., Methods: Our protocol is an experimental, prospective, triple-blind, multicenter, controlled clinical trial with two parallel arms. The experimental group will be treated with Alantel, while the control group will receive another moisturizing cream. Radiotherapy oncology professionals will recruit a total of 88 patients (44 per comparison group) with breast cancer who will receive radiotherapy oncology treatment for 15 days, and they will be randomly allocated to the experimental or control group. Selected patients will be followed up for four visits by primary care physicians for up to 1 week after completion of radiotherapy. The main study variable will be the incidence rate of mild post-radiation dermatitis. An intention-to-treat analysis will be performed, applying a comparison test for independent means and proportions. A bivariate and multivariate analysis will also be developed to check the treatment effect, adjusting for predictive sociodemographic and clinical variables., Discussion: By carrying out this clinical trial, it is expected to verify that Alantel cream, based on natural products at high concentrations, has advantages over a moisturizing cream for the preventive and curative treatment of RD in patients with breast cancer. The COVID-19 pandemic has been influenced by delaying the start of the study. One of the main limitations of this study will be the time required to recruit the patients from the planned sample, given that the selection criteria are restrictive and, although the study is multicenter, recruitment will be coordinated through a single service on radiotherapy oncology., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04116151 . Registered on 4 October 2019., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) is a highly prevalent condition. In Spain and other countries, only 5%-9% of patients with OSA have been diagnosed and treated. The lack of accessibility to diagnosis is considered the main cause of this situation through easy-to-use screening instruments, it is necessary to check their validity and reliability in the context where they are to be used., Objective: To validate the Spanish translation of the Berlin questionnaire for screening for moderate or severe OSA in patients aged 40 years or more detected in primary care., Methods: A descriptive observational study, with a first qualitative phase of transcultural adaptation to Spanish using the translation-back-translation method. Setting: primary care level of the Spanish National Health System. A total of 255 patients recruited from 7 healthcare centers completed the study. The Berlin questionnaire was administered to the recruited patients, and subsequently, a respiratory polygraphy was performed to confirm the diagnosis of OSA. The concurrent criterion validity of the questionnaire and its reliability in terms of internal consistency and reproducibility (intra-observer agreement) were analyzed., Results: The patients' mean age was 54.76 years (SD: 6.57; 95% CI: 53.53-54.99), and 54.12% were men (95% CI: 47.96-60.27). We found that 61.57% (95% CI: 55.57-67.57) presented OSA (apnea-hypopnea index-AHI >5), and 45.5% (95% CI: 17.05-57.92) presented moderate or severe (AHI >15) OSA. The Berlin questionnaire, with a cut-off point of 4.5, showed a sensitivity of 76.77% (95% CI: 67.94-85.59), a specificity of 74.49% (95% CI: 65.35-83.63), a positive predictive value of 75.25% (95% CI: 66.34-84.16), a negative predictive value of 76.04% (95% CI: 66.98-85.10), and an area under the curve of 0.786 (95% CI: 0.721-0.851). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.730 (95% CI: 0.668-0.784), and the Kappa index was 0.739 (95% CI, 0.384-1.000)., Conclusion: The Spanish adaptation of the Berlin questionnaire has good validity and reliability as a test for the diagnostic screening of moderate or severe OSA in patients aged 40 years or older. The findings of our study confirm that primary care physicians should use such screening tools to predict OSA., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Navarrete-Martínez, Muñoz-Gómez, Serrano-Merino, Perula-de Torres, Vaquero-Abellán, Silva-Gil, Roldán-Villalobos, Martín-Rioboó, Ruiz-Moruno, Romero-Rodríguez, González-Lama and Montes-Redondo.)

Most laboratory tests to detect the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies use enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) or chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA); however, equipment for these immunoassays is unavailable in many areas of low- and middle-income countries. Rapid lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) tests are an equipment-free option, but their high price may make them less suitable for conducting seroprevalence surveys. Here, we describe a simple dual antigen ELISA dot-blot test to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies with high sensitivity (94-98%) and specificity (92-100%), compared to commercially available ELISA and CLIA options. Additionally, this ELISA dot-blot test can be completed in one hour using minimal laboratory equipment. Importantly, this immunoassay is significantly more affordable than most LFIA tests available on the global market. The dot-blot strips may be stored for up to 7 days under freezing conditions. This ELISA dot-blot test is a cost-effective option for conducting seroprevalence screenings in areas lacking ELISA or CLIA facilities, compared to LFIA tests., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest., (© 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter.)

