Facultad De Medicina Research Articles

Breaking the gender barrier: a study on enrollment trends in medical specialties at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Objective. To analyzes the gender gap among residents enrolled in the medical specialization program of the Graduate Division at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Facultad de Medicina. Materials and methods. We conducted a descriptive observational study of students registered in all 78 medical specialties offered by UNAM over a period of 7 years (2015-2022) at approximately 161 hospitals in Mexico. Results. A total of 79 175 students were studied, we observed a predominance of women 51.69%, compared to 48.30% men. In medical specialties, we found a predominance of women of 57.33%, in contrast to surgical specialties with 44.76% women. The specialties with the most women enrolled were dermatology, neonatology, pediatrics, gynecology, and psychiatry. In men, the specialties with the most enrollment were general surgery, cardiology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery among others. Conclusion. Women predominance is observed in some medical specialties, especially those that require caregiving tasks. However, a gap remains between men and women, particularly in surgical specialties and in higher decision-making positions. We suggest extending support networks to include men as well as women.

First record of Damalinia caprae (Gurlt, 1843) and Linognathus africanus (Kelogg and Paine, 1911) (Insecta: Phthiraptera) in small ruminants from Cuajinicuilapa, Guerrero, Mexico

This study reports for the first time the lice species infesting small ruminants of three communities of Cuajinicuilapa, Guerrero, Mexico. The lice were manually collected from sheep and goats, deposited in vials containing 70% alcohol, and transported to the Parasitology Laboratory at the Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia N° 2. For identification, the specimens were cleared in potassium hydroxide (KOH) at 10%, dried, and mounted on slides. A total of 789 lice were collected from goats and sheep. Two lice species, D. caprae and L. africanus were identified, making D. caprae the most prevalent. No other species were identified parasitizing the sampled animals. It is suggested to do more research to determine prevalence, incidence, and affections in the productive and reproductive parameters; as well as, to determine the possible role of the identified lice in the transmission of microorganisms with medical and veterinary importance.

Pathological findings and their association with diseases of captive psittacine birds native to Mexico

The captivity and use of native psittacine birds is prohibited in Mexico. However, as these birds are among the groups most affected by illegal trafficking, they are commonly found as companion animals. Nevertheless, it is difficult to obtain information on their health. Therefore, a retrospective study was conducted of the clinical histories and necropsy reports of native psittacines that had been submitted to the Bird Disease Diagnostic and Research Laboratory of the Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, from 2006 to 2017. The lesions were classified according to type and anatomical location and the diseases were classified as infectious or non-infectious. During this period, 252 psittacines were submitted, the most frequent of which were the red-lored parrot (Amazona autumnalis), orange-fronted parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis) and scarlet macaw (Ara macao). The lesions were primarily located in the digestive and respiratory systems. By integrating the clinical histories and post-mortem findings, we concluded that nutritional disorders were the most frequent non-infectious diseases, systemic bacterial infections were the most frequent infectious conditions, the primary parasite was Sarcocystis spp and the most frequent neoplasm was multicentric lymphoma.

Construcción de un ecosistema digital como apoyo en la implementación del nuevo plan de estudios de la Facultad de Medicina

This article describes the process of constructing a digital ecosystem to support the implementation of the EPPENS 2022 curriculum plan, which allows for monitoring the curriculum competencies of students and teaching competencies of professors during the medical training process at the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), with the purpose of generating and substantiating actions that are in favor of teaching, learning, evaluation, and school management processes. The platform was designed using the PHP programming language and the MySQL database management system. Keywords: TICs; digital tool; competences; students; teachers; teaching

Informática biomédica; desarrollo e integración en el proceso educativo de la comunidad FACMED

Biomedical Informatics is a recently incorporated discipline in the Curriculum of the Medical Surgeon Career 2010 (UNAM, 2009) that aims to train physicians who use clinical reasoning, handle, analyze, and apply information, critical thinking, information and communication technologies to solve health problems with professionalism and an ethical and humanistic attitude1. To achieve this, the Biomedical Informatics department consists of three major coordinations that, by combining efforts, have continuously innovated the teaching of the subject, provided digital solutions to the community of the Facultad de Medicina, and promoted the development of innovative projects to improve medical care. Keywords: Biomedical informatics; teaching; evaluation; FacMed research; development; implementation; innovation.

