Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) suffer a progressive deterioration of functional status and a decrease in independence in activities of daily living. Locomotor Syndrome (SL) is the involvement of the musculoskeletal system due to the deterioration caused by age.

In patients with COPD, to evaluate the prevalence in LS and assess its impact on functional status and quality of life.

Cross sectional assessment of 259 patients with COPD. LS was evaluated with the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GFLS-25). Those with a score < 16 were classified as having LS. Functional status was evaluated with dynamometry, Five Times Sit-to-Stand test, and the Modified Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire. Functional impairment was measured with the London Chest Activity of Daily Living, and the quality of life was evaluated with EuroQol-5D.

LS was found in 139 patients (53%). Activity levels and muscle strength were lower in these patients. Also, they had a higher frequency of functional impairment and a lower quality of life perception.

LS in patients with COPD impacts their functional status and quality of life.

LS in patients with COPD impacts their functional status and quality of life.

Communication gaps are common in emergency medicine.

To know how the health information was delivered to users and relatives by the health care team in the Emergency Unit of a general hospital and how the standards dictated by the patients’ rights and duties law were complied with.

Health care workers, patients and their relatives were subjected to semi-structured interviews, and their behavior was directly observed.

Important gaps that violate the right to information of users and family members were detected. There is a paucity of minimal conditions to protect the confidentiality and privacy of the information about diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis. There is no time allocated to deliver information and there are no physical spaces for such purpose.

The health care team is not trained in communication skills, crisis intervention and empathy. Empathy and good communication are essential for users and family members to perceive health care as satisfactory and safe and to comply with indications. The lack of protocols to inform family members about the death of a patient is the finding that most clearly accounts for the observed communication deficiencies.

The health care team is not trained in communication skills, crisis intervention and empathy. Empathy and good communication are essential for users and family members to perceive health care as satisfactory and safe and to comply with indications. The lack of protocols to inform family members about the death of a patient is the finding that most clearly accounts for the observed communication deficiencies.

There is no evidence for the association of depressive symptoms with the sense of well-being of undergraduate medical students residing in high southern latitudes (HSL).

To assess the frequency of depressive symptoms and its relationship with seasonal sensitivity and quality of life in medical students residing in HSL.

The Beck anxiety and depressive symptoms inventory, the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire and the quality-of-life questionnaire of the WHO were applied to 102 medical students residing in Magallanes, Chile.

Fifty-two percent of respondents reported some degree of depressive symptoms. These symptoms were significantly associated with the seasonal pattern score (r = 0.432, p < 0.01). They were also inversely associated with parameters of physical health and psychosocial health (r = -0.567, p < 0.01 and r = -0.708, p < 0.01, respectively). There was also a correlation between depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Depressive symptoms are common in medical students residing in HSL and they are associated with seasonal sensitivity and quality of life measures.

Depressive symptoms are common in medical students residing in HSL and they are associated with seasonal sensitivity and quality of life measures.

National rates of HIV, gonorrhoeae and syphilis have increased in Chile in recent years, but it is not known if syphilis among pregnant women (PW) is also escalating.

To explore syphilis rates among PW in a southern Chilean region and to describe clinical features of mothers and offspring.

We selected PW with positive VDRL or T. pallidum micro-he-magglutination (MHA-TP) reactive tests, referred to a high-risk obstetrical pathology center between 2011 and 2019. Clinical information of mothers and their offspring was obtained from their medical records.

Syphilis rates among PW increased from 0.4 to 7.2 per 1,000 live births in the reference center from 2013 to 2019, along with a national and regional increase in both sexes. Twenty-nine cases of PW with syphilis were identified with a median age of 28 years (interquartile range 23-32). Seventeen percent had a history of drug abuse, and 14% had previous sexually transmitted diseases. In seven cases (24%), the diagnosis occurred at delivery. Three percent of patients had a primary syphilis, 14% a secondary syphilis, 24% an early latent syphilis, and 59% a latent syphilis. All cases except one case were treated with benzathine penicillin G and the remaining with erythromycin due to allergy suspicion. Penicillin desensitization was required in two cases (7%). Treatment timing was inadequate in 10 cases (34.5%). Of 19 patients with available serological follow-up, 10 (53%) showed a significant decrease in VDRL titers (≥ 2 dilutions) and two cases had re-infection. Two patients (7%) had an abortion, two had congenital syphilis (7%), and six had premature births (21%), totaling 35% of adverse-pregnancy outcomes.

Resurgence of syphilis among pregnant women is happening in southern Chile and is associated to adverse-pregnancy outcomes.

