Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Introducción: la intervención desde un enfoque neuropsicológico permite conseguir mejoras, aportar estrategias y proponer cambios que impactan el aprendizaje y la salud cognitiva de los participantes. El empleo de videojuegos muestra mejoras en habilidades de dominio general como la memoria de trabajo y de dominio específico como el rendimiento. Objetivo: determinar el efecto del entrenamiento de memoria de trabajo a través del videojuego “Recuérdalo Todo” en el rendimiento académico (matemático y lector), en niños de preescolar y segundo grado. Método: se realizó un estudio cuasi-experimental en La Habana, Cuba, durante el curso 2018-2019. Participaron 29 niños de preescolar (14 niñas) y 27 niños de segundo grado (8 niñas) que fueron asignados aleatoriamente a un grupo experimental (recibe entrenamiento con el videojuego) y un grupo control (no recibe el entrenamiento hasta no concluir los pos-test). Fueron evaluados antes y después del entrenamiento con pruebas de procesos de dominio general y rendimiento académico.  Resultados: el entrenamiento tuvo una influencia positiva en los procesos de dominio general más que en el rendimiento académico. El tamaño del efecto de intervención en los procesos de dominio general fue medio, lo cual avaló la efectividad. Conclusiones: “Recuérdalo todo” tiene un efecto favorable sobre procesos de dominio general y sobre procesos predictores de la adquisición de la lectura en preescolares, así como en el procesamiento numérico en niños de segundo grado. Esta intervención sobre memoria de trabajo aporta herramientas que pueden contribuir a la preparación de los maestros para optimizar el aprendizaje de los escolares, lo que tiene un impacto en su salud cognitiva.

Introduction: COVID-19 vaccines stimulate immune processes that allow SARS-CoV-2, which affected a large part of the population, to be mitigated. The research on the adverse reactions presented by the COVID-19 vaccines must be continuous, since at present there is not enough information on their consequences.Objective: to determine the possible adverse reactions in young and older adults belonging to the Recinto Umpechico, inoculated against SARS-CoV-2 in Santo Domingo, during 2021.Method: a descriptive study was carried out in a population of 600 residents of said locality, inoculated against SARS-CoV-2. Non-probability convenience sampling was used, with a sample of 235 inhabitants. The study variables were: adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines, name of the vaccine received, number of doses, intensity and duration of symptoms, medications used to mitigate said adverse reactions. Results: 31.5% of the respondents who presented symptoms were male. The most common vaccine was Pfizer with 47.65%, with a percentage of symptoms of 29.36%. The most common adverse reaction was arm pain with 31.98%, lasting two to three days, equivalent to 48.96%; 62.65% used paracetamol and 20.5% used cold water baths to reduce symptoms. Conclusions: the vaccines manufactured by the different pharmaceutical companies cause adverse reactions that range from mild to severe, manifesting at any age and for a short or long term, which in most cases are easily treated with pharmacological and non-pharmacological medications.

Introduction: the value of oxygen as a prognostic maker of mortality due to COVID-19 pneumonia has not been evaluated at the Hospital General Docente "Dr. Agostinho Neto". Objective: to identify the values of oxygenation markers for prognosing mortality caused by COVID-19 pneumonia at the Hospital General Docente "Dr. Agostinho Neto" de Guantánamo, Cuba, throughout period 2020-2021. Method: a cohort of 276 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia was studied. Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), the difference between the oxygen concentration in the alveoli and arterial system (DA-aO2), arterial oxygen pressure ratio (PaO2) and inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) [PaO2/FiO2] were studied. The association between variables and deceased discharge was determined using the Chi-square technique and the Odds Ratio (OR) calculation. Results: the variable with the highest positive predictive value was SpO2 (87.3 %) with a value lower than 90 mmHg at admission. The highest negative predictive value was recorded for the DA-aO2 variable (95.6%), less than 20 mmHg at 48 hours after admission. Attributable risk was higher for PaO2/FiO2 ratio, less than 300 mmHg (0.59), at admission (0.52). Attributable risk percent was higher for the variable DA-aO2  20 mmHg at admission (95.8 %) and at 48 hours after admission (95.3 %). Conclusions: abnormal DA-aO2, PaO2/FiO2 ratio, SaO2 and SpO2, at admission and 48 hours after admission, are predictive markers of mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Introduction: the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an indispensable tool for the continuous distance teaching-learning process. Technostress is the result of the individual inability of a person to adapt normally to the use of new technologies within their work activities. Objective: to identify the stress factors associated with the use of ICT in primary and secondary education teachers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (November 2021 and January 2022), in Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador. There was implemented the complete closure of schools as a sanitary measure. Method: a study of quantitative approach of correlational scope and transactional design, applied to 485 teachers of fiscal and private educational units, to whom a questionnaire of 20 questions was applied, that measured different factors, such as: skepticism about the use of ICT, work fatigue, anxiety and inefficiency. The results of the study were statistically analyzed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM); developed in SPPS 20 and AMOS 24. Results: through the estimates thrown in the AMOS Output, we obtained: skepticism (β=0.327), work fatigue (β=0.238), anxiety (β=0.394) and inefficiency (β=0.010). Conclusions: it was possible to show that skepticism, work fatigue and anxiety are influential factors in the presence of teaching technostress, while inefficiency is not. These aspects will serve as a basis for the formulation of strategies and measures that allow the effective and sustainable integration of ICTs in the educational field.