Redes neuronales de apoyo en la docencia bajo Moodle para predicción de deserción y reprobación escolar

Artificial Intelligence (AI) designs computer tools that simulate human intelligence processes, including learning, reasoning, and selfcorrection. In the educational field, AI facilitates the evaluation of student progress thro ugh neural networks that adjust tests to previously achieved achievements. The purpose of this work was to design an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) that will analyze the performance of students in the subject of Biomedical Informatics I at the Facultad de Medicina of the UNAM in order to estimate the probabilities of passing, failing, and dropping out. Materials and methods: A neural network was designed in Python, consisting of 3 fully connected layers, using performance information from approximately 2000 students in the Moodle platform for Biomedical Informatics I during 2019, 2020, and 2021 at the Facultad de Medicina of UNAM. The neural network was trained to estimate the probable performance of the students, executing 2500 epochs with a mean absolute error level of 0.0158. A kappa accuracy rate of 0.947 was obtained through a confusión matrix when classifying between passing and failing grades. For visualization, a web system with a traffic light system was designed to allow evaluation and teaching coordinators from the Department of Biomedical Informatics to consult the results obtained from the network. Discussion: The network must continue to be fed with controlled data, meaning data that is specifically worked for the network’s training, since the quality of the data in the input directly determines the quality of the data obtained at the end of the process, affecting the network’s objective attainment. Conclusion: There is still much to learn and work to be done, but the interdisciplinary effort will allow us to improve our system and ultimately support the educational process of future doctors in the best way possible. Keywords: Neural networks; education; Moodle; dropout; failure; AI; machine learning.

(2952) Proposal to conserve the name Coccidioides posadasii against Posadasia esferiformis, Coccidium posadasi, Pseudococcidioides mazzae, Geotrichum louisianoideum, Glenospora meteuropea, Glenospora metamericana and Trichosporon proteolyticum (Ascomycota)

(2952) Proposal to conserve the name <i>Coccidioides posadasii</i> against <i>Posadasia esferiformis</i>, <i>Coccidium posadasi</i>, <i>Pseudococcidioides mazzae</i>, <i>Geotrichum louisianoideum</i>, <i>Glenospora meteuropea</i>, <i>Glenospora metamericana</i> and <i>Trichosporon proteolyticum</i> (<i>Ascomycota</i>)

Raptor y la importancia de accidentes de tránsito

Mr. Editor of the Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana, Lima, Peru I am writing to you, in relation to the review article "Association between the time of pre-hospital care and hospital mortality in victims of traffic accidents" published in 2020 Volume 20, number 01. In the aforementioned work, by M.J.G. Fernandez Sandoval et al., highlight the existence of a significant association between the time of prehospital care and mortality, with which I agree and express that it is of vital importance, even a good level of prehospital education can be applied in the specific topic of traffic accidents, since it represents an important health problem and is a priority in research.

Alimentos con función antioxidante y sus repercusiones en la retinopatía diabética

Mr. Editor: I had the opportunity to review an article published in the first edition of the journal of the Facultad de Medicina Humana de la Universidad Ricardo Palma this year, which is entitled consumption of foods rich in antioxidants in outpatients with diabetic retinopathy at the hospital la carlota during 2021, identified with DOI n° 10.25176/RFMH.v22i1.4121 and written by Raquel Martínez-Kurata, et al., where they sought to find the amount of antioxidant consumption focusing on vitamins C, E and selenium in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR), which managed to capture my attention and aroused my curiosity, motivating me to seek more information about it. Let me comment on some points of view in common with the authors.

