Latin American Society Research Articles

2024 Latin American Society of Hypertension guidelines on the management of arterial hypertension and related comorbidities in Latin America.

Hypertension is responsible for more than two million deaths due to cardiovascular disease annually in Latin America (LATAM), of which one million occurs before 70 years of age. Hypertension is the main risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, affecting between 20 and 40% of LATAM adults. Since the publication of the 2017 LASH hypertension guidelines, reports from different LATAM countries have confirmed the burden of hypertension on cardiovascular disease events and mortality in the region. Many studies in the region have reported and emphasized the dramatically insufficient blood pressure control. The extremely low rates of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, particularly in patients with metabolic disorders, is a recognized severe problem in LATAM. Earlier implementation of antihypertensive interventions and management of all cardiovascular risk factors is the recognized best strategy to improve the natural history of cardiovascular disease in LATAM. The 2024 LASH guidelines have been developed by a large group of experts from internal medicine, cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, general medicine, geriatrics, pharmacology, and epidemiology of different countries of LATAM and Europe. A careful search for novel studies on hypertension and related diseases in LATAM, together with the new evidence that emerged since the 2017 LASH guidelines, support all statements and recommendations. This update aims to provide clear, concise, accessible, and useful recommendations for health professionals to improve awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and associated cardiovascular risk factors in the region.

The Latin American Society for Immunodeficiencies Registry.

Purpose - The Latin American Society of Immunodeficiencies (LASID) Registry was established in 2009 to collect data on Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) patients in the region. Although several reports have been published regarding LASID data, this is the first report of the entire dataset. Methods - The European Society of Immunodeficiencies (ESID) donated the online platform in 2008. Data was collected from participating centers from Apr 13, 2009, to Dec 31, 2022, and included demographic, clinical, and follow-up information. Results - A total of 9307 patients were included in the database. At the end of the study period, 8,805 patients were alive or lost to follow-up, and 502 were deceased. The most common type of IEI was predominantly antibody deficiency (PAD, 60.35%), and selective IgA deficiency was the most frequent diagnosis (1627 patients, 17.48%), followed by Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID, 1191 patients). Most patients (78.16%) were ≤ 18 years old at inclusion, and the median age at diagnosis was 4.77 years. The median time to diagnosis was 5.04 years. Antibiotics were prescribed in 32.3% of visits, followed by immunoglobulins (29.49% ). Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was performed in 5.03% of patients. Omenn syndrome was the most common disease in deceased patients, with a mortality rate of 52.63%. Conclusion - This study contributes to our understanding of IEIs in Latin America and highlights the importance of early diagnosis, appropriate treatments, and improved data collection to optimize patient outcome.

Religious references in political campaigning: a comparative analysis of Latin America and Western Europe on social media

The relationship between religion and politics is receiving increasing attention in political science, although the focus is often on voter attitudes. Despite secularization trends, scholars expect a resurgence of religion in Western European party politics, where Christianity as a native identity is opposed to non-native Islam by populist radical right parties. In this context, it is primarily hostility toward other religious groups that structures religious elements in political communication. In most Latin American societies, religiosity plays a much greater role for individuals, which is reflected in the discourses of political elites who use genuine religious references to appeal to religious voters (“sacralization of politics”). Using data from my own recent research on content analysis of parties’ and candidates’ Facebook profiles, this article compares how political actors in Latin America and Western Europe use religious references in electoral campaigns and how salient these discourses are. The results help to explain the different prominence of religious discourses in different democratic regions and religious markets. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of religion in 21st century politics.

Innovations in blood pressure measurement and reporting technology: International Society of Hypertension position paper endorsed by the World Hypertension League, European Society of Hypertension, Asian Pacific Society of Hypertension, and Latin American Society of Hypertension.

