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This study evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in Argentina, during the second wave in 2021. The aim is to assess stress and burnout, incorporating the assessment of hair cortisol levels as a biomarker of chronic stress. A total of 496 healthcare workers from three different hospitals were included in this study. Two of these hospitals depend on the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Health and the third hospital belongs to Buenos Aires University. Hair samples were obtained using scissors from the posterior vertex, as close to the scalp as possible. Each sample was weighed, and cortisol was extracted and then measured using an automated chemiluminescent method. Notably, 10% of the population exhibited hair cortisol levels above 128 pg/mg. Associations were found between high hair cortisol levels and age, workload, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. In addition, burnout, identified in 11% of participants, correlated with higher perceived stress and lower social support. Binary logistic regression revealed associations between burnout and perceived stress, and age. Finally, mediation analysis showed depersonalization as a mediating variable in the relationship between hair cortisol concentration and emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, this study highlights the complex relationships between stress, cortisol levels, and burnout. Prioritizing interventions and research is essential to support the well-being of frontline healthcare professionals, ensuring their resilience during challenging times., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons questionnaire (ASES-p) has been translated into Spanish, but it has not been adapted to the Argentine population yet. Although Spain and Argentina speak the same language, linguistic differences between Spanish-speaking countries may affect the interpretation of the different items included in the questionnaire., Objective: To conduct the translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the self-report section of the ASES-p into Argentine Spanish for patients with musculoskeletal shoulder disorders, and to assess its psychometric properties., Design: Study of diagnostic accuracy/assessment scale., Method: The study was carried out in three consecutive phases: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation for its use in Argentina. In the third phase, we used the ASES-p, Short Form 36 (SF-36), EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaires, and the Global Rating of Change (GROC) scale., Results: One hundred three participants completed a set of questionnaires on two occasions and were included in the final analysis. The time taken to answer and score the questionnaire was 118 and 52 s, respectively. Neither a ceiling nor a floor effect was observed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.85. Intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83. A significant correlation was found between the DASH, the GROC and various SF-36 subscales. There were strong indices of concurrent-cross validation, longitudinal validity, and construct validity. The ASES-p questionnaire showed a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) value of 7.88 points., Conclusion: Some psychometric properties in reliability and validity were acceptable in the Argentine version of the ASES-p questionnaire., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is a key determinant in the severity of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. DUP is a modifiable factor that if reduced can improve patient outcome and treatment response. We sought to decrease DUP in rural Argentina by instituting annual training of local health agents to better identify signs of mental illness and offer earlier intervention. DUP was estimated using Schedules of Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Ongoing training was correlated with a reduction in DUP. Reducing DUP through better screening can decrease the psychosocial burden of disease and improve the trajectory of psychosis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of hospitalization and death in infants worldwide. Most RSV deaths occur in developing countries, where burden and risk factors for life-threatening illness are unclear., Objectives: We defined the burden of life-threatening (O(2) saturation [O(2) sat] ≤ 87%) and fatal RSV infection, and characterized risk factors for life-threatening disease in hospitalized children. Special emphasis was placed on studying the impact of dietary habits during pregnancy. We hypothesized that dietary preferences, differing from those of our remote ancestors, would negatively impact children's pulmonary health. For instance, a diet rich in carbohydrates is a signature of recent millennia and typical of low-income populations, heavily burdened by life-threatening RSV disease., Methods: Prospective study in a catchment population of 56,560 children under 2 years of age during the RSV season in Argentina. All children with respiratory signs and O(2) sat less than 93% on admission were included., Measurements and Main Results: Among 1,293 children with respiratory infections, 797(61.6%) were infected with RSV: 106 of these had life-threatening disease; 1.9 per 1,000 children (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-2.2/1,000) under 24 months. A total of 22 hospitalized children died (9 RSV(+)), 26 died at home due to acute respiratory infection (14 attributed to RSV); all were under 12 months old. The annual attributable mortality rate for RSV was 0.7 per 1,000 infants (95% CI, 0.4-1.1/1,000). Life-threatening disease was dose-dependently associated with carbohydrate ingestion during pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio from 3.29 [95% CI, 1.15-9.44] to 7.36 [95% CI, 2.41-22.5] versus the lowest quartile)., Conclusions: Life-threatening and fatal RSV infections are a heavy burden on infants in the developing world. Diets rich in carbohydrates during pregnancy are associated with these severe outcomes.