Factors related to Electrical Burn Injuries in Occupational and Non-occupational settings from 2010 to 2021 in Colombia: Cross-sectional Design

Burns affect 11 million people worldwide annually. Electrical burns are renowned for inflicting extensive harm and long-term consequences that can lead to severe illnesses and fatalities. People in both occupational and non-occupational settings may be exposed to electrical burns, leading to functional or anatomical consequences. We identified sociodemographic features related to electrical burns in both settings. A cross sectional design, using an open dataset of electrical shock injuries occurred in Colombia during 2010-2021 period, was carried out. Sociodemographic features of people injured in occupational and non-occupational settings were described in counts (%), incidence per 100.000 people (I0;95% CI). To identify related factors (age-sex adjusted) with injuries in occupational and non-occupational settings, we applied a Binary Logistic Regression. Over the 12-year period, there were 1.274 electrical burns (I0: 2.47;2.34-2.61), 287 in the occupational setting (I0: 1.35;1.20-1.51) and 987 in the non-occupational setting (I0: 3.25;3.05-3.46). Age median was 31 years, most cases distributed in middle adulthood (52.8%), males (88.1%), high school/technician (42.8%), urban location (73.7%), weekdays (95.3%), and daytime hours (85.5%). Factors related to electrical burns in the occupational setting were males, middle adulthood, high school/technician, Thursday, and daytime hours. Otherwise, factors related to electrical burns in the non-occupational setting were early childhood, primary school, urban location, and weekends. Both settings pose a risk of injuries to individuals. We have identified sociodemographic factors related to these injuries in both occupational and non-occupational settings, which could aid in preventing damages and long-term complications, especially among vulnerable subgroups such as determined above.

Epidemiology of Asbestosis between 2010-2014 and 2015-2019 Periods in Colombia: Descriptive Study

Background

Asbestosis is a prevalent worldwide problem, but scarce data sourced from developing countries are available. We describe the sociodemographic characteristics and patterns in the occurrence of care provided for asbestosis in Colombia during the periods 2010-2014 and 2015-2019 to establish the behavior, trends, and variables associated with concentrations among people attended by asbestosis.

Methods

A retrospective descriptive study was carried out with data from the Integrated Social Protection Information System (SISPRO) for two 5-year periods. People attended by asbestosis (ICD-10: J61) were identified; the frequency of patient visits, sociodemographic characteristics, case distribution patterns, and trends in both five-year periods were described, as was the crude frequency (cFr, 95% CI) of asbestosis (1,000,000 people/year) in both five-year periods (cFr ratio, 95% CI).

Results

During the period 2010-2019, 765 people attended by asbestosis were identified; there were 308 people attended by asbestosis between 2010-2014 (cFr: 2.20, 1.96-2.47), and ther were 457 people attended by asbestos between 2015-2019 (cFr: 3.14, 2.92-3.50). In both periods, the estimated cFr in men was nine times the estimated cFr in women. The cFr increased in the 2015-2019 period (cFr_ratio: 1.23, 1.06-1.43). Compared with the 2010-2014 period, the cFr of asbestosis increased in women (cFr_ratio: 1.44, 1.03-2.01), in the Andean (cFr_ratio: 1.61, 1.35-1.95) and Caribbean regions (cFr_ratio: 1. 66, 1.21-2.30), in the urban area (cFr_ratio: 1.24, 1.05-1.48), and in the age groups 45-59 years (cFr_ratio: 1.34, 1.001-1.79) and ≥60 years (cFr_ratio: 1.43, 1.13-1.83).

Discussion

During two five-year periods, the cFr of asbestosis was higher in men; between the first and second five-year periods, it increased significantly, especially in urbanized geographic areas and in populations aged ≥45 years. The estimates possibly reflect the effect of disease latency or the expected impact of public health policies to monitor asbestos exposure and complications.

On the way to potential antifungal compounds: synthesis and in vitro activity of 2-benzofuranylacetic acid amides

Crop losses caused by microbial infections are a significant global issue, especially in tropical regions. The development of novel antimicrobial agents, particularly antifungal agents, has been explored from various perspectives, including chemical synthesis. However, conventional approaches typically involve synthesizing new and potent compounds on a small scale (a few milligrams), making the scale-up of the reaction a major challenge. In this manuscript, we present a method for the synthesis of new and active (against Fusarium oxysporum) benzofuranyl acetic acid amides. Our strategy allows us to synthesize the key precursor on the gram scale, enabling the production of sufficient quantities of other active compounds within short timeframes for conducting biological studies. All the reactions used in this manuscript are recognized by their industrial application.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Izalpinin Derived from Chromolaena leivensis: λ-Carrageenan-Induced Paw Edema and In Silico Model

