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Biomedical subjects

A Torre

Publications and source records attributed to A Torre.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

[The determination of arterial pressure by the physician or the nurse: its relation to ambulatory pressure and left ventricular mass. The MAPA-Madrid Group. Monitorización Ambulatoria de la Presión Arterial (Ambulatory Monitoring of Arterial Pressure)].

BACKGROUND: In the present study we evaluated the influence of the observer's status--physician or nurse--on blood pressure levels and the relationship among clinic blood pressure measurement with ambulatory blood pressure and left ventricle mass. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cross sectional study performed in seven primary care centers. Participating physicians and nurses were trained for blood pressure measurement prior to the study and subsequently retrained at 3 month intervals during the study. Patients included in the study were 122 subjects with mild to moderate hypertension who underwent the following study protocol: a) measurement of clinic blood pressure by physician and nurse, in an independent fashion, on 3 visits; b) clinic-epidemiologic questionnaire; c) conventional hematological and biochemical study; d) electrocardiogram; e) 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, f) M-mode and Doppler echocardiography (only in 58 subjects). RESULTS: Nurse-measured blood pressure levels were higher than those determined by physicians (mean differences: 3.9 [6.7] mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 2.6 [5.4] mmHg in diastolic blood pressure). The blood pressure level differences between the two observers were higher in female patients and subjects with low educational level, independently of the observer's gender. Nurse-measured blood pressure was more closely related to ambulatory blood pressure and left ventricle mass than physician-measured blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-measured blood pressure levels are lower than those determined by physicians and more closely related to ambulatory blood pressure and left ventricle mass than physician-measured blood pressure. These data support that nurses, instead of doctors, should routinely measure blood pressure in primary care centers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Frequency and determinants of white coat hypertension in mild to moderate hypertension: a primary care-based study. Monitorización Ambulatoria de la Presión Arterial (MAPA)-Area 5 Working Group.

Most of the previous studies on white coat hypertension were performed in hypertension clinics or academic settings and included relatively small series of patients. Consequently, the prevalence of white coat hypertension in primary care settings and the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of this subgroup of patients are not well known. We performed this study to estimate the frequency of white coat hypertension in a population of mildly to moderately hypertensive subjects attended in a primary care setting and to examine possible epidemiologic and clinical factors that may identify these patients. Patients included in the study underwent clinical interview, measurement of clinic blood pressure (BP) on three visits, determination of serum lipids, glucose, uric acid, and urinary albumin excretion, 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, and M-mode and Doppler echocardiography. Patients were classified as white coat hypertensives if their daytime ambulatory BP were < 135/85 mm Hg. We studied 345 patients, 136 (39%) of whom were diagnosed with white coat hypertension. The frequency of white coat hypertension was inversely proportional to the severity of clinic BP values. The diagnosis of white coat hypertension was independently associated with female gender and low educational level. Left ventricular mass index and urinary albumin excretion were lower in the white-coat hypertensive group compared with the group with sustained hypertension. Our results show that a high proportion of patients with mild to moderate hypertension attended in a primary care setting have white coat hypertension. Some clinical characteristics may be helpful in the identification of this group of subjects. White coat hypertensives show less target-organ damage than sustained hypertensive patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Sexually active adolescents and young adults: a high-risk group for Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

BACKGROUND: The importance of travel as a risk factor for Chlamydia trachomatis infection was evaluated among a series of young people consecutively tested. METHODS: We studied 130 sexually active young subjects, aged 14-25 years, all living in the Rome, Italy, urban area. Ninety-eight females and 32 males attended hospital-based clinics or were the partners of an infected female. About half of these subjects had traveled abroad either for pleasure or for work, mostly to Europe, but also to North America or to Asia, where they admitted to having had casual sex. We used two "gold standard" methods to diagnose infection with C. trachomatis: culture on McCoy cells grown in shell vial, and direct immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies. Subjects were considered infected when at least one test was positive. RESULTS: Thirty-nine of 130 (30%) subjects were asymptomatic, and 27/130 (20.8%) subjects were infected with Chlamydia trachomatis, of whom 6/25 (24%) asymptomatic females and 3/14 (21.4%) asymptomatic males were infected. Among teen-aged (ages 14-19) youngsters with more than one sex partner, international travel was an additional significant risk factor for C. trachomatis infection (p<.02; OR 20; 95% CI 1.47-40%). Urethritis/cystitis and vaginal pathology/discharge were the prevalent manifestations of illness among the females, while urethritis was the only clinical condition found in the males. CONCLUSION: In a series of young subjects, travel abroad, sex with more than one partner, and teen age, combined together, were significant risk factors for the acquisition of Chlamydia trachomatis genitourinary infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Hepatitis C virus antibodies in alcoholic patients].

It has been reported that chronic alcoholics show a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with a possible role in the pathogenesis and severity of underlying liver disease. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV antibodies (anti HCV-Ab) in a group of patients admitted to an Internal Medicine Department, as well as to compare characteristics of anti-HCV-Ab(+ve) respect to anti-HCV(-ve) patients. The presence of anti-HCV-Ab was prospectively studied in 180 alcoholic patients admitted during a 16-month period using a second generation ELISA. Intravenous drug abusers were excluded. Reasons for admittance were as follows: alcohol withdrawal syndrome (92 cases), complications of liver cirrhosis (mainly ascites) (54 cases), acute pancreatitis (12 cases) and miscellaneous causes (22 cases). Sixty-six patients were cirrhotics, 23 had fatty liver, 27 had liver fibrosis and 28 alcoholic hepatitis (36 patients were not evaluable concerning liver lesion). Twelve patients (6.7%) were anti-HCV-Ab(+ve). Prevalence was higher in patients admitted because of complications of cirrhosis (16.7%) than that of those admitted due to alcohol abstinence syndrome (1.1%, p < 0.01). Likewise, the proportion of HVC-Ab(+ve) patients was higher in patients with liver cirrhosis (16.7%) respect to those with lesser degrees of liver injury (1.3%; p < 0.01). In the latter group, the prevalence of anti-HCV-Ab(+ve) was similar to that of the normal population. Anti-HCV-Ab patients were older than anti-HCV-Ab(-ve) cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Prognostic factors for survival and tumor control in cervical lymph node metastases from head and neck cancer. A multivariate study of 492 cases.

A multivariate analysis was carried out in 492 patients with metastatic neck disease from squamous cell carcinoma to determine the influence of clinical and therapeutic factors on survival, local and regional control, and distant metastases. After radiation treatment with radical intent, recurrence at the primary site was the most frequent site of treatment failure (20% of cases), followed by distant metastases (14% of the cases), whereas isolated neck recurrences occurred in only 7% of the patients. The most significant factors influencing survival were primary tumor site, node fixation, N-stage, T-stage, and number of lymphatic chains. The most significant factors influencing local control were primary site, T-stage, and node fixation. Significant factors influencing regional control were radiation therapy volume, primary tumor site, node fixation, and node location (upper and lower neck). Significant factors influencing distant control were N-stage, number of nodes, and number of involved lymphatic chains.

Adolescent↗