Blood pressure (BP) is a key contributor to the lifetime risk of preclinical organ damage and cardiovascular disease. Traditional clinic-based BP readings are typically measured infrequently and under standardized/resting conditions and therefore do not capture BP values during normal everyday activity. Therefore, current hypertension guidelines emphasize the importance of incorporating out-of-office BP measurement into strategies for hypertension diagnosis and management. However, conventional home and ambulatory BP monitoring devices use the upper-arm cuff oscillometric method and only provide intermittent BP readings under static conditions or in a limited number of situations. New innovations include technologies for BP estimation based on processing of sensor signals supported by artificial intelligence tools, technologies for remote monitoring, reporting and storage of BP data, and technologies for BP data interpretation and patient interaction designed to improve hypertension management ("digital therapeutics"). The number and volume of data relating to new devices/technologies is increasing rapidly and will continue to grow. This International Society of Hypertension position paper describes the new devices/technologies, presents evidence relating to new BP measurement techniques and related indices, highlights standard for the validation of new devices/technologies, discusses the reliability and utility of novel BP monitoring devices, the association of these metrics with clinical outcomes, and the use of digital therapeutics. It also highlights the challenges and evidence gaps that need to be overcome before these new technologies can be considered as a user-friendly and accurate source of novel BP data to inform clinical hypertension management strategies.

International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Global Mapping Program: Analysis of healthcare centers in countries of the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP).

The International Society of Paediatric Oncology Society Global Mapping Program aims to describe the local pediatric oncology capacities. Here, we report the data from Latin America. A 10-question survey was distributed among chairs of pediatric oncology services. Centers were classified according to patient volume into high- (HVC; 100 or more new cases per year), medium- (MVC; 31-99 cases), and low-volume centers (LVC; 30 cases or less), respectively. National referral centers (NRC) were identified. Total 307 centers in 20 countries were identified (271 responded), and 264 responses were evaluable, accounting for 78% of the expected cases (21,359 cases per year). Seventy-seven percent of patients are treated in public centers, including additional support by civil society organizations. We found that 66% of the patients are treated in 70 centers of excellence, including 21 NRC. There was a median of one pediatric oncologist every 21 newly diagnosed patients (44 for NRC), and in 84% of the centers, nurses rotated to other services. A palliative care team was lacking in 25% of the centers. LVC with public funding have significantly lower probability of having a palliative care team or trained pediatric oncology surgeons. Psychosocial, pharmacy, and nutrition services were available in more than 93% of the centers. No radiotherapy facility was available on campus in nine of 21 NRC. Most children with cancer in Latin America are treated in public HVC. There is a scarcity of pediatric oncologists, specialized nurses and surgeons, and palliative care teams, especially in centers with public funding.

The “Indios” of Spain and the Mexican Revolution: Racial Ideologies and the Labor of Internationalist Solidarity

This article examines the influence of the Mexican Revolution (1906–40) on Spanish anarchists’ views on racial and class solidarity. Whereas recent transnational studies of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) have highlighted the conflict's lingering imprint on Latin American politics and society, this essay explores why Spanish anarchists interpreted the Mexican Revolution as an insurrection led by Mexico's Indigenous communities. It argues that such readings of the conflict, most of which were advanced by non-Indigenous revolutionaries, both challenged and reinforced racialized notions of social and political upheaval. This article therefore demonstrates how these views challenged orthodox interpretations of social revolution while exposing the obstacles to building internationalist solidarity among laboring classes in postimperial and postcolonial societies.

Até onde vamos?

This article presents some initial contributions on (re) thinking the major challenges facing Latin American society, reconstructing its historical features and its contemporary challenges. It also presents possible ways of reconstructing the present and the possibility of reconverting to ways of life, cultures and values that have their roots in ancestral peoples. It looks to Good Living, Food Sovereignty and agroecology, the principles of which are in line with the teachings announced by Pope Francis in his encyclicals Fratelli Tutti and Laudatto Si, for hope of a better world. This world will only be possible if it is based on Fraternity and Social Friendship and on deep respect for our Common Home and those who live in it.

From Civilization to Barbarism in El ciudadano ilustre : The Return of a Latin American Paradigm?

The aim of this article is to have an in-depth look at how the nineteenth-century paradigm of civilización y barbarie , predominant in Latin America, is represented in the film El ciudadano ilustre/ The Distinguished Citizen (2016), an Argentine film directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. A fictional account of an Argentine writer’s life after winning the Nobel Prize, it has a highly ambiguous ending. I argue that the film establishes a dialogic link with classics of Latin American literature such as Esteban Echeverría’s ‘El Matadero’ (1871) and Jorge Luis Borges’ ‘El Sur’ (1953), and Facundo by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, laying bare the unresolved tension between civilización and barbarie in contemporary Argentina and broader Latin American society. A close analysis of El ciudadano ilustre shows that, at least in Latin America, oppositional concepts have all but died, thus challenging the postmodern trend of dissolving them along with other supposedly outdated binarisms (such as urban v. rural, centre v. periphery.). Simultaneously, the film uses metafiction as a postmodern strategy to deal critically with the dichotomy.

