There are about 189 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Ecuador. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Diagnosing the nutritional status of cancer patients is extremely important. An appropriate nutritional status supports a better tolerance to the treatment. A working protocol is essential to start with Nutritional Screening. If it is detected Malnutrition Risk or Malnutrition, diet counseling, and the specific therapeutic for each patient must be provided. This descriptive study will serve three aims: - Register in the cancer patient's electronic medical record their nutritional status at the admission and when the patient is discharged. - Determine the percentage of malnourished patients or in the risk of malnutrition who are admitted to hospitalization. - Recognize the number of patients that required specialized nutritional care. The purpose of this study is to determine if 30% of the patients admitted to the headquarters of SOLCA in Guayaquil from the Ecuadorian Cancer Society are at malnutrition risk or with any specific malnutrition level.
To describe real-world demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment characteristics, and clinical outcomes among patients in Latin America who were treated with first-line sunitinib for metastatic renal cell carcinoma and switched from the 4/2 to 2/1 administration schedule
Child stunting and micronutrient deficiencies are a major problem in developing countries, affecting millions of children. Beginning at 6 months children need foods to complement nutrients received through breastfeeding; however, complementary feeding diets are well-documented to be inadequate in the developing world. Eggs, which are widely available and low-cost relative to other highly nutritious foods are underutilized and could potentially improve child growth and development. Prior to the Lulun Project RCT, no research had been conducted to evaluate their efficacy in improving micronutrient status. Lulun filled an important gap in the literature by examining, through a randomized controlled trial, the effect of egg consumption on biochemical markers of choline, vitamin B12, lipids, and amino acids in young children in a poor rural area of Ecuador. However, there is still scarce data on how early child complementary feeding interventions, such as the Lulun egg intervention, might impact child growth long-term. This study will be designed as a follow-up cohort study to the Lulun Project RCT conducted in Cotopaxi Province from March-December 2015. The proposed follow-up study will investigate the potential long-term impacts of the egg intervention on child growth. Children and mother (caregiver) dyads with endline anthropometric measures from Lulun Project will be invited to participate in the follow-up study. Data will be collected on demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental information, morbidities, and child diet (including egg preparation and consumption), as well as child anthropometry (height, weight, head circumference). Additionally, the study will pilot test and compare radiographic measures of child bone maturity and organ size (kidney, liver, and spleen) using an app-based ultrasound. Investigators from Universidad de San Franscisco de Quito (USFQ), Washington University in St. Louis, and Mathile Institute will collaborate to conduct the study. This project will also include a gender assessment component designed to ascertain how gender norms may affect prospects for successful scale up of smallholder poultry production. To this end, qualitative data will be collected from a small sample of participating mothers (caregivers) and key community stakeholders, in the form of in-depth interviews and/or focus groups.
Colonoscopy is the standard of care for the detection of colorectal polyps and adenoma, and colorectal cancer detection. Despite a meticulous evaluation of the colonic mucosa during colonoscopy, a substantial number of colorectal polyps might be missed and colorectal cancer might not be prevented. Previous studies described a 12-28% of miss-rate for all polyps, a 31% for hyperplastic polyps and 6-27% for adenomas, with a higher miss rate noted for smaller polyps. The lesion missing rate depends on several factors, such as the location on difficult areas to be evaluated with conventional colonoscopes (the proximal side of the ileocecal valve, haustral folds, flexures or rectal valves), a flat shape, an inadequate bowel preparation and inadequate endoscopy technique, a time-limited colonoscope withdrawal. If the standard 140º angle of view colonoscope is used approximately 13% of the colonic surface is unevaluated. The incorporation of colonoscopes with a 170-degree wide angled could improve adenoma detection rate. The introduction of high definition (HD) colonoscopes and visual image enhancement technologies, such as narrow band imaging (NBI, Olympus America, Center Valley, PA), I-SCAN™ (Pentax Medical, Montvale, NJ) and Fuji Intelligent Chromo-Endoscopy (FICE™, Fujinon Endoscopy, Wayne, NJ) have improved the lesion characterization; however, several studies have failed to prove an increase in the adenoma detection rates. The Third Eye Retroscope (Avantis Medical Systems, Sunnyvale, CA) is a disposable retrograde viewing device advanced through the accessory channel of a standard colonoscope. It allows retrograde viewing behind colonic folds and flexures simultaneously with the forward view of the colon. Although it shows an increase in the adenoma detection rate by 11%-25%, it has many disadvantages. First, it requires a separate processor and the device is disposable, increasing the cost of the procedure. Second, it occupies the working channel of the colonoscope, limiting the ability to suction. Third, if a polyp is detected, the viewing device has to be removed in order to perform the polypectomy. Fourth, the optic is not high definition and finally, the endoscopist has to get used to visualizing and processing two simultaneous video streams from the colonoscopy and from the retroscope device.