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the current status of Spanish Hospital Emergency Services (HES) in diagnosing and treating the most prevalent tropical diseases (TD) in Spain., Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out, using a questionnaire in Google Forms® sent to members of the INFURG-SEMES group. The following variables were analyzed: the size of the hospital in terms of number of beds, number of tropical disease emergencies, existence of tropical medicine protocols, urgent diagnostic tests or antimalarial treatment., Results: The form was sent to 75 hospitals. Responses were obtained from 42 emergency services (55%) in 10 Autonomous Communities. Twenty-four (57.1%) had >500 beds. Only five hospitals (11.9%) have the facilities to diagnose malaria and dengue 24 hours a day. There was no tropical disease protocol in 19 (45.3%) hospitals. Seven (16.7%) hospitals had =?10 attendances/day. Larger hospitals were more likely to have an infectious disease unit independent from Internal Medicine service, along with a tropical medicine unit, and an on-call infectious disease specialist and microbiologist. There are no statistically significant differences between larger and smaller hospitals in terms of their capacity to carry out appropri-ate diagnoses or treatments in 24 hours., Conclusion: Care and treatment of emerging diseases are now a sizeable percentage of the consultations at an HES. Such units generally lack specific protocols, particularly for malaria. Urgent diagnostic testing for malaria is also needed.

Radiotherapy (RT) has always been a mainstay for malignant tumors therapy, but it is also used for benign pathology. The application of low or intermediate doses of RT has been widely studied. This topic was presented and discussed in the last XX GOCO (Grup Oncològic Català-Occità) meeting. The aim of this article is to review the indications of low dose irradiation (LD-RT), total dose and different fractionations, the public to whom it can be directed, and to offer an analysis about secondary effects. We believe it can be useful not only for radiation oncologists, but for other physicians to consider this option for future patients., (© 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Greater Poland Cancer Centre.)

The consensus paper for the implementation and development of the sepsis code, finished in April 2017 is presented here. It was adopted by the Regional Office of Health as a working document for the implementation of the sepsis code in the Community of Madrid, both in the hospital setting (acute, middle and long-stay hospitals) and in Primary Care and Out-of-Hospital Emergency Services. It is now published without changes with respect to the original version, having only added the most significant bibliographical references. The document is divided into four parts: introduction, initial detection and assessment, early therapy and organizational recommendations. In the second to fourth sections, 25 statements or proposals have been included, agreed upon by the authors after several face-to-face meetings and an extensive "online" discussion. The annex includes nine tables that are intended as a practical guide to the activation of the sepsis code. Both the content of the recommendations and their formal writing have been made taking into account their applicability in all areas to which they are directed, which may have very different structural and functional characteristics and features, so that we have deliberately avoided a greater degree of concretion: the objective is not that the sepsis code is organized and applied identically in all of them, but that the health resources work in a coordinated manner aligned in the same direction., (©The Author 2019. Published by Sociedad Española de Quimioterapia. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).)

Introduction: Infliximab (IFX) therapy intensification in ulcerative colitis (UC) is more common than established in pivotal studies., Objectives: To establish the frequency and form of intensification for UC in clinical practice, as well as predictors, and to compare outcomes between intensified and non-intensified treatment., Methods: A retrospective study of 10 hospitals and 144 patients with response to infliximab (IFX) induction. Predictive variables for intensification were analyzed using a Cox regression analysis. Outcome, loss of response to IFX, and colectomy were compared between intensified and non-intensified therapy., Results: Follow-up time from induction to data collection: 38 months [interquartile range (IQR), 20-62]. Time on IFX therapy: 24 months (IQR, 10-44). In all, 37% of patients required intensification. Interval was shortened for 36 patients, dose was increased for 7, and 10 subjects received both. Concurrent thiopurine immunosuppressants (IMM) and IFX initiation was an independent predictor of intensification [Hazard ratio, 0.034; p, 0.006; CI, 0.003-0.371]. In patients on intensified therapy IFX discontinuation for loss of response (30.4% vs. 10.2%; p, 0.002), steroid reintroduction (35% vs. 18%; p, 0.018), and colectomy (22% vs. 6.4%; p, 0.011) were more common. Of patients on intensification, 17% returned to receiving 5 mg/kg every 8 weeks., Conclusions: Intensification is common and occasionally reversible. IMM initiation at the time of induction with IFX predictsnon-intensification. Intensification, while effective, is associated with poorer outcome.