Dieta deficiente en frutas y riesgo de cáncer colorrectal

Sr. Editor After reading the article by Lobato-Jeri, C et al. which is entitled "Clinical surgical characteristics of patients aged 75 years or older colostomized in the national hospital Edgardo Rebagliati Martins with DOI: 10.25176/RFMH.v16.n2.667, published in 2016, in your prestigious journal of Facultad de medicina humana de la Universidad Ricardo Palma, I must say that it has been a pleasure to have studied it, because it deals with a very relevant topic for the public health of our country. This study covers the characteristics that exist in elderly patients who underwent colostomy surgery. What caught my attention was that, of the patients analyzed in their publication, a large percentage (42.11%) had unresectable colorectal cancer that caused intestinal obstruction, which led them to have a colostomy.

New indexing of Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana: Harvard Library and DRJI

The Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana de la Universidad Ricardo Palma (RFMH) reaches a momentous career achievement when indexed in the prestigious Harvard Library and the Directory of Research Journals Indexing (DRJI). This indexing reflects the journal's firm commitment to advancing medical science and public health through rigorous, high-quality publication.

Indicadores de gestión en investigación 2022

Given the importance of the research component to respond to phenomena and problems demanded by society, At Universidad Ricardo Palma, research has been fostered and promoted as an institutional policy. The Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas, which reports to the Rectorate and is integrated into the Facultad de Medicina Humana, has been working to contribute substantially to this growth in research. The research is directly related to the quality processes of higher education, innovation, extension, linking, licensing, accreditation, and finally, the ranking of universities. As is evident, the research is linked to the present and the future of universities. Therefore, measuring the impact of research is essential because educational institutions are and must be permanent generators of intellectual property, knowledge and human resources, which impact the educational, scientific, economic and social sectors.

Treatment Patterns and Survival of Patients with Relapsed and Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma in Latin America

Alana von Glasenapp, MD1. Luis Villela,MD2,3,4. Henry Idrobo,MD5. Perla Colunga, MD6. Fernando Perez-Jacobo, MD7. Arianna Robles-Rodriguez, MD8. Rosa Oliday Rios, MD9. Diego Fernando Garces Paz, MD10. Denisse Castro Uriol,MD11,12. Sally Paredes, MD 11,12. Brady Beltran Garate, MD11,12. Ana Carolina Oliver Solimano, MD13. Victoria Irigoin, MD14. Alejandro Ospina-Idarraga, MD MSc15,16Humberto Martinez-Cordero, MD MSc15,16. 1Hospital Central Instituto de Prevision Social, Asuncion,Paraguay. 2Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa Facultad de Medicina, Sinaloa,Mexico. 3Hospital Fernando Ocaranza. ISSSTE, Hermosillo, Sonora Mexico. 4Centro Medico Dr. Ignacio Chavez. ISSSTESON, Hermosillo, Sonora,Mexico. 5Prof. Universidad del Valle,Cali,Colombia. 6Servicio de Hematología, Hospital Universitario, UANL, Monterrey Nuevo León,Mexico. 7Hospital Central Norte PEMEX, Ciudad de México, Mexico. 8Hospital General de Occidente, Servicio hematología, SSA, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. 9Prof auxiliar Hospital Hermanos Ameijeira. Havanna,Cuba. 10Universidad del Cauca,Colombia. 11Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, EsSalud, Lima Peru. 12Centro de Medicina de Precisión Universidad San Martin de Porres,Lima, Perú. 13Hospital Britanico y Casmu,Montevideo,Uruguay. 14Casmu y Cosem,Montevideo,Uruguay. 15Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Bogota, Colombia. 16Master Program in Epidemiology-Universidad del Bosque, Bogota, Colombia. On Behalf of GELL (Grupo de estudio Latinoamericano de Linfoma)Background The standard of care (SOC) in first relapse/refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma (r/rHL) is salvage therapy, including high-dose chemotherapy (HDT) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). This treatment approach has been shown to improve event-free survival (EFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) in controlled clinical trials. This study aims to determine the treatment patterns and outcomes of patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma in Latin America. Materials y Methods Here we present a retrospective international study of patients diagnosed with R/R HL treated at 16 centers in seven countries between 2010 and 2020. Results We found 142 patients with R/R disease fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Clinical characteristics are shown in table 1. Platinum-based regimens were the most widely used, followed by gemcitabine-based regimens and only 36 patients proceeded with ASCT (25.4%). Patients who ultimately did undergo ASCT had the best progression-free survival compared with those who did not. The median progression-free survival for the entire cohort was 17 months (95% CI 8.2-25.7). Progression-free survival for those patients who underwent ASCT was 40 months (95% CI 28-52), and for those who did not proceed to ASCT, it was only 12 months (95% CI 8-16). In the multivariate analysis, the only independent predictor of better survival was having proceeded with the transplant HR: 0.393 p= 0.030 (95% CI 0.17 -0.91). Conclusion Our retrospective study showed that access to ASCT is limited in Latin America, and the survival is lower than reported in the literature. The ASCT is essential for achieving a potential cure in R / RHL patients with the chemotherapy-sensitive disease. Health systems must guarantee access to transplantation for all patients who are candidates for this therapy. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

