Eduardo Fuentes López

• Phd
• Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

Objectives: The World Health Organization estimates that 25% of older adults worldwide have disabling hearing loss. Although hearing aids are the conventional management strategy for this condition, the rate of abandonment of these devices is high. Complete abandonment of the device can expose individuals to the negative consequences of untreated h...

Background Access to audiology services for older adults residing in sparsely populated regions is often limited compared to those in central urban areas. The geographic accessibility to follow-up care, particularly the influence of distance, may contribute to an increased risk of hearing aid abandonment. Objective To assess the association betwee...

Hearing aids are the most common rehabilitation strategy for age-related hearing loss. However, 25% to 50% of older adults fitted with hearing aids do not wear them post-fitting. Hearing aid self-efficacy has been suggested as one of the key factors that may explain adherence to hearing aids in older adults. The primary aim of this study was to det...

Background: The percentage of older adults with hearing loss who stop using their hearing aids and the variables associated with this phenomenon have not been systematically investigated in South America. This problem is relevant to the region since countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Chile have public programmes that provide hearing aids to ol...

Objective To assess the effectiveness of the Active Communication Education (ACE) program in improving usage, perceived benefit, and success with hearing aids (HAs). Design A multicentre, double-blind, randomised parallel design clinical trial with masked outcome assessments was conducted at primary healthcare centres. Participants were randomised...

Background/Objectives: The conventional strategy for addressing age-related hearing loss is hearing aid (HA) use, yet many individuals underutilize their devices. Despite the positive effects of HA use, adherence remains low, highlighting the importance of studying associated variables. We hypothesize that better unaided speech perception in noise...

Resumen La presente revisión narrativa tuvo como objetivo sintetizar la evidencia disponible en torno a la autoeficacia con el uso del audífono y su relación con diferentes resultados del uso de audífonos, como adherencia, beneficio percibido, éxito, y satisfacción con el audífono, en el grupo de personas mayores. Se incluyeron estudios publicados...

Introducción: El cáncer gástrico (CG) es la primera causa de muerte oncológica en Chile. Desde 2006 la autoridad sanitaria recomienda endoscopía digestiva alta (EDA) a la población sintomática ≥40 años. En 2010 se estimó una cobertura de EDA durante el último año en este grupo de 14%. Objetivo: Describir la cobertura de EDA para el cribado del CG e...

Backgrounds/Aims: Alcohol represents a leading burden of disease worldwide, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We aim to assess the global burden of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer between 2000–2021.Methods: We registered the global and regional trends of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-relat...

The objective of this study was to compare the absolute duration, relative duration and the index relative to the duration of the syllable (IREDUS, by its acronym in Spanish) of /p-t̪-k/ between people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and typically developed people, and contrast these acoustic indices in the first three stages of this disease. Fifteen...

Introduction The 2023 nomenclature defined criteria for steatotic liver disease (SLD), including metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD (MASLD), alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), and the overlapping MASLD/ALD (MetALD). We aimed to assess racial and ethnic disparities in the SLD prevalence among United States (US) adults based on this new nomenc...

La desigualdad de género está presente en diversos contextos sociales, incluyendo la academia y las prácticas científicas, reflejándose en las autorías de publicaciones. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si existen diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en la primera autoría, las áreas temáticas investigadas y el efecto del sexo de la primera...

Objective: We assessed the interaction between self-efficacy and joint problems and self-efficacy and visual problems on the risk of hearing aid abandonment in older adults. Design: A retrospective cohort study comprising older adults who received hearing aids in Chile was conducted. Hearing aid self-efficacy was measured using the S-MARS-HA quest...

Background Hearing loss in older adults affects general, generic health-related and disease-specific quality of life (QoL). The conventional strategy to address it is through hearing aids, which have been shown to improve disease-specific QoL. However, the long-term results regarding general quality of life are unknown, and communication problems a...

Objective. To adapt and validate the generic TFA acceptability questionnaire to Spanish. Methods. In the initial phase of this two-phase observational study, a translation and adaptation of the original instrument was performed. The second phase consisted of applying this version to 194 older adults after a pilot hearing screening and a standard p...

Background Outcomes in alcohol‐associated liver disease (ALD) are influenced by several race and ethnic factors, yet its natural history across the continuum of patients in different stages of the disease is unknown. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of U.S. adults from 2011 to 2018, using three nationally representative databases...

Introduction Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. Helicobacter pylori is the primary cause of GC; therefore, its eradication reduces the risk of developing this neoplasia. There is extensive evidence regarding quadruple therapy with relevance to the European population. However, in Latin America, data are scarce. Fu...

Introduction Infections in patients with cirrhosis are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Rifaximin is an antibiotic used to treat and prevent hepatic encephalopathy (HE); however, it has been suggested that it may play a crucial role in reducing infections in these populations. Aim To evaluate the role of rifaximin in preventing freque...

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection is a public health problem in Latin America. The aim was to describe and evaluate the main Helicobacter pylori eradication therapies, their eradication rates, adherence, and side effects. Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, international registry (Hp-LATAMReg) was conducted. Information about therapies u...