Falls are a foremost source of injuries and hospitalization for seniors. The adoption of automatic fall detection mechanisms can noticeably reduce the response time of the medical staff or caregivers when a fall takes place. Smartphones are being increasingly proposed as wearable, cost-effective and not-intrusive systems for fall detection. The exploitation of smartphones' potential (and in particular, the Android Operating System) can benefit from the wide implantation, the growing computational capabilities and the diversity of communication interfaces and embedded sensors of these personal devices. After revising the state-of-the-art on this matter, this study develops an experimental testbed to assess the performance of different fall detection algorithms that ground their decisions on the analysis of the inertial data registered by the accelerometer of the smartphone. Results obtained in a real testbed with diverse individuals indicate that the accuracy of the accelerometry-based techniques to identify the falls depends strongly on the fall pattern. The performed tests also show the difficulty to set detection acceleration thresholds that allow achieving a good trade-off between false negatives (falls that remain unnoticed) and false positives (conventional movements that are erroneously classified as falls). In any case, the study of the evolution of the battery drain reveals that the extra power consumption introduced by the Android monitoring applications cannot be neglected when evaluating the autonomy and even the viability of fall detection systems.

There is growing evidence that the host innate immune system has a critical role in regulating carcinogenesis, but the specific receptors involved and the importance of their interaction with commensal bacteria need to be elucidated. Two major classes of innate immune receptors, the Toll-like receptors and Nod-like receptors, many of which are upstream of nuclear factor-kappaB, are involved in the detection of intestinal bacteria. The Toll-like receptors have been implicated in promoting colon tumorigenesis, but the role of Nod-like receptors in regulating tumorigenesis remains unclear. Using an established mouse model system of colitis-associated colon tumorigenesis, we show that Nod1 deficiency results in the increased development of both colitis-associated and Apc tumor suppressor-related colon tumors. In the absence of Nod1 signaling, there is a greater disruption of the intestinal epithelial cell barrier due to chemically induced injury as manifested by increased surface epithelial apoptosis early on during chemically induced colitis and increased intestinal permeability. The increased intestinal permeability is associated with enhanced inflammatory cytokine production and epithelial cell proliferation in Nod1-deficient mice as compared with wild-type mice. Depletion of the gut microbiota suppressed tumor development in Nod1-deficient mice, thus highlighting a link between the commensal bacteria within the intestine and the host innate immune Nod1 signaling pathway in the regulation inflammation-mediated colon cancer development.

Objective: To know sexual behaviour among school teenagers and to determine different risk behaviors and groups with specific needs of health education., Design: Cross-sectional study., Setting: High-schools from Córdoba., Participants: 893 teenagers students selected by random sample., Main Measurements: Anonymous self-rated survey about sexual behaviour and uses of contraceptives methods., Main Results: The average age was 17.16 years (95% CI, 17.05-17.26), 48% males. 22.9% have had completed sexual relations; there were mainly girls (P=.001). The average age for the first relation was 16.64 years (95% CI, 16.45-16.82), with no difference between gender. Among girls, first sexual intercourse use to be with their regular partners (P<.001). 48% of the girls have had one or more sexual intercourse per week, that was only a 19.5% among boys (P<.001). 82% had used a contraceptive method at the first time, and the condom was the method more frequently used., Conclusions: 20% of school teenagers have had complete sexual intercourse, most of them before 18 years. Girls have more frequently sexual relations, usually with their regular partners. Condom is the contraceptive method more frequently used.

Objective: To determine knowledge about AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among school adolescent in order to define their lacks, and those aspects to include in programs of health education., Design: Cross-sectional study., Setting: Secondary schools from Córdoba., Participants: 893 teen students. Stratified random sample., Main Measurements: Anonymous self administered survey. Dates related with knowledge about AISD, STD and its mechanism of transmission., Main Results: The mean age of the sample was 17.16 years (95% CI, 17.05-17.26) and 48% was men. 56.7% (95% CI, 53.46-59.94) recognize to be very informed about AIDS and STD, finding significant differences among public (58.9%) and private schools (51.6%) (P=.045). About AIDS, the mean of successes was 8.81 (95% CI, 8.69-8.92; limits 0-12), finding positive differences among men (P=.048); older students (P=.003); public schools (P=.025), and the students non believers (P=.021). About STD, the mean of successes was of 2.47 (95% CI, 2.35-2.78; limits 0-12), with significant differences among women (P=.045); older students (P=.001) and public schools (P=.001). About AIDS sexual transmission, the mean of successes was of 13 (95% CI, 12.87-13.12; limits 0-16), without differences between sex, classrooms or type of schools., Conclusions: Level of knowledge shown by adolescents for aspects related to STD is poor. Likewise, the information about AIDS can be consider as enough, being men those that to present a bigger degree of knowledge.