The flavonoid izalpinin was isolated from the aerial parts of Chromolaena leivensis. Its structural determination was carried out using MS and NMR spectroscopic techniques (¹H, ¹³C). This compound was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory effect in a rat model on λ-carrageenan-induced plantar edema. Paw inflammation was measured at one-hour intervals for seven hours following the administration of λ-carrageenan. Serum creatine kinase (CK) levels were evaluated, obtaining statistically significant results with the treatments at doses of 10 mg/kg (* p < 0.01) and 20 mg/kg (** p < 0.005). The anti-inflammatory effect of the compound was evaluated by using plethysmography, and the results showed significant differences at the three concentrations (10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg) in the first and third hours after treatment. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001 vs. the negative control group treated with vehicle (DMSO). Lastly, molecular docking analyses reveal that izalpinin has a strong binding affinity with five target proteins involved in the inflammatory process. The analysis using molecular dynamics allowed demonstrating that the ligand-protein complexes present acceptable stability, with RMSD values within the allowed range.

Epidemiological characterisation of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 in Colombia: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Asymptomatic carriers (AC) of the new SARS-CoV-2 represent an important source of spread for COVID-19. Early diagnosis of these cases is a powerful tool to control the pandemic. Our objective was to characterise patients with AC status and identify associated sociodemographic factors.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional design and the national database of daily occurrence of COVID-19, we characterised both socially and demographically all ACs. Additional correspondence analysis and logistic regression model were performed to identify characteristics associated with AC state (OR, 95% CI).

RESULTS

76.162 ACs (12.1%; 95% CI 12.0% to 12.2%) were identified, mainly before epidemiological week 35. Age≤26 years (1.18; 1.09 to 1.28), male sex (1.51; 1.40 to 1.62), cases imported from Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA or Mexico (12.6; 3.03 to 52.5) and autochthonous cases (22.6; 5.62 to 91.4) increased the risk of identifying ACs. We also identified groups of departments with moderate (1.23; 1.13 to 1.34) and strong (19.8; 18.6 to 21.0) association with ACs.

CONCLUSION

Sociodemographic characteristics strongly associated with AC were identified, which may explain its epidemiological relevance and usefulness to optimise mass screening strategies and prevent person-to-person transmission.

Cocaine, ethanol, cannabis and benzodiazepines co-consumption among patients assisted at the emergency room

Introduction

Cocaine and ethanol (EtOH) co-consumption is a risk factor for physiologically and clinically negative outcomes. We describe the occurrence of cocaine consumption alone or co-consumption with EtOH and others psychotropics.

Patients and methods

The descriptive research used data on medical records of patients positive to cocaine test who attended an emergency room between 2016 and 2017. We determined the frequency of cocaine consumption alone and co-consumption with EtOH, cannabis or benzodiazepines (BZDs).

Results

Over one year period, 88 patients (13.3%) were positive to cocaine test, mainly attended on weekends, in holiday months, young adults or men. Among those positive for cocaine, 72% were also positive for EtOH, cannabis or BZD. Cocaine co-consumption with one or two out of three substance was 55.2% (CI95%; 44.7-65.8%) and 16.4% (CI95%;8.58-24.3%), respectively. Co-consumption was more frecuently wih EtOH, followed by cannabis or BZD. 

Conclusion

Co-consumption of cocaine with EtOH is very common and could be associated with acute or chronic consumption of cannabis or acute exposure to BZDs. It is important that emergency physicians use a systematic approach to diagnose and treat more than one psychotropic substance in cocaine positive patients.

Effectiveness of alternative therapies for the management of lumbar disc disease: a descriptive research

BACKGROUND: Low back pain due to discopathy has become one of the most expensive and highest impact problems of global public health at present.AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of alternative therapies (AT) and related factors in lumbar disk disease (LDD).METHODS: Information was collected by using a retrospective descriptive design from medical records of patients treated from January to December 2013 with LDD who were attended in a clinic specialized in AT. Sociodemographic and clinical variables included clinical diagnostic time, Visual Analog Scale at admission (V.A.S.) and post-treatment pain (0-100 points) were identifi ed. General and specifi c infl uence of the AT was measured.RESULTS: 453 medical records were identifi ed, at admission V.A.S. was 8.2 (CI95%, 7,9 to 8,3) and showed pain relief (scale 0-100) of 54,5 points (CI95%, 52.2 to 56.8). In overall, 13 types of ATs were implemented with LDD patients. The median of pain relief (p25-p75) in the general population was 60 (40-70); 8 of 13 interventions provided an estimated median of pain relief lower than the one evidenced in the general population .CONCLUSION: The AT treatment in our study showed a reduction in pain of 50-60 points and an absolute reduction of 35 points after two months of treatment, which remained over 6 or more months of follow-up. Our results suggest that the use of AT has signifi cant effect on chronic pain in patients with LDD with no response to conventional treatment