Revista médica de Chile
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Revista médica de Chile · May 2020
Review[Assessing the performance of public hospitals using key indicators: a case study in Chile and Ecuador].
Continuous improvement, quality of care, and patient satisfaction demand the implementation of coordinated actions from all the healthcare personnel. They also require collaboration, management skills and attention to different dimensions to improve problems due to the lack of resources such as specialists, medical technology and infrastructure. ⋯ The defined indicators are aimed to improve the performance of a hospital, are easily interpreted, can be measured without spending large amounts of money, and do not need excessive efforts to collect data, mainly if they are supported by information systems.
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Revista médica de Chile · May 2020
Case ReportsCholestasis secondary to hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease. Report of one case.
Hyperthyroidism can induce elevation in several liver function tests including aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatases and, less frequently, serum bilirubin. These alterations are usually mild and asymptomatic. We report a 26 year-old male presenting with palpitations, progressive jaundice, choluria and generalized itching. ⋯ A liver biopsy showed portal hepatitis with canalicular cholestasis. The patient was treated temporarily with glucocorticoids, cholestyramine and betablockade. Thereafter, he was treated with radioactive iodine, after which serum bilirubin decreased steadily until normalization in ten weeks.
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Revista médica de Chile · May 2020
Identification of daily environmental noise patterns in two different urban sites in Santiago, Chile.
Environmental noise can cause auditory and non-auditory adverse effects. ⋯ The detected noise levels can be annoying, cause sleep disturbances and increase the risk for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, among other effects.
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Revista médica de Chile · May 2020
Observational Study[Variables associated with a good response to steroids in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy].
The treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is based on corticosteroids, immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis. In our Health System, corticosteroids are commonly used as first line therapy for economic reasons and accessibility. However, the factors associated with a good response are not well known. ⋯ Most of these patients with CIDP had good response to corticosteroid therapy.
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Our country is suffering the effects of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Because the vulnerability of healthcare systems, especially the intensive care areas they can rapidly be overloaded. That challenge the ICUs simultaneously on multiple fronts making urgent to increase the number of beds, without lowering the standards of care. The purpose of this article is to discuss some aspects of the national situation and to provide recommendations on the organizational management of intensive care units such as isolation protocols, surge in ICU bed capacity, ensure adequate supplies, protect and train healthcare workers maintaining quality clinical management.