Introduction: esophageal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related illness that has been described for two thousand years and currently set at the eighth place in incidence worldwide. Objective: to describe the clinical-histological features in patients with esophageal cancer at the Guido Valadares National Hospital in Timor-Leste. Method: an observational-descriptive and retrospective study was conducted in 106 patients with esophageal cancer related endoscopic and histological diagnosis. All of them attended in the Endoscopy Unit at the Gastroenterology service, from June 2016 to May 2021. Variables such as age group, sex and other risk factors like (clinical manifestations, the onset of symptom, location, endoscopic type and histological type) were analyzed. Results: esophageal cancer was more frequent in male aged 60 and older (65.1%). Smoking and alcohol intake were the predominant risk factors (64.2% and 57.5%, respectively). Most of cases were diagnosed between 3 and 6 months after the onset of symptoms, with dysphagia as the main reason for consultation (98.1%). From the endoscopic point of view, polypoid mass or vegetating lesions found in the middle third of the esophagus predominated (45.3%), with squamous cell carcinoma as the most frequent histological type. Conclusions: study of clinical-histological features in patients with esophageal cancer allows an adequate diagnostic approach to this illness, as well as the development of preventive health actions on the main risk factors identified.

Introduction: cardiovascular disease in women is undervalued as a health problem. Among the therapeutic options is cardiac rehabilitation, which contributes to the reduction of morbidity and mortality and hospitalization in both genders. Objective: to evaluate the initial behavior and the results of a cardiac rehabilitation program in patients attended in the Rehabilitación Cardiaca (Cardiac Rehabilitation) department of the Cardiology service of the Hospital General Docente “Dr. Agostinho Neto”, from Guantanamo, during the period 2015-2019. Method: a descriptive, prospective and longitudinal study was carried out. The population was made up of 667 patients enrolled in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (CRP). Risk factors, ergometric parameters given by exercise time, heart rate, blood pressure, and functional class were studied. A rehabilitation program was applied that included physical-aerobic and resistance exercises, evaluations were carried out through ergometric tests, and serum lipids at the beginning and at 6 months. Results: there is a different risk profile between both genders; obesity is the most prevalent risk factor in females (62.9%) and active smoking in males (78.0%). The improvement in physical capacity was greater in men than in women. The parameters used to improve the participation and adherence of women to the program are exposed. Conclusions: women have great barriers to the incorporation into cardiac rehabilitation programs. It is necessary to offer them information about their benefits to improve access and permanence in the program.

Introduction: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory entity characterized by a partially reversible limitation of airflow. Its main risk factor is smoking and there are multiple factors associated with its high mortality. Objective: to identify the factors associated with death in COPD patients belonging to the Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Docente “Dr. Salvador Allende”, in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2019.Method: an analytical observational epidemiological study of cases and controls was carried out. The cases were deaths (n=34) with a diagnosis of COPD, and the controls were living patients (n=59) with this diagnosis confirmed at discharge. Demographic and clinical variables were considered. The variables were considered: age, sex, smoking, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cor pulmonale, cancer, degree of COPD, cause of hospitalization, site of hospitalization and need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Descriptive statistical methods, univariate and multivariate analysis were used to calculate risk, and logistic regression to assess confounding factors. Results: there was a predominance of patients over 65 years of age, and females. The variables associated with death from COPD were: cancer comorbidity (OR: 5.1; 95% CI: 1.2-22.4; p=0.032) and need for invasive mechanical ventilation (OR: 6.5; CI 95%: 1.1-38.3; p=0.04).Conclusions: cancer comorbidity and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation behave as risk factors for mortality in patients with COPD.

Introduction: ending 2019, the first reported cases of Covid-19 broke out in Wuhan, China. This disease may affect directly the cardiovascular system or predispose it to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2. Objective: to identify the cardiometabolic predictive factors for mortality in patients with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 from Santiago de Cuba city in the period May 2020 throughout May 2021. Method: an analytical cohort study was carried out. It was a co-operative research that involved professionals from the Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Services at the Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico “Ambrosio Grillo Portuondo”, as well as professionals from the Dirección Municipal de Salud in Santiago de Cuba city. A sample of 120 patients was selected for the identification of cardiometabolic predictive factors for mortality. Data analysis was based on the performance of a multivariate model (multivariate logistic regression). Results: throughout the hospitalization period 15 diseases were reported. Female sex was predominant but statistically we can´t associate to the deaths these two gender variables. However, age over 60 years, the arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and, in a high rank, the vascular involvement, were observed in a strongly association with mortality (p=0.0001). Conclusions: this research allowed the identification of cardiometabolic predictive factors for mortality in COVID-19, where age over 60 years, vascular involvement (cardiogenic shock), hypertension and diabetes mellitus are the main causal factors in the pathophysiological and statistical explanation of mortality.

Introduction: the use of a portfolio for learning and evaluation has emerged in recent years, as a tool for training processes in the new and renewed vision of teaching, developmental learning and educational evaluation.Objective: describe regularities and tendencies in the portfolio assessment process used in the Medicine career at the Facultad de Ciencias Médicas "Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna", Pinar del Río, Cuba, between January 2021 and July 2021. Method: a descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, using theoretical, empirical and statistical methods, in which 60 professor from the over mentioned Faculty of Medicine were selected as universe and sample. Normative documents related to the evaluation process of medical subjects were analyzed, especially, the portfolio assessment, as well as the opinion expressed by professors concerning this evaluation modality.Results: the cognitive-procedural dimension was considered low taking into account that most of the indicators were evaluated as low, due to the difficulties presented with respect to the mastery of knowledge, skills and advantages of the aim proposed in the research. Conclusions: in this case, the use of the portfolio assessment as a formative process in terms of in students’ achievements and learning process and in terms of result from the instructional, educational and interdisciplinary aspects, shows insufficiencies. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that the use of this tool constitutes for the professors a means of teaching and for the students a resource for learning by building.