A scientific methodology course for advanced medical students: an eight-year perspective

Background: Exponential increases in the development of medical knowledge, the expansion of areas where medicine develops its activities, the emergence of new pathologies (e.g., COVID-19), novel diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies, together with the appearance of multiple communication and information technologies, determined that the education of future physicians required targeted training in scientific methodology. Methods: The design and execution of a course in scientific methodology in the curriculum of Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, is described. The course is carried out at an advanced stage of the medical studies for all the students, in which they develop a 10-month research project supervised by the medical school faculty. Students undergo all stages of a research endeavor: generation of hypothesis or general aim, elaboration of a research protocol, submission to the Research Ethics and Animal Welfare Committees, data recollection, analysis, interpretation and publication of the results. Results: The course is undertaken at the Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, the main university of the country, with high numbers of students enrolled. The course involves the participation of 600 students and up to 300 professors per year, which implies a huge institutional effort. Conclusions: The scientific methodology course resulted in one of the most important incorporations of the current 2008 curriculum. Local students, faculty and international evaluators have qualified this activity as an educational breakthrough, being a gratifying and productive experience. The course represented the first exposure of medical students to the research methodology, scientific literature and publication rules, and emphasized the dynamic nature of medical knowledge within modern medical education. Moreover, for some students it constituted the onset of academic research careers. An additional positive outcome was the reactivation of some faculty research projects, in a way that largely exceeded the boundaries of the course.

El golpe de la pandemia a la salud mental en estudiantes universitarios

Mr. Editor I have read carefully and with great interest, the article called Anxiety level of first-year medical students from a private university in Peru in times of Covid-191 by Saravia-Bartra et al. published in the journal of the Facultad de Medicina Humana URP where the grade of anxiety present among freshman medical students of a private university is presented. Let me complement the information given in this new article by exposing some factors that can predispose to this condition. The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to the physical and mental health and well-being of entire societies that have been severely affected by this crisis, and this is a priority that must be urgently addressed Adversities related to socioeconomic consequences, fear of The virus, and its spread, as well as the associated concerns, have a significant impact on mental health and this may be greater in certain groups such as medical students and may be aggravated by different factors.

A scientific methodology course for advanced medical students: an eight-year perspective

Background: Exponential increases in the development of medical knowledge, the expansion of areas where medicine develops its activities, the emergence of new pathologies ( e.g., COVID-19), novel diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies, together with the appearance of multiple communication and information technologies, determined that the education of future physicians required targeted training in scientific methodology. Methods: The design and execution of a course in scientific methodology in the curriculum of Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, is described. The course is carried out at an advanced stage of the medical studies for all the students, in which they develop a 10-month research project supervised by the medical school faculty. Students undergo all stages of a research endeavor: generation of hypothesis, elaboration of a research protocol, submission to the Research Ethics and Animal Welfare Committees, data recollection, analysis, interpretation and publication of the results. Results: The course is undertaken at the Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, the main university of the country, with high numbers of students enrolled. The course involves the participation of 600 students and up to 300 professors per year, which implies a huge institutional effort Conclusions: The scientific methodology course resulted in one of the most important incorporations of the current 2008 curriculum. Local students, faculty and international evaluators have qualified this activity as an educational breakthrough, being a gratifying and productive experience. The course represented the first exposure of medical students to the research methodology, scientific literature and publication rules, and emphasized the dynamic nature of medical knowledge within modern medical education. Moreover, for some students it constituted the onset of academic research careers. An additional positive outcome was the reactivation of some faculty research projects, in a way that largely exceeded the boundaries of the course.

