Oral mucositis (OM) is a common side effect of cancer therapies. It causes ulcerative, painful lesions in the oral cavity that can provoke malnutrition, increased risk of infection, longer hospital stays, and seriously affect the quality of life. Cooling the mucosa with oral cryotherapy (OC) during and/or after chemotherapy is the most accessible and tolerable intervention available. The aim of this study is to define the efficacy of OC for preventing OM induced by chemotherapy/radiotherapy in adult patients with cancer. Secondary endpoints include associated problems as pain. A systematic search was performed using the Pubmed, WOS (Web of Science), Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and BVS databases for articles published up to 2010. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, a total of eight articles were analyzed in this review. In seven of the eight articles, the incidence of OM of all grades was significantly lower in the OC group compared with the no-OC group. Use of opioids and level of pain were also significantly reduced. OC is an effective intervention to reduce the incidence of OM induced by chemotherapy as well as the associated severity and pain. Based on these results, OC with only water or with chamomile, associated or not with other mouthwash therapies, is an effective intervention to reduce the incidence of OM induced by chemotherapy as well as the associated severity and pain.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate 199 health sciences students in the city of Iquitos. Their socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, level of physical activity, type of food, substance abuse, and prevalence of overweight and obesity were ascertained using purpose-validated questionnaires, i.e., the Systematic Alcohol Consumption Interview (Interrogatorio Sistematizado de Consumos Alcohólicos/ISCA), a questionnaire on the frequency of dietary intake (CFCA), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and anthropometric measurements. The prevalence of overweight (body mass index (BMI) of 25.0–29.9 kg/m²) was 26.5% (95% CI = 19.9–33.0%) and that of obesity (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m²) was 7.9% (95% CI = 3.8–12.1%). A total of 34.4% of students (95% CI = 27.4–41.4%) presented with a BMI > 25 kg/m². The frequency of overweight was significantly higher in persons aged over 20 years (OR = 2.5) and smokers (OR = 3.2), and the frequency of obesity was significantly higher in older students (OR = 4.1) and males (OR = 5.5). In conclusion, a considerable proportion of health sciences students in the Amazonia region presented with a high BMI. The proportion of students with overweight was higher among students aged over 20 years and smokers, while that of obesity was also higher among males. In the university setting, the development of more overweight- and obesity-preventive activities and educational interventions would therefore be desirable.

Aim: To describe the latest scientific evidence regarding community-based interventions performed on patients in need of palliative care worldwide. Introduction and background: Given the rise of chronic diseases, their complexities and the fragility of patients, we are facing around 56.8 million people in need of palliative care. Community-based healthcare, particularly palliative care, can address social inequalities and improve the biopsychosocial health of disadvantaged populations. Therefore, primary care, as the main health referent in the community, has a central role in the care of these patients. Methods: This is an integrative review from January 2017 to June 2022 that follows the PRISMA statement and has been registered in PROSPERO. PubMed, Cuiden, the Web of Science (WoS), Cochrane and LILACS were the five databases searched. The scientific quality assessment of the articles was carried out following the CASPe methodology. Study selection was carried out by two researchers, A.V.L. and J.M.C.T., using the inclusion and exclusion criteria mentioned below. In cases of doubt or discrepancy, a third author (J.R.S.) was consulted. Results: The interventions mentioned in the 16 articles analysed were classified under the following categories: music therapy, laughter therapy, spiritual and cognitive interventions, aromatherapy, interdisciplinary and community-based teams, advance care planning and community, volunteering, telemedicine and care mapping. Example: Educating people to talk about different ethical issues could improve their quality of life and help develop more compassionate cities. Conclusions: We have identified interventions that are easily accessible (laughter therapy, telemedicine or music therapy), simple enough to be carried out at the community level and do not incur high costs. This is why they are recommended for people with palliative care needs in order to improve their quality of life.

To examine the performance of a novel low-cost, ultra-compact, and attractive auditory feedback device for training laypeople in external chest compressions (ECCs), we conducted a quasi-experimental cross-sectional study from September to November 2021 at the Faculty of Nursing of Albacete, University of Castille-La Mancha, Spain. The ECC sequence was performed in the laboratory with the new device for basic hands-on CPR training. Results: One hundred college students were included in this study. The compression rate/min with the new device was 97.6, and the adequate %ECC was 52.4. According to the status of body mass index (BMI) and muscle strength of the upper limbs in the bivariate analysis, it was observed that the new device discriminated between those who performed correct ECCs according to their BMI and muscle strength and those who did not, which led to significantly influenced results in terms of the percentage of ECCs with correct depth. Conclusions: The new ultra-compact auditory feedback device “Salvando a Llanetes^®” demonstrated utility for teaching and learning ECCs in basic CPR. We can affirm that the analyzed device is an adequate, safe and economical method for teaching “CPR Hands-Only™” to the general population.

Background: Despite the availability of numerous treatments for Crohn disease, there are patients who do not respond to any therapy, thereby diminishing their quality of life. The aim of this review is to analyze the efficacy and safety of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy for refractory Crohn disease. Methods: This work is a systematic review with meta-analysis conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses. Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials were consulted. The searches were carried out in August 2024. To evaluate the efficacy of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in inducing remission, the mean and standard deviation of the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index pre- and post- treatment were used, and a fixed-effects meta-analysis was conducted. Additionally, to assess the efficacy in perianal fistulas, a random-effects meta-analysis was performed, collecting data on the number of subjects with fistulas at the beginning and end of the intervention. All 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and the I ² statistic was used to assess the heterogeneity of the outcome variables. Results: A total of 609 records were identified from databases, with 12 studies selected for inclusion in the review. Immediate intervention proved effective in inducing a decrease in the Crohn Disease Activity Index compared to late intervention with conventional therapies. Moreover, the meta-analysis demonstrated efficacy for Crohn disease and associated fistulas with a mean decrease in the CDAI of −217.53 ± 14.3. When evaluating the efficacy of the procedure in perianal fistulas, a risk ratio of 0.47 with a 95% CI of [0.26, 0.86] was obtained. However, the procedure showed adverse effects, such as infections, acute renal failure or deaths. Conclusion: Systemic autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has shown efficacy in patients who fail to achieve remission of their Crohn disease with conventional therapies. This procedure has also demonstrated efficacy in treating perianal fistulas. However, it is essential to carefully evaluate de implementation of this procedure due to the associated risks.