Resurgence of syphilis among pregnant women is happening in southern Chile and is associated to adverse-pregnancy outcomes.

Chilean higher education students have faced highly stressful events in 2020, including confinement and remote education. This population is particularly susceptible to mental health problems, such as high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

To evaluate possible negative impacts of confinement by COVID-19 on Chilean higher education students’ mental health.

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) Scale and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were applied to 315 students during 2016 and to 301 students during 2020.

In 2020, depression mean scores for men (24.1) and women (29.7) exceeded the cutoff point, therefore suggesting the presence of depressive disorder. Women had higher depressive and anxious symptoms in both years, however, in 2020 a significant increase was observed for depression, indicating interaction between the year of assessment andgender (0 = 6.74; p <.001). In both samples, first-year students hadsignificantly higherdepressionscores (fl = -1,909;p = 0.05).

An increase in depression was observed in 2020. Confinement by COVID-19 had a high impact on mental health in female students. Women and first-year students appear to be high risk groups for developing depressive symptoms.

An increase in depression was observed in 2020. Confinement by COVID-19 had a high impact on mental health in female students. Women and first-year students appear to be high risk groups for developing depressive symptoms.

Previous studies have assessed the role of Type 1 diabetes (DM1) antibodies as predictors of the natural history of disease.

To determine the frequency and combinations of positivity for DM1 antibodies in patients with DM1 and the relationship between antibody positivity and the age of the patient. To explore the relationship between history of insulin therapy or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the onset of the disease with antibody positivity in a subsample.

Data was gathered from every sample processed for DM1 antibodies in our laboratory between January 2015 and September 2019. Medical records from 84 patients who tested positive for at least one antibody were revised to study the relationship between insulin therapy or DKA at the onset of the disease with antibody positivity.

Forty percent of DM1 antibody tests were positive. Among positive tests, 1, 2, 3 or 4 DM1 antibodies were detected in 48%, 33%, 17% and 3% of cases, respectively. The likelihood of testing positive was inversely related with ace intervals (CI) 1.79 – 16.16, P less then 0.01). No association was found between IAA positivity and history of insulin therapy (OR 2.25 95%CI 0.63 – 7.90, P = 0.2403). The results obtained from this study represent a novel local profile of DM1 antibody data, highlighting a relationship between antibody positivity and age.

There is no recent information on the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Chile.

To describe and evaluate the temporal incidence trend of AMI in Chile between 2008 and 2016.

A time series study. We included all AMI cases (ICD10 = I21) that were registered in Chile between 2008 and 2016 in the national hospital discharge and death databases. Rates were stratified according to sex and age group. We calculated crude and standardized rates (direct method). Time trends were evaluated using Prais-Winsten (PW) regression models.

There were 132,784 cases of AMI. The mean age of cases was 67 ± 14 years, 67% were men. Crude and standardized rates were 84.4 and 73.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. Standardized incidence increased in total population and women, whose PW coefficients were 0.43 (0.01-0.82; p = 0.045) and 0.26 (0.005-0.47; p = 0.02), respectively. Regarding age, an upward trend was observed in the younger age groups, whose coefficients were 0.20 (0.08 – 0.31; p = 0.004) for cases < 45 years, 1.31 (0.81-1.81; p < 0.01) for cases between 45 and 54 years, and 2.68 (1.31 – 4.04; p = 0.002) for cases between 55 and 64 years.

An increase in the number of cases with AMI was observed, especially in younger age groups. This estimation could be useful for planning and evaluating public policies.

An increase in the number of cases with AMI was observed, especially in younger age groups. This estimation could be useful for planning and evaluating public policies.

To review the literature on sleep changes and brain function in children with microcephaly due to Zika virus.

Systematic review conducted in the databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE, LILACS, and SciELO and the grey databases Google Scholar and OpenGrey.

Ten Brazilian primary studies with observational research design were included. These were published between 2017 and 2020 with 516 children with microcephaly due to Zika virus infection aged 4 months to 4 years. Out of these, 4 investigated qualitative aspects of sleep using the questionnaires Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire or Infant Sleep Questionnaire and 6 investigated changes in brain activities during sleep using the Electroencephalogram or Video-Electroencephalogram exams. The children’s quality of sleep was not compromised in most studies. Changes in brain activity during sleep were frequent, with epileptogenic activity being a common finding among the studies.

The quality of sleep of children with microcephaly due to Zika virus has shown to be similar to that of children with typical development and the presented behavioral changes may be related to changes in electric brain activity.