Nutritional composition of Rhynchophorus palmarum L. 1758 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae in palm trees of the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo, Mexico

Objective: To determinate the nutritional composition of larvae of the Rhynchophorus palmarum L. 1758 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) beetle in palm trees of the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo, Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: In January 2020, 250g of South American Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus palmarum) larvae were collected from damaged Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis). The larvae were gathered at the Universidad Politécnica de Francisco I. Madero, located in Tepatepec, Hidalgo, Mexico. They were placed in a plastic jar and later in a freezer for conservation and transportation to the Departamento de Nutrición Animal y Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where their nutritional composition was evaluated by proximate chemical analysis. Results: In their proximate composition, the larvae of R. palmarum presented a protein concentration of 25.52% (dry basis) and of 9.04% (wet basis), ether extract of 19.77%, dry matter of 35.74%, humidity of 64.26%, ashes of 0.70%, crude fiber of 1.64%, nitrogen-free extract of 4.58%, calcium of 0.20%, and phosphorus of 0.31%. Study Limitations/Implications: No previous research about the use of this insect as human food in Mexico was found. Findings/Conclusions: We conclude that these larvae can be exploited for human and livestock food (as a protein and energy supplement) and even to enrich and prepare conventional foods for society.

La Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana en el Scielo Citation Index de Web Of Science

Today we have the honor and joy of sharing with the scientific and university community that the "Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana" is part of the prestigious collection "Scielo Citation index" of Web of Science (WoS ). Scientific journals have become the first instrument and vehicle of scientific communication. Furthermore, periodic scientific publications are known and recognized by the scientific community based on their editorial quality, their degree of visibility and their levels of impact on scientific production, measured both by citations in other publications and by their presence in alternative metrics.

Role of echocardiography to avoid misclassification of pulmonary hypertension associated with left heart disease as precapillary pulmonary hypertension

Abstract Background The proportion of patients (pts) diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) at a more advanced age and/or with more risk factors for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is increasing. Therefore, it can be challenging to differentiate PH associated with left heart disease (PH-LHD, PHpost) from other precapillary forms of PH (PHpre). Purpose We analyzed the performance of the Opotowsky (OS), D'Alto (DS), and simplified D'Alto (sDS) echocardiographic scores according to the pretest probability (before right heart catheterization – RHC) of PH-LHD in pts with suspected PH submitted to RHC to identify the hemodynamic phenotype. Methods 37 consecutive stable pts (3/2018–3/2020) with a tricuspid regurgitation peak velocity &amp;gt;2.8 m/s were prospectively included (21F, 49±17 yrs). Blinded transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 2 hours of RHC. We assessed OS (−2 to 2 points) and DS/sDS (0 to 34/7 points). We estimated cardiac index (thermodilution) and hemodynamic parameters using standard formulas. If PA occlusion pressure (PAOP) cannot properly be measured at end-expiration, we assessed left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). PH was defined as a mean PA pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mmHg. PAOP/LVEDP &amp;gt;15 mmHg defined PHpost. If the PAOP/LVEDP was between 13–15 mmHg in an I pt, a volume challenge was done. We categorized pts according to the pretest probability of PH-LHD proposed in the 6th WSPH based on the combination of 7 noninvasive variables (age, presence of CV comorbidities, presence of current or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, prior cardiac intervention, presence of structural LHD, presence of left bundle branch/LV hypertrophy or RV strain in ECG, presence of left atrial dilatation/grade &amp;gt;2 mitral flow in Echo). The individual average probability was calculated by assigning a score of 1, 2, and 3 for each variable (1 = low (L), 2 = intermediate (I), and 3 = high (H) probability) rounding the average of the sum of values allocated for each variable to the nearest integer. Nonparametric ROC plots assessed the performance of echo-scores. Results All pts had PH. 19 pts showed PHpost, 10/19 with PVR &amp;gt;3Wu (Combined PHpost). All scores were lower in PHpost compared to PHpre pts (p&amp;lt;0.05) (Table 1). ROC area was &amp;gt;0.9 with a similar Youden index (0.83) among the three scores (p&amp;lt;0.05) (Figure 1). 17 PHpost with H pts were correctly identified by all scores (94–100%). In 15 PHpre with L pts OS performed better than DS/sDS (93 vs. 80%). In 3 PHpre and 2 PHpost with I pts, DS/sDS performed better than OS (100 vs. 80%). Conclusion The use of simple echo-scores could facilitate the screening of the hemodynamic phenotype in pts with PH, regardless of the pretest probability of PH-LHD. D'Alto scores might have some advantage compared to OS to classify the intermediate pretest probability of PH pts correctly. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Centro Cardiovascular Universitario. Hospital de Clínicas. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad de la República Table 1. Echo &amp; Hemodynamic DataFigure 1. ROC curves of Echo scores

