Browsing by Author "Matus, Patricia"
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Item Evaluating the Efficacy of Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy for Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder with Blushing Complaints: A Comparison with Sertraline and No Treatment—Santiago de Chile 2003–2009(2011) Jadresic, Enrique; Súarez, Claudio; Palacios, Estela; Palacios, Fernanda; Matus, PatriciaObjective: No study has yet compared the efficacy of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for treating facial blushing with other treatment or no treatment. We conducted a prospective, observational, open-label, clinical study to compare endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for blushing with generalized social anxiety disorder versus sertraline treatment and no treatment. Method: Three-hundred and thirty consecutive patients seeking treatment for their blushing were assessed by psychiatric interview and patient-rated scales. The Brief Social Phobia Scale was the primary outcome measure. Patients meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for generalized social anxiety disorder, scoring 20 points or more in the Brief Social Phobia Scale and 19 points or more in the Social Phobia Inventory were considered eligible and followed up for a mean of 11 months (range 1-64) after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy or initiation of sertraline. Results: At baseline, 97 percent of the endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy-treated group, 87 percent of the sertraline-treated group, and 78 percent of the nontreated group rated their blushing as being "severe" or "extreme." At follow up, 16 percent of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy-treated patients, 32 percent of sertraline-treated patients, and 57 percent of untreated patients reported this degree of blushing. At endpoint, Brief Social Phobia Scale total scores exhibited a greater decline with either treatment than with no treatment. Nonetheless, in comparison to no treatment, only the results obtained with endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy achieved statistical significance (p=0.003). Compensatory sweating occurred in 99 percent of patients who underwent endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. High degrees of satisfaction with treatment were reported by 89 percent of patients undergoing endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy and by 59 percent of patients taking medication. Conclusion: Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy was associated to a greater reduction of blushing and Brief Social Phobia Scale scores, and higher degrees of satisfaction with treatment, in comparison to sertraline and no treatment.Publication Towards closing socio-economic status disparities in COVID-19 premature mortality: a nationwide and trend analysis in Chile(2024) Maureira, Lea; Urquidi,Cinthya; Sepulveda, Alejandro; Soto, Mario; Matus, PatriciaBackground: Socio-economic status (SES) disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality have been reported but complete information and time trends are scarce. In this study, we analysed the years of life lost (YLL) due to COVID-19 premature mortality during the pandemic in Chile and its evolution according to SES and sex compared with a counterfactual scenario [cerebrovascular accidents (stroke)]. Method: We used Chile's national mortality databases from 2020 to 2022. YLL and age-standardized YLL and mortality rates by sex and by epidemic waves were determined. The 346 communes were stratified into SES groups according to their poverty index quintile. Negative binomial regression models were used to test trends. Results: In >2 years of the pandemic, the COVID-19 YLL was 975 937, corresponding to 61 174 deaths. The YLL rate per 100 000 inhabitants was 1027 for males and 594 for females. There was a heterogeneous distribution of YLL rates and the regional level. Communes in the most advantaged SES quintile (Q5) had the highest YLL during the first wave compared with those in the lowest SES quintile (Q1) (P < 0.001) but the opposite was true during the second wave. COVID-19 YLL trends declined and differences between Q1 and Q2 vs Q5 converged from the second to the fourth waves (0.33 and 0.15, Ptrend < 0.001 and Ptrend = 0.024). YLL declined but differences persisted in stroke (-0.002, Ptrend = 0.979).