Revista médica de Chile
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Revista médica de Chile · Jul 2014
[Levels of glycosylated hemoglobin and the difference in the cost of health care for diabetic patients: an econometric study].
Complications increase treatment costs of diabetes mellitus (DM). An adequate metabolic control of the disease could reduce these costs. ⋯ Healthcare expenditure varied according to metabolic control, which is consistent with international findings. This study was limited by its selected population, incomplete information on health expenditures, and the inclusion of only direct costs to the health system. If all patients would achieve metabolic compensation, the yearly savings would be CLP $308,000,000 (or USD $657,000).
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Revista médica de Chile · Jul 2014
[Development and validation of a clinical predictive model for delirium in hospitalized older people].
Delirium is a prevalent problem among older patients and it is frequently underdiagnosed. ⋯ This simple predictive model based on age and functional status may be a useful tool for identifying older patients risking delirium.
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Revista médica de Chile · Jul 2014
Case Reports[Left ventricular assistant devices for end-stage heart failure: report of two cases].
In the last 2 decades, there have been significant advances in medical treatment of heart failure. However, there is a group of patients who are refractory to the available medical therapy and progress inevitably to a state of end-stage heart failure, whose only therapeutic alternative is cardiac transplantation. But this is an option limited by the scarce availability of donors. ⋯ These devices discharge the left ventricle, increasing cardiac output and improving systemic perfusion. This year, in our hospital we began a left ventricular device implantation program for the most severely ill patients on the waiting list for cardiac transplantation. We report two males aged 30 and 53 years, in whom a left ventricular device was successfully implanted, using a minimally invasive surgical technique developed at the University of Hannover in Germany.
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Revista médica de Chile · Jul 2014
[Overlapping features of frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].
Recent genetic and neuropathologic advances support the concept that frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are overlapping multisystem disorders. While 10-15% of ALS patients fulfil criteria for FTD, features of motor neuron disease appear in approximately 15% of FTD patients, during the evolution of the disease. ⋯ This review provides an update on the recent genetic and neuropathologic findings of ALS and FTD and a characterization of their clinical presentation forms, based on the current diagnostic criteria. Finally it underscores the importance of having a national registry of patients with ALS and FTD, to provide an earlier diagnosis and a multidisciplinary care.