Revista médica de Chile
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Revista médica de Chile · Nov 2018
[Gaps between country needs and intentions to obtain a subspecialty among general surgery trainees in Chile].
The fragmentation of a general specialty in subspecialties or derived specialties is a widely spread reality. Chilean health care system is becoming more complex, requiring more specialists. On the other hand, doctors in specialty training increasingly choose a subspecialty to continue their training and professional development. ⋯ These figures correspond to 18.5% and 23.8% of the existing resources. A survey published in 2009 reported that 78% of trainees in general surgery would prefer to continue studying a subspecialty, following the trend observed in the USA and Europe. Therefore, there is a disproportion between the intentions of general surgery trainees and the needs for these professionals in Chile.
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Revista médica de Chile · Sep 2018
[Deterioration of vital signs as predictors of major medical emergencies in hospitalized patients].
Medical emergencies (ME) in hospitalized patients (cardiac and respiratory arrest, suffocation, asphyxia, seizures, unconsciousness) are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Most of these patients have signs of physiological deterioration prior to the appearance of the emergency. Early detection of warning signs by rapid response teams (RRT) may provide an opportunity for the prevention of major adverse events. ⋯ In the absence of RRT, special attention should be given to patients with polypnea, airway involvement, hypotension and desaturation, since these are associated with poor clinical outcomes.
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Revista médica de Chile · Sep 2018
[Entrustable professional activities: a new proposal for the evaluation of the medical competencies].
Medical education migrated from a practice-based to a knowledge-based discipline after the publication of the Flexner Report. The emergence of competence-based medical education led to a greater standardization of teaching, allowing students to integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes for the execution of a given task. A challenge is the evaluation of learning. ⋯ Supervisors observe students' performance and decide if the apprentice can execute a specific task independently. This decision is based upon the trust that the tutor places on the student. Consequently, Ten Cate (2005) proposed the term Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), as a framework for professional practice tasks or responsibilities that can be fully entrusted to students, when they demonstrate the competences that are necessary to execute such activity with an increasing level of autonomy.
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The risk of sudden unexpected death in patients with epilepsy (SUDEP), is 20 to 25 times greater than in the general population. This increased risk is seen specially in refractory epilepsy, with an incidence of 9:1,000 patients-years. Risk factors have been established based on retrospective studies, finding that the frequency of seizures, specially generalized tonic clonic seizures, is the most important one. ⋯ Autonomic system abnormalities, as well as cardiac and respiratory changes have been found. The finding of new molecular biomarkers to identify patients with increased risk should be a priority. Treatment is based in the management of risk factors, although clear recommendations are hard to establish given the low level of evidence.