The Chilean War

The tragic outcome of the Popular Unity (UP) government led by Salvador Allende marked a turning point in the history of Latin American societies. The destruction of the continent's most vigorous and organized socialist movement put an end to the reformist political agenda aimed at overcoming the economic, social, and cultural foundations perpetuating underdevelopment and external dependency in the region. The defeat of the Chilean revolution coincided with significant transformations triggered by the structural crisis of capital. It signified the conclusion of the long cycle of post-war capitalist development and the beginning of a process of globalization in business encouraged by major transnational corporations. The exhaustion of Fordism, the crisis of the Welfare State, and the failure of Keynesianism initiated a period of sustained capital offensive against labor and public policies.

LAS CONFIGURACIONES DE LA MEMORIA EN LA NOVELA INDIGENISTA LA SERPIENTE DE ORO

The present work has the purpose of planting the configurations of memory in the novel La Serpiente de Oro, by the Peruvian author Ciro Alegría, considering the Latin American indigenist movement, its context and importance, especially in Peru, seeking to highlight primarily the changes in the political scenario and social development of Latinoamérica, and the more active participation of indigenous peoples in Latin American society during the 19th century. In this way, with the aim of understanding the field of the literary production of the indigenist movement, Indigenism, the investigation is based on conjectures of anthropologists and historians such as Menezes (2015), who in the light of Baud (2003) support the conjecture of that Indigenism was a political and literary movement. In addition, this investigation analyzes the memorialistic questions in the previously mentioned narrative, considering, for example, the assumptions of Maurice Halbwachs in “A Memoria Coletiva” (2006). The literary critic manifests the idea that memory, when at a certain moment it is lost in new societies, the only way to keep them safe is through a narrative. In this sense, the indigenist soap operas, as well as the (authentic) indigenist movement, had the function of keeping indigenous memories safe, because it considers the reality of the indigenous person, as a man of the land.

Fermented beverages among indigenous Latin American societies

Fermented beverages among indigenous Latin American societies

Del androcentrismo hacia un nuevo enfoque de la transversalización de la perspectiva de género a través de la Corte Interamericana

The primary goal of this research is to introduce a new approach to mainstreaming gender perspective, which includes not only women and girls but also the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) population. The study begins by examining the androcentric view of society, which has fostered its heteronormativity and patriarchal system. It then explores the evolution of the concepts of gender perspective and gender identity. Finally, the analysis evaluates judgments and advisory opinions issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) on matters concerning non-discrimination, sexual orientation, family, work, and equal protection under the law. These legal decisions establish reparative actions to safeguard and advance the rights of vulnerable groups. The study also aims to underscore the reparative measures concerning non-repetition guarantees, which the Inter-American Court advocates to promote mechanisms and public policies that States must adopt to overcome barriers of discrimination and social stigma that continue to impact Latin American societies.

Clinical practice guidelines for the care of girls and women with Turner syndrome.

Turner syndrome (TS) affects 50 per 100 000 females. TS affects multiple organs through all stages of life, necessitating multidisciplinary care. This guideline extends previous ones and includes important new advances, within diagnostics and genetics, estrogen treatment, fertility, co-morbidities, and neurocognition and neuropsychology. Exploratory meetings were held in 2021 in Europe and United States culminating with a consensus meeting in Aarhus, Denmark in June 2023. Prior to this, eight groups addressed important areas in TS care: (1) diagnosis and genetics, (2) growth, (3) puberty and estrogen treatment, (4) cardiovascular health, (5) transition, (6) fertility assessment, monitoring, and counselling, (7) health surveillance for comorbidities throughout the lifespan, and (8) neurocognition and its implications for mental health and well-being. Each group produced proposals for the present guidelines, which were meticulously discussed by the entire group. Four pertinent questions were submitted for formal GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) evaluation with systematic review of the literature. The guidelines project was initiated by the European Society for Endocrinology and the Pediatric Endocrine Society, in collaboration with members from the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, the European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions, the Society for Endocrinology, and the European Society of Cardiology, Japanese Society for Pediatric Endocrinology, Australia and New Zealand Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Latin American Society for Pediatric Endocrinology, Arab Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, and the Asia Pacific Pediatric Endocrine Society. Advocacy groups appointed representatives for pre-meeting discussions and the consensus meeting.

