Browsing by Author "Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A comparative study of two different methods for the detection of latent tuberculosis in HIV-positive individuals in Chile
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2008) Balcells Marty, María Elvira; Pérez Cortes, Carlos Miguel; Chanqueo Cornejo, Leonardo Andrés; Lasso Barreto, Martin Francisco; Villanueva, Marcela; Espinoza Concha, Mónica Ximena; Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio; García Cañete, Patricia Del Carmen
    Objective: To compare the performance of two tests for diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB) infection in the HIV-positive population in Chile, in order to better identify the subjects who might benefit from TB chemoprophylaxis. Design: This was a cross-sectional study among individuals attending three HIV outpatient clinics in Santiago, tested with a 2-TU purified protein derivative, QuantiFERON ® -TB Gold ‘in-tube’ (QFT-G), and a chest X-ray. Results: A total of 116 subjects were enrolled in the study, having a mean CD4 count of 393 cells/μl (range 100–977). The tuberculin skin text (TST; 5 mm cutoff) and QFT-G results were positive in 10.9% and 14.8% of the individuals, respectively, with moderate agreement between both tests (kappa = 0.59). A history of both known TB exposure (odds ratio (OR) 3.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–11.22) and past TB (OR 4.31, 95% CI 1.13–15.5) were associated with a positive QFT-G result. Only past TB was significantly associated with a positive TST result (OR 6.63, 95% CI 1.62–26.3). Among the subjects with TST < 5 mm, 8.2% were positive by QFT-G test. These individuals had a lower mean CD4 cell count than those detected positive by both tests (328 cells/μl and 560 cells/μl, respectively, p = 0.03). Conclusions: In this population of HIV-infected individuals, QFT-G and TST showed an acceptable level of agreement, although QFT-G appears less affected by more advanced immunosuppression.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Childhood Obesity and Plasma Micronutrient Deficit of Chilean Children between 4 and 14 Years Old
    (2023) Oscar Castillo-Valenzuela; Lissette Duarte; Miguel Arredondo; Germán Iñiguez; Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio; Francisco Pérez-Bravo
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Early versus deferred anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in patients admitted for COVID-19: A randomized phase II clinical trial
    (2021) Balcells Marty, Maria Elvira; Rojas Orellana, Luis Esteban; Martínez Valdebenito, Constanza Pamela; Ceballos Valdivielso, María Elena Andrea; Ferrés Garrido, Marcela Viviana; Chang Rathkamp, Mayling Raquel; Vizcaya Altamirano, María Cecilia; Mondaca Contreras, Sebastián Patricio; Huete Garín, Isidro Álvaro; Castro López, Ricardo Adolfo; Sarmiento Maldonado, Mauricio; Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio; Pizarro Ibáñez, Alejandra Valentina; Ross Pérez, Patricio Daniel; Santander Toro, Jaime Andrés; Lara Hernández, Bárbara Alejandra; Ferrada Koch, Marcela Patricia; Vargas Salas, Sergio Sebastián; Beltrán Pávez, Carolina; Soto Rifo, Ricardo; Valiente Echeverria, Fernando Andrés; Caglevic, Christian; Mahave, Mauricio; Selman Bravo, Carolina Antoniett; Gazitúa, Raimundo; Briones, José Luis; Villarroel Espíndola, Franz; Balmaceda Araque, Carlos Felipe; Espinoza Sepúlveda, Manuel Antonio; Pereira Garces, Jaime; Nervi Nattero, Bruno; Le Corre Perez, Monique Nicole
    Background: Convalescent plasma (CP), despite limited evidence on its efficacy, is being widely used as a compassionate therapy for hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of early CP therapy in COVID-19 progression.", "Methods and findings", "The study was an open-label, single-center randomized clinical trial performed in an academic medical center in Santiago, Chile, from May 10, 2020, to July 18, 2020, with final follow-up until August 17, 2020. The trial included patients hospitalized within the first 7 days of COVID-19 symptom onset, presenting risk factors for illness progression and not on mechanical ventilation. The intervention consisted of immediate CP (early plasma group) versus no CP unless developing prespecified criteria of deterioration (deferred plasma group). Additional standard treatment was allowed in both arms. The primary outcome was a composite of mechanical ventilation, hospitalization for >14 days, or death. The key secondary outcomes