Revista médica de Chile
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Revista médica de Chile · Sep 2022
Review[Challenges for training medical professionalism values in times of COVID-19 and social crisis].
The essence of professional education not only involves transmitting knowledge, but also values and attitudes for a practice that allows us to face changing global and national scenarios. Physicians are currently facing new challenges derived from the impacts of the pandemic as well as the social crisis. Increased workload, limited access to health systems, economic uncertainty, and increased public scrutiny hamper physicians to fulfill their responsibilities to patients and society. ⋯ Medical professionalism acts as a stabilizing and morally protective social force. Thus, it is critical to fathom essential values of professionalism that characterize medical practice today. Indeed, the explicit incorporation of these values in undergraduate and postgraduate programs will undoubtedly allow the training of better professionals for the practice of medicine. (Rev Med Chile 2022; 150: 1248-1255).
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Revista médica de Chile · Aug 2022
Review[Handgrip strength as a predictor of adverse health outcomes].
Muscle strength can be measured through different methods and handgrip strength is one of the most used techniques in epidemiological studies. Given its easy application, high reliability, and low cost, it is considered an important health biomarker. ⋯ There is a paucity of evidence in Chile about the association of handgrip strength with these health outcomes limiting its visibility and implementation in clinical settings. Therefore, this narrative review summarizes the scientific evidence about the association of grip strength with non-communicable chronic diseases and mortality in middle age and older adults.
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Revista médica de Chile · Aug 2022
Review[Benefits of green spaces and physical activity for the well-being and health of people].
Physical environment can influence well-being, quality of life and health and population health in several ways. Exposure to green spaces improves the physical and mental health of individuals. Chile has privileged conditions for outdoor activities that could benefit millions of people. However, a small percentage of the Chilean population is exposed to green spaces in the recommended amounts to promote health. ⋯ This review supports strategies for improving access to green spaces in urban areas coupled with physical activity promotion in these settings. Health and urban planning stakeholders should consider these aspects in future programs.
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Revista médica de Chile · Jul 2022
Review[Instruments to assess functional capacity and the presence of frailty in older people].
The evaluation of functional capacity and the presence of frailty is an essential prognostic indicator in older people. ⋯ The main instruments to assess CFI and frailty in older people cared in PHC in Chile are the EFAM, and the Fried and FTI criteria, respectively.
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Drug dosing according to renal function is a globally accepted practice whose main purpose is to avoid drug associated toxicity when renal clearance is decreased. Renal function is usually estimated based on creatinine clearance or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) obtained from one of the available equations based on serum biomarkers. In this review we will analyze the different available methods to adjust the dose of drugs based on GFR, with emphasis on their comparative performance for this objective. Based on this, we will provide some recommendations for drug dosing in chronic and acute renal dysfunction.