Latin American consensus for the treatment of focal chondral lesions of the knee

IntroductionA consensus is useful for topics that can be common in clinical practice and controversial in some aspects of its treatment. ObjectivesTo establish a consensus among the Latin American society of arthroscopy, articular reconstruction and sports medicine (SLARD) for treating focal chondral lesions of the knee. MethodsA formal consensus was conducted among 3 groups of surgeons from SLARD with a special interest in cartilage. First, the steering group (n = 9) created a list of 21 statements on controversial topics and compiled a review of the literature for each topic. Second, the rating group (n = 19) gave a score to each statement according to their agreement with it, over 2 rounds (score: 1-9). Median scores and agreement levels were calculated and each statement was categorized as inappropriate, uncertain, or appropriate. Finally, the lecture group (n = 24) evaluated the appropriateness and clinical relevance of each statement. ResultsDuring the first round, there was strong agreement on 5% of the statements, relative agreement on 14%, and lack of consensus on 81% of statements. After the second round, there was strong agreement on 57% of statements, with 43% having relative agreement and no statement having a lack of consensus. The lecture group approved all the statements. ConclusionsSLARD arrived at a consensus on the 21 statements proposed. This consensus includes a literature review and clinical experience, which represents the expert opinion of a society. Strong agreement was found in the advantages of using arthroscopy to diagnose chondral lesions, preinjury level as an age modification of treatment, superiority of nanofractures compared to microfractures, advantages of adding scaffolds, benefits of platelet-rich plasma in the midterm and faster return to sport with osteochondral autografts.

Status of high-impact scientific publication in nursing in Latin America

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to analyze the situation of high-impact scientific publication in nursing in Latin America between 2003 and 2024 OBJECTIVES: Determine Status of high-impact scientific publishing in nursing. METHODS: The method quantified scientific productivity using bibliometric data. RESULTS: A total of 298 Scopus documents were selected for the study based on relevance and English keywords (scientific AND publishing, publication AND nursing). The largest substantial growth in scientific production occurred between 2019 and 2023 (n=112; 37.6%), with Brazil as the most prominent country (n=250 publications; 83.9%). The source Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem presented 33 publications, and Marziale, M.H.P. was the most cited author (103 citations; 4 papers). Most of these papers were scientific papers (85%) in the area of nursing (61%) and medicine (20%). It is concluded that the thematic diversity, authorship, sources and resources have increased, with respect to high impact scientific publication in nursing in Latin America, which allows a broader characterization of scientific production in the region according to its impacts, visibility and importance. CONCLUSION: Thus, this bibliometric analysis provides a framework for future research documenting a key support that aspires to transform Latin American society into a more just, free and healthy state.

Choosing Wisely in oncology in Latin America: what SLACOM does not recommend in the care of cancer patients in Latin America: Ten essential recommendations to avoid harmful onclogy procedures in Latin America.

Choosing Wisely is an initiative by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and ABIM Foundation to deter unnecessary medical treatments and procedures. Faced with the burden of modern technologies and treatments, it is crucial to identify practices lacking value in daily care. The Latin American and Caribbean Society (SLACOM), comprising cancer control experts, deems it vital to tailor this initiative for enhancing cancer care in the region. Through a modified DELPHI methodology involving two rounds of electronic questionnaires and a hybrid meeting to discuss key points of contention, ten essential recommendations were identified and prioritised to avoid harmful oncology procedures in our region. These consensus-based recommendations, contextualised for Latin America, have been compiled and shared to benefit patients. The Scientific Committee, consisting of prominent oncologists and health experts, collaborates remotely to drive this project forward.

