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

Introducción: El tratamiento para el dolor crónico es controversial. En Cuba dos pacientes con dolor crónico no oncológico refractario han sido tratados con analgesia por bomba intratecal se observaron indicadores clínicos de mejoría a corto plazo, sin embargo, no existen reportes de lo que ocurre en el sistema funcional psicológico de los mismos a largo plazo. Caso(s) clínico(s): Dos casos clínicos del sexo femenino con dolor crónico no oncológico refractario (63 años y 47 años de edad) implantadas subcutáneamente con una bomba (Sincromed II) programable para administrar analgesia intratecal en el Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica (CIREN). Se ejecutó una evaluación de las dimensiones caracterológica, interactiva y psicodinámica pre y 2 años pos tratamiento.Caso 1: Depresión pre y pos-baja; ansiedad pre-alta y pos-moderada; autoestima pre-media y pos-alta; intensidad dolor pre-10 y pos-2; dolor-actividad-relaciones-interpersonales pre-0,9 y pos-4,9; afrontamiento pre-poco uso y pos-uso mixto; estilo de vida pre-1,9 y pos-2,3; riesgo suicida pre y pos-bajo.Caso 2: depresión pre-alta y pos-baja; ansiedad pre-moderada y pos-baja; autoestima pre-baja y pos-media; intensidad dolor pre-10 y pos-3; dolor-actividad-relaciones-interpersonales pre-0 y pos-4,0; afrontamiento pre-poco uso y pos-uso mixto; estilo de vida pre-1,3 y pos 2,0; riesgo suicida pre-alto y pos-bajo.Conclusiones: La analgesia por bomba intratecal programable tiene efectos favorables en el sistema funcional psicológico de los pacientes con dolor crónico no oncológico refractario a largo plazo. Algunas particularidades en la dimensión caracterológica e interactiva, deben ser asistidas a partir de estrategias de tratamiento psicoterapéutico. 

The present article analyzes the love in four short stories written by Central American female writers: Jessica Clark, María del Carmen Pérez Cuadra, Jennifer Rebecca Valiente y Denisse Phé-Funchal. These writers started to publish at the begging of 21th century; by contrast, the academic production about them is still raising. For that reason, it is necessary to pay attention to these voices that, little by little, step up in Central American literature. With that aim, the present article focus in how are the love and topics related with it (like family or marriage) (re)formulated. After a theorization about love and its transformations in the History, it presents a brief contextualization about the present in Central American Literature and a state of the art about the critical reception of the writers. Lastly, the article presents the analyzes of each short stories, based on several tool provided by structuralism (like narrator voice, characters, narrative levels) and by semiotic. It concludes that in the short history the characters detach from romantic love, because it is dangerous, or it is impossible to achieve. In other cases, the characters that are committed with the search of romantic love ended in tragic ways.

Introduction: The study of the efficacy of cervical epidural block in shoulder girdle surgery allows to identify what the most frequent complications are, in order to prevent them and to be able to compare this technique with others.Objective: To describe the efficacy of the use of cervical epidural anesthesia in shoulder girdle surgery.Methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out at Hospital General Docente Universitario “Martin Chang Puga”, of Nuevitas Municipality, Camagüey Province, between January 2021 and December 2022. The sample consisted of 25 patients who underwent shoulder girdle surgery and were applied cervical epidural anesthesia.Results: There was a predominance of the male sex (18 patients out of 25), while most of the patients were between 19 and 59 years old. They were predominantly (17 patients) classified as ASA II. Heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure followed a Gaussian distribution 30 and 60 minutes after initiation of cervical epidural block (gl: 25; p > 0.05). Heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure and partial oxygen saturation decreased significantly 60 minutes after the anesthetic technique was applied, and remained within normal limits. 100 % reported being satisfied with the anesthetic procedure.Conclusions: The efficacy of the use of cervical epidural anesthesia in shoulder girdle surgery yielded very satisfactory results; it is effective and safe.

Introduction: Facial rhytidectomy is the technique for correcting facial aging features, but they are becoming increasingly complex due to the incorporation of deeper planes in the process. The superficial musculoaponeurotic system techniques have the advantage of providing a greater degree of naturalness and permanence in time.Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the high-superficial musculoaponeurotic system technique for facial rejuvenation.Methods: A prospective and longitudinal case series study was carried out in the plastic surgery service of Hospital General Universitario “Vladimir Ilich Lenin” with patients who requested facial rejuvenation and were treated with the high-superficial musculoaponeurotic system technique, from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020. The variables age, sex, skin type, degree of aging, operative complications, patient satisfaction and aesthetic outcomes were studied.Results: The female sex predominated, together with the age group 50-59 years, the degrees of aging II and III, as well as white and light brown skin colors, while the most frequent operative complication was wound dehiscence of the suture line at the auricle root. The patients' satisfaction with the aesthetic outcomes of the surgical intervention was verified and the aesthetic outcomes was assessed as favorable in 100 % of the cases for the used surgical technique.Conclusions: The high-superficial musculoaponeurotic system surgical technique for rhytidectomy offers harmonic, long-lasting outcomes with a low percentage of complications, making it a valuable alternative for patients.Keywords: high-superficial musculoaponeurotic system; rhytidectomy; facial rejuvenation.

