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Background: As the disease caused by the novel coronavirus has spread globally, there has been significant economic instability in the healthcare systems. This reality was especially accentuated in Ecuador where, the shortage of healthcare workers combined with cultural and macroeconomic factors has led Ecuador to face the most aggressive outbreak in Latin America. In this context, the participation of final-year medical students on the front line is indispensable. Appropriate training on COVID-19 is an urgent requirement that universities and health systems must guarantee. We aimed to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Ecuadorian final-year medical students that could potentially guide the design of better medical education curricula regarding COVID-19., Methods: This was a cross-sectional 33-item online survey conducted between April 6 to April 2020 assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and prognosis toward COVID-19 in Ecuadorian final-year medical students. It was sent by email, Facebook, and WhatsApp., Results: A total of 309 students responded to the survey. Out of which 88% of students scored high (≥ 70% correct) for knowledge of the disease. The majority of students were pessimistic about possible government actions, which is reflected in the negative attitude towards the control of COVID-19 and volunteering during the outbreak in Ecuador (77%, and 58% of the students, respectively). Moreover, 91% of students said they did not have adequate protective equipment. The latter finding was significantly associated with negative attitudes., Conclusions: Although a large number of students displayed negative attitudes, the non-depreciable percentage of students who were willing to volunteer and the coexisting high level of knowledge displayed by students, suggests that Ecuador has a capable upcoming workforce that could benefit from an opportunity to strengthen, improve and advance their training in preparation for COVID-19. Not having personal protective equipment was significantly associated to negative attitudes. Providing the necessary tools and creating a national curriculum may be one of the most effective ways to ensure all students are trained, whilst simultaneously focusing on the students' most pressing concerns. With this additional training, negative attitudes will improve and students will be better qualified.

Antecedentes: La tasa de litiasis biliar y sus complicaciones son mayores en los ancianos. Algunos autores describen la edad como un factor principal que aumenta significativamente la morbilidad y la mortalidad de los pacientes sometidos a colecistectomía., Objetivo: Describir la seguridad de la colecistectomía laparoscópica centrándose en su tasa de complicaciones y de conversión en pacientes mayores de 90 años, en un hospital privado de un país en desarrollo., Método: Esta serie de casos incluyó pacientes mayores de 90 años diagnosticados de colecistitis aguda según los criterios Tokio 2013. Todos fueron sometidos a colecistectomía laparoscópica entre enero de 2010 y diciembre de 2016 en el Hospital Vozandes Quito (Ecuador). Se informaron las frecuencias y los porcentajes, y la media, para las variables categóricas y numéricas, respectivamente., Resultados: Se incluyeron 15 pacientes con edades comprendidas entre los 90 y 96 años. Hubo tres complicaciones posoperatorias, dos casos de shock hipovolémico secundario a sangrado que remitieron sin reoperación (13%) y uno de delirio (7%). Se realizó conversión quirúrgica en dos pacientes (13%) debido a la imposibilidad de visualizar las estructuras anatómicas y lograr una visión crítica adecuada de seguridad por flemón vesicular., Conclusión: La colecistectomía laparoscópica parece ser un enfoque seguro, con unas tasas de conversión y de complicaciones relativamente bajas, en los pacientes mayores de 90 años., Background: The rate of biliary lithiasis and its complications are higher in the elderly. Some authors describe age as the main factor that significantly increases the morbidity and mortality of patients undergoing cholecystectomy., Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, focusing on complication and conversion rates in patients older than 90 years, in a private hospital of a developing country., Materials and Methods: This case-series enrolled patients older than 90 years diagnosed with acute cholecystitis using the Tokyo 2013 criteria. All included patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy from January 2010 to December 2016 at Vozandes Hospital Quito-Ecuador. Frequencies and percentages and mean were reported for categorical and numerical variables, respectively., Results: We included 15 patients aged between 90 and 96 years. There were three post-operative complications, two cases of hypovolemic shock secondary to bleeding that stop without reoperation (13%) and 1 of delirium (7%). Conversion was performed in two patients (13%) due to the impossibility of visualizing the anatomical structures and obtain an adequate critical view of safety due to gallbladder phlegmon., Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy seems to be a safe approach, with relatively low complication and conversion rates in patients older than 90 years., (Copyright: © 2021 Permanyer.)