to determine if primary prophylaxis with Endoscopic Ultrasound-Gallbladder Drainage (EUS-GBD) in unresectable cancer patients with the orifice of the cystic duct (OCD) involvement is superior to conservative management (Non EUS-guided gallbladder drainage).
The primary objective of this study is aimed at analyzing the ICU triage practices of clinicians at a cancer hospital with and without the use of an algorithm-based triage tool, and to assess whether or not the triage tool improves the consensus amongst practioners on the prioritization of patients for ICU admission. Secondary objectives include assessment of whether or not triage practices based on guidelines correlate with what is done in actual practice.
INTRODUCTION: Bleeding from gastric varices (GV) is associated with a high mortality rate. Injection of cyanoacrylate (CYA) using standard gastroscope has demonstrated to achieve higher hemostasis and lower rebleeding rates compared to band ligation or sclerotherapy. Nevertheless CYA treatment is known to be associated with significant adverse events. Pulmonary embolism due to CYA injection is a serious and sometimes fatal complication of this therapy. These patients usually have respiratory symptom, however this complication can be present in asymptomatic patients, being demonstrated only by a pathological CT scan. On the other hand, it has been described that the risk of glue embolism dependent on the volume of CYA injected, being significantly greater with high volumes. Other complications related to CYA injection are hemorrhage from injection site ulcers, fever, peritonitis, needle impaction, and even death. Also the injection material can cause serious damage to the endoscope. Currently, endoscopic injection of CYA can be performed by direct visualization using a standard gastroscope or guided by Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) with injection of CYA alone or in combination with coils. The injection of coils in conjunction with CYA may reduce or eliminate the risk of glue embolization as coils can function as a scaffold to retain CYA within the varix and may decrease the amount of glue injection needed to achieve obliteration. It has been previously demonstrated that treatment under EUS guidance may have some benefits. It allows a precise targeting of the varix lumen or afferent feeding veins, being the vessel obstructed with less amount of CYA than used for the "blind" injection by standard endoscopy, reducing the risk of glue embolism. EUS can confirm varix obliteration by Doppler effect and also the visualization of GV is not impaired by blood or food in the stomach, thus it can be used in the setting of active hemorrhage.
The investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with the Fundacion Raices, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with strong ties to the local community of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. A total of about 3,000 subjects will be involved in the full-scale study over the course of 2 years. In partnership with the Fundacion Raices, the research team will set up stands at four public places in the city of Esmeraldas: the "malecon" (esplanade on the town's waterfront), the "Centro Comercial Multiplaza" (Esmeraldas' large shopping mall), the municipal market (a popular destination for groceries, etc.), and a public park located in the city center. Each stand will feature a sign inviting individuals to stop and "get their health checked", and will provide free refreshments (juice boxes and water). A monitor will approach individuals at the malecon/shopping center/municipal market/public park and ask whether they are interested to learn about a health initiative by the Fundacion Raices and a group of public health researchers. If an individual is interested, the monitor will begin the three steps of the experiment: 1. Participants fill out a brief, anonymous survey with demographics, socio- economic characteristics, and whether they have been tested for HIV/AIDS in the past. 2. Participants receive the script and actions associated with the experimental condition into which they are assigned to according to the randomization table. There are three experimental conditions: T1 = "Information". T2 = "Active Choice". T3 = "Monetary incentive". 3. Whether participants subsequently showed up at a medical facility to get tested for HIV/AIDS is noted in the record.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most frequent gastrointestinal tumor and the second cause of cancer related death. Colonoscopy is currently the recommended method for detection of polyps and cancers in the colon. Removal of all adenomatous polyps during colonoscopy has become worldwide a standard procedure as it has been demonstrated to significantly reduce colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. It is routine practice to remove all the detected polyps for pathological evaluation, due to the low accuracy (59% to 84%) to differentiate non-neoplastic from neoplastic colorectal lesions with white-light endoscopy. The development of electronic or virtual chromoendoscopy (CE) has aimed to reliably predict histology of colorectal lesions based on endoscopic features. This technology differentiates between neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions base on the analysis of the neo-angiogenesis and the mucosal pit pattern. Optical endoscopic diagnosis allows the real-time evaluation of polyp histology during colonoscopy and to determine the appropriate therapeutic strategy. This is important in clinical practice, since adenomas or superficial invasive submucosal carcinoma lesions can be curatively treated by endoscopic removal, unlike deeply invasive carcinomas, which requires surgery. The Narrow-band imaging (NBI) international colorectal endoscopic (NICE) classification is validated classification system proposed as a valid tool for not only differentiating hyperplastic from adenomatous polyps, but also predicting submucosal deep (SM-d) carcinomas. It was developed based on NBI technology, leaving uncertainty on its applicability to other systems. It was previously evaluated the application of the NICE classification to Fujinon spectral Imaging Color Enhancement (FICE) technology founding suboptimal results (accuracy 77%, sensitivity 77% and specificity 75%) and moderate inter-observer agreement (kappa: 0.51).
Patients with cirrhosis have structural and functional alterations of the liver. The progressive deposition of hepatic fibrosis is related to the subsequent development of portal hypertension (PH), and PH is associated with mayor complications including ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and development of gastroesophageal varices with a high risk of bleeding. Variceal bleeding is a medical emergency associated with a 6-week mortality rate of approximately 10-20%. Liver biopsy is the gold standard for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis, whereas the measurement of hepatic vein pressure gradient (HVPG) is the standard to evaluate PH and upper endoscopy (UE) is the method of choice to detect the presence and grade of gastroesophageal varices. The last two also estimates the risk of variceal bleeding. Unfortunately, clinical investigation of PH implies HVPG measurement or endoscopy for esophageal varices (EV) screening and grading. The first one is an invasive technique, mainly restricted to tertiary centers, that requires personal training, increased health care costs and patient discomfort. The UE, even though has demonstrated utility to predict HVPG (HVPG value ≥ 10 mmHg predicts the presence of EV and a value ≥ 12 mmHg is predictive for variceal bleeding), has been criticized of being subjective. Because of this, alternative test including elastographic techniques, have been develop to assess the severity of PH, the presence of EVs and the risk of variceal bleeding. Elastography is a technique used to measure tissue elasticity and stiffness in real time, by the application of slight compression using a transducer to the targeted tissue. The principle is that tissue compression produces deformation (strain) and that the strain is smaller in harder tissue as compared to softer tissue. Consequently, by measuring the tissue strain induced by compression, it is possible to estimate the tissue hardness. Fibroscan® (FS) (Echosens, París, Francia) uses the principle of one-dimension transient elastography (TE) for the assessment of tissue stiffness. It was used initially for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and proved to be reliable for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and avoid liver biopsy in 90% of cases. Also LSM by TE accurately correlates with the severity of PH and the presence of esophageal varices.