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Biomedical subjects

F Palacios Ortega

Publications and source records attributed to F Palacios Ortega.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Brainstem lesions decrease heart rate variability.

OBJECTIVE: Brainstem is an essential region in the regulation of the autonomic cardiovascular functions. Some authors have reported that medulla oblongata is very important in this regulation, but probably is not the unique because the sympathetic cardiovascular centers are spread in the brainstem. Since some years ago, we are able to measure heart rate variability which is a useful tool for assessing quantitatively both sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic effects on the heart. The objective is to evaluate the effects of isolated brainstem lesion (IBL) on sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiovascular regulatory functions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the heart rate variability in time and frequency domains in 14 IBL patients and 25 age and sex matched healthy control subjects, measured from 24-h electrocardiogram. RESULTS: Low frequency power (0.001) and low frequency/high frequency power (0.05) were significantly higher in control subjects independently, all together or in subgroups (medulla oblongata affected or not). High frequency power (0.05) were higher too in control subjects. Variability in time domain (0.001 and 0.01) was lower when the medulla oblongata was affected. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that brainstem lesions cause cardiovascular autonomic dysregulation overall when the medulla oblongata is affected. The importance of this region in parasympathetic and sympathetic cardiovascular functions is showed. However, pontine and mesencephalic lesions seem to provoke a decrease only in sympathetic regulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A DYNAMO application of microcomputer-based simulation in health sciences teaching.

This paper presents a concrete application of microcomputer-based simulation in health sciences education. It shows a pharmacological system dynamics model representing graphics and numerical behaviour and relations between variables, which in addition allows interaction with students for experimentation. The work also illustrates a strategy for introducing this kind of model in the classroom, as well as the suitability of their implementation, in educational environments, using professional tools such as DYNAMO and DYNEX. Subsequent evaluation of the results and comments given by the students revealed more positive attitudes towards the discipline.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1990

[Age as a prognostic factor in intensive care].

In order to define the prognostic impact of the age of critical patients as well as its association with the initial severity of illness (SAPS index) and therapeutic effort (TISS index), we studied 1.102 patients older than 14 years admitted consecutively to 3 general intensive care units. The oldest patients (more than 65 years) showed a higher mean SAPS (11.00 versus 8.58, p less than 0.0001) and mortality (odds ratio = 1.99, p less than 0.0001) than the younger ones. The association between age and mortality showed a "dose-response" pattern, even after controlling for the effect of initial severity (p less than 0.0001). The effect of age was stronger in the groups of patients with low SAPS (odds ratio = 2.94, p = 0.0007) or admitted for acute myocardial infarction (odds ratio = 3.28, p less than 0.0001). The oldest group showed a lower TISS/SAPS ratio and a shorter stay in the intensive care unit than younger patients, suggesting a low relative therapeutic effort in the latter. The differential therapeutic effort did not explain, however, the mortality excess in the oldest group, because the gradient of mortality increased after adjusting for TISS/SAPS ratio (adjusted odds ratio = 2.42, p less than 0.0001).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Utilization of a hospital emergency service. Influence of the need to transfer to another location and previous medical attention].

171 cases consecutively seen in a hospital emergency service were prospectively evaluated. Several data were recorded to assess the type of care given and the need for attention in an institution with the technical resources of a hospital. These data were evaluated considering whether the user had moved from another town to receive attention and whether he had been referred by a physician or not. There were definite differences in the behavior of the user from the town where the hospital is located and the remaining users. These differences were not attributable to a different performance or evaluation from the primary care services of the several towns involved. It was concluded that, at the present time, the use of the emergency service of our hospital is significantly influenced by the decision of the user to consult the service. Factors other than the severity of the disease influence this decision.

Adolescent↗