Introduction: With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, to reorganize health services has been necessary, as well as to modify, to a certain extent, the surgical indication for acute cholecystitis.Objective: To characterize cholecystostomy as a safe and effective alternative for the resolution of acute lithiasic cholecystitis in patients with no surgical indication, whether or not they have COVID-19.Methods: A narrative-descriptive review was carried out from 2019 to 2021 of primary and secondary sources addressing this topic; this time period marked the development of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Google Chrome was used, together with the electronic databases MEDLINE/PubMed and INDEXMEDICUS, as well as sources of information in evidence-based journals, such as ACP Journal Best Evidence and Cochrane.Development: The impact of the health crisis over surgical services is translated into the cancellation of elective cholecystectomies in 97.6 % of the centers. This decision is not innocuous, since an annual risk of developing complications has been estimated at 1-3 % for symptomatic cholelithiasis.Conclusions: Cholecystostomy is the most successful method to be used for the resolution of acute lithiasic cholecystitis in patients with no surgical indication or poor response to medical treatment, without complete certainty as to whether or not the patient has COVID-19.Keywords: acute lithiasic cholecystitis; cholecystostomy; COVID-19.

Introduction: The bibliometric analysis of the scientific production in health allows detailing the interest of authors, institutions, organizations and journals that contributed to a better understanding of the natural history of SARS-CoV-2, in relation to oral health.Objective: To characterize the bibliometrics of scientific production in oral health, related to COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean.Methods: One hundred forty-three articles were analyzed from Scopus database, which were published in 2020 and 2021. This study considered the annual scientific production, the ten authors, institutions and organizations with the greatest publication activity, the ten main journals involved in article publications on the subject, as well as the most cited bibliometric terms.Results: In 2020, seventy three articles on the subject were published, which decreased by 5.47% for 2021. The institutions most involved in publications were from the United States, Peru, and Brazil. The most active author was Machado R.A. The journal Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada was the most cited with 8.47%, the most cited article was “Impacts of coronavirus COVID-19 on Dentistry and salivary potential” with 119 citations and the most used descriptors were “the humans”, “pandemic” and “dentistry”.Conclusion: The largest scientific production of cited articles, authors with the highest number of citations, and highly-published journals on oral health in Latin America and the Caribbean is in Brazil. The institution with the greatest support activity for the publication of scientific articles and the most used descriptors “pandemic”, “human” and “2019 coronavirus disease” are in the United States.

Introduction: Some students manage to advance their thesis projects much easily than others. Thus, reasons arise for the increase in predisposition and satisfactory performance, as well as the increase in the skills developed during the undergraduate course. This performance is associated with greater motivation for research activities and the feeling of self-efficacy to carry out tasks.Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the levels of self-efficacy and the disposition to carry out the degree thesis.Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried including113 students from the last two years of the School of Dentistry of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru. The survey technique was used with two scales: self-efficacy to achieve the thesis (two dimensions and 14 questions) and willingness to achieve the thesis (four dimensions and 44 questions). Pearson's correlation test was used to analyze the scores for each variable.Results: Self-efficacy obtained a general score of 1.61 ± 0.53. No significant differences were found between fifth and boarding school students. The disposition had an overall score of 4.04 ± 0.34. A significant correlation was found between the variables for all the respondents (p < 0.05; r = 0.283). However, no correlations were found when each academic year (p > 0.05) was analyzed. Scores in women showed a correlation, significante between self-efficacy to achieve the thesis and willingness to do so (p < 0.01; r = 0.430). There was no such correlation in the male group.Conclusions: There is relationship between the scores of “self-efficacy to do the thesis” and the “willingness to do the thesis” in a group of dentistry students. This correlation is maintained in women and is not present in men. Fifth-year students showed higher average scores regarding both variables.

Introduction: The reconstruction of nasal skin defects requires the use of procedures aimed at obtaining the lowest probability of postoperative complications in the shortest period of time possible. Novel techniques use platelet concentrates for their modulating properties of pain and postoperative edema.Objective: To determine the behavior of pain and post-surgical edema in the regeneration of nasal skin defects with the use of autologous platelet- and leukocyte-rich fibrin membrane.Method: A quasi-experimental research was carried out, with a before-after design, without a control group, in the Maxillofacial Surgery Service at Arnaldo Milián Castro University Hospital in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba, from September 2015 to June 2015. 2019. The randomly selected sample was 46 patients. A fibrin membrane rich in platelets and leukocytes was obtained from a patient's blood self-donation, which was sutured in the nasal surgical defect.Results: The mean age was 62.71 years and 60.87% of the sample was male. Pain was present in 23.91% and edema in 28.26% of the studied sample.Conclusions: Few postoperative complications such as pain and edema were found, showing to be mild predominantly. There was association between these complications and age, the number of affected anatomical subunits, diabetes mellitus and smoking habit.