Telmisartan for treatment of Covid-19 patients: An open multicenter randomized clinical trial.

BackgroundAngiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), such as telmisartan, have been postulated to treat Covid-19-induced lung inflammation.MethodsThis is a parallel-group, randomized, two-arm, open-label, adaptive, multicenter superiority trial with 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants included patients from 18 years of age hospitalized with Covid-19 with 4 or fewer days since symptom onset enrolled at a university and a community hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Exclusion criteria included prior intensive care unit (ICU) admission and use of ARBs/angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors at randomization. Control arm received standard care alone and treatment arm telmisartan 80 mg twice daily for 14 days. Primary outcomes were C-reactive protein (CRP) plasma levels at day 5 and 8 after randomization. Secondary outcomes included time to discharge within 15 days, admission to ICU and death at 15- and 30-days. NCT04355936 (Completed).FindingsA pragmatic decision to end the study before the third interim analysis was made on Oct. 30th due to sharp reduction in recruitment. A total of 162 patients were randomized. 158 patients enrolled between May 14 and October 30 2020, were included in the analysis, 80 in the standard care and 78 in the telmisartan added to standard care group. Baseline absolute CRP serum levels were 5.53 ± 6.19 mg/dL (95% CI 6.91 to 4.15, n = 80) and 9.04 ± 7.69 (95% CI 9.04 to 10.82, n = 74) in the standard care and telmisartan added to standard care groups, respectively. Day 5 control-group CRP levels were 6.06 ± 6.95 mg/dL (95% CI 7.79–4.35, n = 66) while telmisartan group were 3.83 ± 5.08 mg/dL (95% CI 5.08–2.59, n = 66, p = 0.038). Day 8 CRP levels were 6.30 ± 8.19 mg/dL (95% CI 8.79–3.81, n = 44) and 2.37 ± 3.47 mg/dL (95% CI 3.44–1.30, n = 43, p = 0.0098) in the control and telmisartan groups, respectively (all values expressed as mean ± SD). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that telmisartan-treated patients had a lower median time-to-discharge (control=15 days; telmisartan=9 days). Death by day 30 was reduced in the telmisartan-treated group (control 22.54%, 16/71; telmisartan 4.29%, 3/70 participants; p = 0.0023). Composite ICU, mechanical ventilation or death was reduced by telmisartan treatment at days 15 and 30. No adverse events were reported.InterpretationOur study suggests that the ARB telmisartan, a widely used antihypertensive drug, is safe and could reduce morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients infected with SARS -CoV-2 by anti-inflammatory effects. Further studies employing telmisartan are needed for confirmation of our results and to define its true therapeutic value as a tool against Covid-19.