Latin America consumes less than 2.7% of the morphine in the world, as reported by the governments to the International Narcotics Control Board. Methods to improve access to opioids for the treatment of pain have been developed by the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), a World Health Organization Collaborating Center at the University of Wisconsin. This article describes the preparation and implementation of an action plan in Colombia as a part of an international fellowship program on opioid policy developed by the PPSG and funded by the Open Society Institute. The action plan for Colombia included three steps: 1) a survey of regulators and health care providers to identify the current situation and their perceptions of opioid availability in the regions of the country; 2) a workshop with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the national and state competent authorities, pain and palliative care physicians, and international leaders; and 3) implementation workshops at the local level throughout the country. For the survey, response rates of 47% and 96% were registered among physicians and competent authorities, respectively. The survey identified significant regional differences in perceived opioid availability between physicians and regulators. Focus group discussions during the workshop identified several reasons leading to limited availability of opioids in the country, including deficiencies in the procurement process, insufficient human resources, excessive bureaucratic tasks, insufficient number of pharmacies authorized to dispense controlled medications in the country, lack of training in the health care professions, and overly restrictive laws and regulations governing opioid availability. The third step of the action plan has not been implemented. Additional and continuous monitoring needs to be implemented to measure the progress of this project.

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El presente artículo comprende la síntesis del proyecto de investigación “Concepciones de ciencia y su enseñanza: un abordaje desde los docentes no licenciados en el área de Ciencias Naturales bajo el modelo Escuela Nueva”, realizado en el marco de la Maestría en Educación de la Universidad de Antioquia.  El estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las concepciones de ciencias naturales y de su enseñanza, en docentes no licenciados en el área, con relación a su articulación con el modelo de Escuela Nueva en dos Centros Educativos Rurales del Departamento de Antioquia. La investigación fue cualitativa y se desarrolló desde un estudio de casos colectivo, contando con la participación de 5 maestros. Algunos de los instrumentos para la recolección de la información fueron narrativas, un cuestionario, observaciones de clase, entre otras. Los resultados a nivel general, permiten dar cuenta de la necesidad de los saberes disciplinares para la educación científica, no desmeritando el gran esfuerzo que hacen los maestros rurales en su práctica cotidiana, pero si valorando la importancia de tener unos saberes que se articulen con el conocimiento pedagógico, para lograr una formación más crítica en este campo, donde no solo sea tenida en cuenta la guía de aprendizaje (libro de texto), sino que se logre una planeación más consciente de los contenidos que abordan los estudiantes en la educación básica primaria. Se logró ver, cómo a raíz de esta necesidad, las concepciones de ciencia y la experiencia -personal y profesional- en esta área, determinan en gran medida la práctica educativa de los docentes en el ámbito rural.

Background Glaucoma surgery have been developed to lower intraocular pressure in a less invasive manner than traditional glaucoma surgery. The purpose of this article is to determine the outcome of using combined phacoemulsification technique, ab-interno trabeculectomy dual blade and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) surgeries in patients with primary open angle glaucoma. Methods A retrospective case series was performed on 27 consecutive eyes with both primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and cataract; each eye was treated with combined phacoemulsification, ab-interno trabeculectomy-Kahook Dual Blade and Endocyclophotocoagulation at Instituto de ojos Oftalmosalud, Lima, Peru, between April 2017 and May 2017. Inclusion criteria: 1) Patients with uncontrolled mild to advanced POAG (according to Glaucoma Grading Scale HODAPP) 2) cataract condition 3) treatment with two or more glaucoma medications due to rapid progression in the visual fields (at least two in a short period of time). Intraocular pressure (IOP), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) logMAR and number of glaucoma medications were recorded prior to the study, at day 1, week 1, and 1,3,6 and 9 months after surgery. Primary outcome measure was surgical success defined in terms of IOP < 14 mmHg either with no medications (complete success) or with medications (qualified success). Results A total of 27 eyes from 27 patients were included. The mean basal IOP was 17.0 ± 3.7 mmHg and postoperatively was 11.6 ± 1.9 mmHg and 11.4 ± 1.8 mmHg (P < 0.001) at 6 and 9 months respectively. Glaucoma medications decreased from 1.9 ± 1.4 to 0.56 ± 1.05 at 9 month follow-ups (P < 0.001). Preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) showed and improvement from 0.4 ± 0.4 LogMAR to 0.2 ± 0.4 logMAR at 9 months. The main complication was blood reflux intra-operatively (66.7%), which resolved without re-operation. The mean IOP was reduced by 32.9% from baseline and the surgical success was 92,6%, (complete success 70,3% and qualified success 29,6%) at 9 months. Conclusions In patients with POAG, combined treatment with phacoemulsification, ab-interno trabeculectomy and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation effectively reduced IOP and glaucoma medication dependence.

Purpose:  To provide an update of primary outcomes of combined phacoemulsification technique with ab-interno trabeculectomy  Dual Blade and Endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) in patients with primary open angle glaucoma. Methods: Retrospective case series comprised 27 consecutive eyes, with open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and cataract with combined phacoemulsification, ab-interno trabeculectomy-Kahook Dual Blade and Endocyclophotocoagulation at Instituto de ojos Oftalmosalud, Lima, Perú, between April 2017 and May 2017. Inclusion criteria were Glaucoma patients with POAG from mild to severe, according to Glaucoma Grading Scale (HODAPP), cataract condition, treatment with two or more glaucoma medications and visual field defects continued worsen. Intraocular pressure (IOP), Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) logMAR, and number of glaucoma medications were recorded before, and 1 day, 1 week, and 1, 3, 6 and 9 months after surgery. Defining succes as IOP <14 mmHg with or without medications. Results:  A total of 27 cases of glaucoma eyes were included. The mean IOP was 17.0±3.7 mmHg preoperatively, 11.6±1.9mmHg at 6 months, and 11.4±1.8 mmHg at 9 months(P<0.001). There was a corresponding drop in glaucoma medications from 1.9±1.41 at mean to 0.56±1.05 at 9 months (P<0.001). Preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) showed and improvement preoperative value from 0.4± 0.4 LogMAR (p= 0.001) to 0.2 ± 0.4 logMAR at 9 months. The main complication was blood reflux intraoperatively(66.7%), resolved within a few days. The mean IOP was reduce 32.9% from baseline and the qualifed succes was 92.6% at 9 months. Conclusions:  Cataract extraction with phacoemulsification combined with ab-interno trabeculectomy Dual Blade and endoscopic Cyclophotocoagulation effectively lowered IOP and dependence on glaucoma medications.