Rationale and Design of the Latin-American Registry of Peripheral Interventions: Insights From SOLACI Peripheral

BackgroundChronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) represents the most advanced stage of lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). The aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with lower-limb peripheral artery disease, as well as the procedural and technical aspects of peripheral endovascular interventions in Latin-America. MethodsThe SOLACI peripheral registry is a prospective, multi-center, observational, and hospital-based registry of patients with lower-limb PAD, who are treated with endovascular interventions across Latin American countries. ResultsA total of 1057 independent procedures (997 patients) were analyzed in this report. The most common clinical presentation was CLTI (61.2%): Advanced stage of the disease was common, and the symptomatic classification was predominately Rutherford V (minor tissue loss) in 37.6%. Index endovascular procedures mainly treated femoral-popliteal and infrapopliteal regions. Disease extending across multiple vascular territories was common and 27.6% of patients underwent angioplasty of multiple regions during the same procedure. There was a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and concomitant comorbidities: hypertension (84.5%), dyslipidemia 67.4%), diabetes mellitus (64.7%), myocardial infarction (17%) and stroke (8.4%). Major adverse events during hospitalization included death from any cause (1.3%), cardiovascular death (0.7 %), myocardial infarction (0.4%), stroke (0.1%) and bleeding (0.8%). ConclusionsReal-world data on lower limb-PAD in Latin American countries will help us identify unmet needs and generate evidence-based recommendations to facilitate the development of more effective preventive and treatment strategies according to each country’s necessities and resources.

International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Global Mapping Programme: Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP) country-level report.

Latin American countries are improving childhood cancer care, showing strong commitment to implement the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, but there are scant publications of the situation at a continental level. As part of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Global Mapping project, delegates of each country participating in the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP) and chairs of national pediatric oncology societies and cooperative groups were invited to provide information regarding availability of national pediatric cancer control programs (NPCCP), pediatric oncology laws, pediatric oncology tumor registries, and training programs and support to diagnosis and treatment. Nineteen of the 20 countries participating in SLAOP responded. National delegates reported nine countries with NPCCP and four of them were launched in the past 5years. National pediatric tumor registries are available in eight countries, and three provided published survival results. Fellowship programs for training pediatric oncologists are available in 12 countries. National delegates reported that eight countries provide support to most essential diagnosis and treatments and 11 provide partial or minimal support that is supplemented by civil society organizations. Seven countries have a pediatric oncology law. There are three international cooperative groups and four national societies for pediatric oncology. Despite many challenges, there were dramatic advances in survivorship, access to treatment, and availability of NPCCP in Latin America. Countries with highest social development scores in general provide more complete support and are more likely to have NPCCP, training programs, and reported survival results.

Sex- and Gender-Based Reporting in Antihypertensive Medication Literature Informing Hypertension Guidelines.

Hypertension is the leading modifiable cardiovascular risk factor with recognized sex- and gender-based differences. We assessed the incorporation of sex and gender reporting in the antihypertensive medication literature informing hypertension guidelines. Literature cited in the International Society of Hypertension (2020), European Society of Cardiology/European Society of Hypertension (2018), American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (2017), Latin American Society of Hypertension (2017), Pan-African Society of Cardiology (2020), and Hypertension Canada (2020) guidelines was systematically reviewed. Observational studies, randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews involving antihypertensive medications were included. Studies with participants of a single sex, guidelines, and commentaries were excluded. Data on study participation-to-prevalence ratio by sex, analysis of baseline demographics and study outcomes by sex, and stratification of adverse events by sex were extracted. Of 1659 unique citations, 331 studies met inclusion criteria. Of those, 81% reported the sex of participants, and 22% reported a male-to-female participation-to-prevalence ratio of 0.8 to 1.2. Three percent of studies stratified baseline characteristics by sex, and 20% considered sex during analysis through statistical adjustment or stratification. Although 32% of studies reported adverse events, only 0.6% stratified adverse events by sex. Most(58%) studies reporting sex/gender used sex and gender terms interchangeably. Incorporation of sex- and gender-based considerations in study population, analysis, or reporting of results and adverse events is not common in the antihypertensive medication literature informing international hypertension guidelines. Greater attention to sex- and gender-based factors in research is required to optimally inform management of hypertension.

Liturgical Thought and Latin American Society

Liturgical Thought and Latin American Society