Background: There is limited information regarding the best approach for Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) management in Latin America. The aim was to describe the H. pylori diagnostic tests and indications of treatment in Latin America. Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, international registry (Hp-LATAMReg) was conducted. Information about therap...

Background & Aims Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) poses significant short-term mortality. Existing prognostic models lack precision for 90-day mortality. Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in a global cohort, we sought to derive and validate an enhanced prognostic model. Approach and Results The Global AlcHep initiative, a retrospective stud...

Objetivo: Nuestro objetivo fue describir la tendencia de la infección por Hp en pacientes que asisten a endoscopía digestiva alta (EDA) ambulatoria en una población chilena. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional retrospectivo de pacientes mayores de 18 años que asistieron a una primera EDA con test rápido de ureasa entre 2010-2...

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) is the first cause of cancer-related death in Chile and 6th in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the main gastric carcinogen, and its treatment reduces GC incidence and mortality. Esophageal-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD) allows for the detection of premalignant conditions and ea...

Objective: This study examines factors predicting self-reported voice symptoms in call center workers. Methods: Multivariate analysis and predictive modeling assess personal, work-related, acoustic, and behavioral factors. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves are employed. Results: Age and sleep patt...

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Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a severe clinical entity associated with elevated short-term mortality. We aimed to characterize patients with decompensated cirrhosis according to presence of ACLF, their association with active alcohol intake, and long-term survival in Latin America. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of de...

Introduction. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties adapting to stressful situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective. To assess the impact of the first year of the pandemic on feeding difficulties in children with ASD. Population and methods. The caregivers of children and adolescents with non-syndromic ASD (age:...

Clinical workplace-based learning is essential for undergraduate health professions, requiring adequate training and timely feedback. While the Mini-CEX is a well-known tool for workplace-based learning, its written paper assessment can be cumbersome in a clinical setting. We conducted a utility analysis to assess the effectiveness of an adapted Mi...

Background Semantic and Phonological fluency (SF and PF) are routinely evaluated in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There are disagreements in the literature regarding which fluency task is more affected while developing AD. Most studies focus on SF assessment, given its connection with the temporoparietal amnesic system. PF is less reporte...

Background & aims: Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score better predicts mortality in alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) but could underestimate severity in women and malnourished patients. Using a global cohort, we assessed the ability of the MELD 3.0 score to predict short-term mortality in AH. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort...

Introduction and Objectives: The long-term impact of alcohol-related public health policies (PHP) on the burden of liver disease is unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between alcohol-related PHP and alcohol-related health consequences; 2. To develop an instrument to quantify the establishment of alcohol-related PHP in each country....

Introduction and Objectives: Although most cases of HCC occur in patients with advanced liver disease and there are effective screening methods, health policies aimed at preventing and detecting HCC are not often on the agenda of government initiatives and policies. This study aimed to explore HCC-related population-wide public health policies, tre...

Introduction and Objectives: Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is a severe entity associated with high mortality. Corticosteroids might be used in cases with severe disease and several dynamic models can predict mortality and response to corticosteroids in AH patients. However, there is no consensus on the best of them. This study aimed to evaluate...

Introduction and Objectives: there are different variables in patients with alcohol associated liver disease (ALD) and enlisted patients for liver transplant (LT), such as ethnicity, that determine health disparities in access, morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess and measure the impact of ethnicity in ALD and patients enlisted for L...

Study objective Establish the transcultural validity of Anesthetists Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) in a Spanish-speaking country. Design Prospective cohort. Setting Clinical simulation center. Subjects Forty-two Anesthesia PY2 and PY3 residents participated in the study. Interventions Four clinical scenarios simulating anesthesia crises were asse...

En la actualidad nos enfrentamos a una transición demográfica caracterizada por un incremento importante de personas mayores en la población, y con esto, un aumento de enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles, entre las que se encuentra la hipoacusia. Los efectos de esta condición de salud son significativos en cuanto a la limitación de las actividad...

Introduction Research activities have a positive impact on the performance of residents. However, information on research conducted by residents from developing countries is scarce. Our study sought to identify the barriers and facilitators for developing research in medical residency programs in a Latin-American faculty of medicine. Methods A mix...

Objective Knee arthrocentesis is frequently performed as a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. Although considered a key competency for medical doctors, most students never execute the procedure during their training. We aimed to assess technical and nontechnical skills for knee arthrocentesis through high-fidelity hybrid simulation.DesignTrainees...

Objectives To: 1. Describe the frequency of viral RNA detection in stools in a cohort of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, and 2. Perform a systematic review to assess the clearance time in stools of SARS-CoV-2. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study in two centers between March and May 2020. We included SARS-CoV-2 infected patients of a...

Objectives Persistent olfactory dysfunction (OD) after 6 months caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection has been reported with a variable prevalence worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of long‐term OD and identify predisposing factors. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on 100 adults with COVID‐19. Olfactory function was a...

Background Due to elevated vocal health risk in industries such as call centers, there is a need to have accessible and quick self‐report tools for voice symptoms. This study aimed to determine if the concurrent and construct validity of three visual analog scales (VASs) of voice quality and symptoms could be used as a screening tool in call center...