included time to respiratory failure, days of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay, mortality at 30 days, and SARS-CoV-2 real-time PCR clearance rate. Of 58 randomized patients (mean age, 65.8 years; 50% male), 57 (98.3%) completed the trial. A total of 13 (43.3%) participants from the deferred group received plasma based on clinical aggravation. We failed to find benefit in the primary outcome (32.1% versus 33.3%, odds ratio [OR] 0.95, 95% CI 0.32-2.84, p > 0.999) in the early versus deferred CP group. The in-hospital mortality rate was 17.9% versus 6.7% (OR 3.04, 95% CI 0.54-17.17 p = 0.246), mechanical ventilation 17.9% versus 6.7% (OR 3.04, 95% CI 0.54-17.17, p = 0.246), and prolonged hospitalization 21.4% versus 30.0% (OR 0.64, 95% CI, 0.19-2.10, p = 0.554) in the early versus deferred CP group, respectively. The viral clearance rate on day 3 (26% versus 8%, p = 0.204) and day 7 (38% versus 19%, p = 0.374) did not differ between groups. Two patients experienced serious adverse events within 6 hours after plasma transfusion. The main limitation of this study is the lack of statistical power to detect a smaller but clinically relevant therapeutic effect of CP, as well as not having confirmed neutralizing antibodies in donor before plasma infusion.", "Conclusions", "In the present study, we failed to find evidence of benefit in mortality, length of hospitalization, or mechanical ventilation requirement by immediate addition of CP therapy in the early stages of COVID-19 compared to its use only in case of patient deterioration.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Factors influencing the implementation of shared decision-making in breast cancer care: protocol for a mixed-methods study
    (2023) Bravo Valenzuela, Paulina Fabiola; Dois C., Angelina M.; Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio; González Aguero, Marcela Margot; Fernandez González, Loreto; Sánchez Rojel, César Giovanni; Martínez, Alejandra; Turen Croquevielle, Valentina; Quezada, Constanza; Guasalaga María, Elisabeth; Härter, Martin
    Chile is committed to actively involving patients in their healthcare. However, little is known about how this is translated into clinical encounters. Breast cancer (BC) is the first cause of cancer-related death in Chilean women. National policy guarantees standard care, and treatment decisions should be made along this process that can have long-term consequences for women. So, BC is a particularly well-suited case study to understand the complexity of patient participation in decision-making.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Una regla de predicción clínica ¿anticipa el diagnóstico de la faringitis estreptocóccica en niños de 2 a 15 años?
    (SOC CHILENA INFECTOLOGIA, 2018) Karzulovic Busch, Lorena Karina; Garcia Canete, Patricia Del Carmen; Wozniak Banchero, Aniela; Villarroel Del Pino, Luis Antonio; Hirsch Birn, Tamara Regina; Concha Murray, Ida Angelica; Catalan, Mora Silvia; Cifuentes Águila, Lorena Isabel
    Background: The etiology of a streptococcal pharyngitis must be documented by laboratory techniques to avoid unnecessary antimicrobial treatment, but this strategy increases cost for the patient. Available scores applied in children or adults are imperfect. Aim: To develop a clinical prediction rule to aid the diagnostic process of streptococcal pharyngitis (SP) in children in a low-resource setting. Methods: Three hundred and eighteen patients aged 2 to 15 years who were evaluated for suspected SP at the Pediatric Emergency Department and the Pediatric Ambulatory Unit of Red Salud UC-Christus entered the study. A throat culture and a rapid antigen detection test for Streptococcus pyogenes were obtained from each patient. Data were analyzed for possible clinical predictors of SP with univariate and multiple regression analyses. Results: Seventy-three cases of SP were diagnosed (23.9%). In the univariate analysis, fever was inversely associated with SP (p = 0.002). Odynophagia, palatal petechiae, and season of the year (autumn and winter) were positively associated with SP (p = 0.007, p < 0.001 and p = 0.03 respectively). In multiple regression analysis the models did not have sufficient power to predict streptococcal etiology. Conclusion: Clinical predictors, even those systematically included in clinical prediction rules, did not show sufficient predictive power to safely include or exclude SP in this setting, and thus, it is necessary to improve access to confirmatory tests.