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Copyright of Revista Alergia de Mexico is the property of Coleg. Mexicano de Inmunologia Clinica y Alergia A.C.; Soc. Lat. de Alergia, Asma e Inmunologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Alergia de Mexico is the property of Coleg. Mexicano de Inmunologia Clinica y Alergia A.C.; Soc. Lat. de Alergia, Asma e Inmunologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Alergia de Mexico is the property of Coleg. Mexicano de Inmunologia Clinica y Alergia A.C.; Soc. Lat. de Alergia, Asma e Inmunologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Alergia de Mexico is the property of Coleg. Mexicano de Inmunologia Clinica y Alergia A.C.; Soc. Lat. de Alergia, Asma e Inmunologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The instantaneous spread of information, low costs, and broad availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) make them an attractive platform for managing care, patient communication, and medical interventions in cancer treatment. There is little information available in Latin America about the level of usage of ICTs for and by cancer patients. Our study attempts to fill this gap.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of ICT use and patterns of preferences among cancer patients.Methods: We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study in 500 Ecuadorian cancer patients. This questionnaire consisted of 22 items about demographic and clinical data, together with the preferences of people who use ICTs. Chi-square, crude, and adjusted logistic regressions were performed.Results: Of the total, 43.2% (216/500) of participants reported that they had access to the Internet, and 25.4% (127/500) reported that they neither owned a cell phone nor did they have access to the Internet. The Internet constituted the highest usage rate as a source of information about malignant diseases (74.3%, 162/218) regardless of age (P<.001). With regard to the preferences on how patients would like to use ICTs to receive information about diseases, WhatsApp (66.5%, 145/218) and short message service (SMS) text messaging (61.0%, 133/218) were widely reported as interesting communication channels. Similarly, WhatsApp (72.0%, 157/218) followed by SMS (63.8%, 139/218) were reported as the preferred ICTs through which patients would like to ask physicians about diseases. Adjusted regression analysis showed that patients aged between 40 and 64 years were more likely to be interested in receiving information through SMS (odds ratio, OR 5.09, 95% CI 1.92-13.32), as well as for asking questions to physicians through this same media (OR 9.78, CI 3.45-27.67) than the oldest group.Conclusions: WhatsApp, SMS, and email are effective and widely used ICTs that can promote communication between cancer patients and physicians. According to age range, new ICTs such as Facebook are still emerging. Future studies should investigate how to develop and promote ICT-based resources more effectively to engage the outcomes of cancer patients. The widespread use of ICTs narrows the gap between cancer patients with restricted socioeconomic conditions and those with wealth and easily available technological means, thereby opening up new possibilities in low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID)-induced hypersensitivity reactions can be clinically apparent with asthma, rhinosinusitis, anaphylaxis or rash. Although natural anti-inflammatory products can have similar components, they are not subjected to rigorous quality control standards., Case Report: The case is presented of a 22-year-old female with NSAID allergy who attended with facial and laryngeal angioedema associated with pruritus in eyelids and pharynx. She developed these symptoms fifteen minutes after taking an over-the-counter (OTC) natural anti-inflammatory product. She received treatment with epinephrine, antihistamines and corticosteroids., Conclusion: Different natural anti-inflammatory products are freely available both OTC and online. Some contain dangerous substances that can cause important, and even lethal. side effects. Allergologists, dermatologists and general practitioners should be able to recognize that the consumption of these products, which is widely spread, can cause angioedema.

Background: Inadequate communication between asthmatic patients and their physicians may interfere directly with asthma control. In the last years, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) it has increased in Latin-America. This technology seems to be a good tool to improve communication and management of the asthmatic patient., Objective: We evaluated the frequency and preference patterns of communication and information technologies in Ecuadorian patients with bronchial asthma., Methods: We conducted a pilot cross-sectional study to identify the frequency and preferences of ICT in patients with asthma. The Spanish version of the Michigan questionnaire was used. Age and educational level were categorized into 3 groups. We used logistic regression between these groups regarding the frequency of use, interest in seeking and receiving information related to their asthma for the age and educational level of the patients., Results: A total of 222 patients participated in our study. The mean age was 45.6 years (SD 17.4), the most common sex was female with 89.25 %. Almost all patients had a cell phone (87.5 %) and internet access (62.7 %). The three ICTs most likely to be used to search for or receive information about their illness were WhatsApp, Facebook and email (p <0.05)., Conclusion: Information and communication technologies improve the care of asthmatic patients. In our pilot study email and text messages are the most preferred ICT among patients however WhatsApp and Facebook may be appropriate for certain ages especially young asthmatic. Knowledge of preferences can help the development of ICT in a personalized way and improve the outcomes in patients with asthma.

Background: Existing clinical guidelines do not offer an efficient alternative for the collection of data on relevant clinical traits during history and physical of the patient with chronic urticaria., Objective: Our aim was to provide a clinical data checklist together with its guide to allow for thorough information to be obtained and for a physical exam that identifies the main features and triggering factors of the disease to be carried out., Methods: A search was conducted for relevant literature on chronic urticaria in Medline, the Cochrane library and PubMed., Results: We developed an easy-to-use clinical data checklist with its corresponding clinical guide, comprised by 42 items based on two components: essential clues for history taking and chronic urticaria diagnosis (typical symptoms according to subgroups, etiology and laboratory results). Some components are the time of disease onset, wheals' duration, shape, size, color and distribution, associated angioedema, atopy, triggering factors and others., Conclusion: The clinical data checklist and its guide constitute a tool to focus, guide and save time in medical consultation, with the main purpose to aid physicians in providing better diagnosis and management of the disease.

Background: Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is an asthma phenotype that involves high costs and significant burden for health systems., Objective: To determine the level of knowledge and attitudes towards AERD among Ecuadorian physicians., Methods: Descriptive, observational study. A questionnaire about knowledge on the disease and attitude towards it (confidence in the treatment and importance of AERD, measured with a Likert scale) was developed. The answers about knowledge were dichotomized into right and wrong; attitude was rated as high or low. Means and percentages were obtained; the answers of doctors with or without specialty were compared using the chi-square test., Results: One-hundred eighteen physicians participated. The age was 41.3 ± 11.7 years; 48.3 % were specialists. Less than 50% answered correctly the questions about knowledge. Specialist physicians obtained more correct answers regarding first symptoms, prevalence and leukotriene overproduction (67.9 %, 46.3% and 90.7 %), when compared with general practitioners (45.0 %, 25% and 74.6 %) (p < 0.05). More than 70 % of physicians indicated high confidence in the identification of patients with AERD. There were no significant differences in attitudes (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Medical education programs should be developed in order to improve the level of knowledge about AERD.