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between certain social determinants of health (i.e. educational level, income, and social support) and attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids among older adults with hearing loss fitted in a Latin American country. Design: Older adults were asked about their attitudes towards hearing...

Introduction Helicobacter pylori infection affects approximately 70% of the Chilean population. It is a public health problem whose eradication treatment is part of the explicit health guarantees in Chile. Objectives Characterize the most widely used H. pylori first-line eradication therapies in our environment and evaluate their efficacy. Method...

Context: Despite the fact that the new generations of rotary tools emit less noise, some recent studies suggest that dental students are still at risk of hearing impairment. Aims: The aim of the study was to determine a possible association between noise exposure from dental equipment and early signs of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in denta...

Objective: This study aimed to identify the attitudes to noise in young adults and the possible effects of gender, age, and a positive history of auditory symptoms related to recreational noise exposure on the attitudes to noise in this population. Design: The Youth Attitude to Noise (YANS) and the hearing symptom description (HSD) scales were a...

Background Adenocarcinoma is preceded by chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia. Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is a peptide secreted by goblet cells, which is abundantly present in intestinal metaplasia. Aim To evaluate the utility of serum TFF3 as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of intestinal metaplasia and g...

Hazardous alcohol consumption causes approximately 4% of deaths globally, constituting one of the leading risk factors for the burden of the disease worldwide. Alcohol has several health consequences, such as alcohol-associated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-liver neoplasms, physical injury, cardiac disease, and psychiatric disorders....

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 20–25% of the general population and is associated with morbidity, increased mortality, and elevated health-care costs. Most NAFLD risk factors are modifiable and, therefore, potentially amenable to being reduced by public health policies. To date, there is no information about NAFLD-related public...

Aims: Prior evidence demonstrates an association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and colorectal adenomas (CRA) risk. However, information using the new definition of the disease [i.e., metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)] is scarce. We aimed to assess the relationship between MAFLD and CRA risk. Methods: W...

Objectives: To: 1. Describe the frequency of viral RNA detection in stools in a cohort of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, and 2. Perform a systematic review to assess the clearance time in stools of SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in two centers between March-May 2020. We included SARS-CoV-2 infected patients of a...

Purpose Hearing-impaired individuals experience higher levels of listening effort in challenging situations, affecting their communication in daily life. The purpose of this study was to linguistically and culturally adapt the Effort Assessment Scale (EAS) into Danish (D-EAS) and to investigate its reliability and validity in normal-hearing and hea...

Purpose: to assess the effect of an intervention on educational teams' attitudes and academic expectations concerning the inclusion of students with Down's Syndrome (DS), in Chile. Methods: a quasi-experimental single-group study was carried out, with an interdisci-plinary pilot intervention held comprising three workshops on inclusive education fo...

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori infection affects approximately 70% of the Chilean population. It is a public health problem whose eradication treatment is part of the explicit health guarantees in Chile. Objectives: Characterize the most widely used H. pylori first-line eradication therapies in our environment and evaluate their efficacy. Method...

Introduction and aims Colonoscopy quality is measured by the degree in which the examination increases the likelihood of obtaining adequate results on health. Our aim was to develop an instrument for evaluating the quality of screening colonoscopies, taking into account the performance of endoscopists and endoscopy units. Materials and methods Mix...

Objective This study aimed to compare the strength of association (i.e., explained variability) of the cumulative grade point average (GPA) with the grades obtained in the clerkship portfolio and the final structured oral exam by dental students. Methods A prospective longitudinal study was designed to analyze quantitative data from three cohorts...

Introduction Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is the leading cause of liver-related mortality in Latin-America, yet the impact of public health policies (PHP) on alcohol consumption and liver disease is unknown. Objectives To assess the association between alcohol PHP, alcohol consumption, and cirrhosis in Latin-American countries. Methods...

This study aimed to create and validate an instrument to assess the educational team's attitudes and academic expectations towards students with Down syndrome (DS). The Attitudes and Academic Expectations toward students with Down syndrome Questionnaire (CAEASD) was elaborated following three steps: (1) design of the instrument, (2) content validat...

Introduction and aims: Colonoscopy quality is measured by the degree in which the examination increases the likelihood of obtaining adequate results on health. Our aim was to develop an instrument for evaluating the quality of screening colonoscopies, taking into account the performance of endoscopists and endoscopy units. Materials and methods:...

El envejecimiento progresivo de la población mundial es una preocupación reconocida por la mayoría de las propuestas de políticas públicas en diversas áreas, incluida salud. La persona mayor pertenece a un grupo social vulnerable, que requiere ser considerado en las intervenciones y políticas de salud pública. Existe una considerable pérdida de las...

Background and aims: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is the leading cause of liver-related mortality in Latin America, yet the impact of public health policies (PHP) on liver disease is unknown. We aimed to assess the association between alcohol PHP and deaths due to ALD in Latin American countries. Approach and results: We performed an e...

Background Corticosteroids are the only effective therapy for severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH), defined as MELD score >20. However, there are patients who may be too sick to benefit from therapy. Aim To identify the range of MELD score within which steroids are effective treatment for AH. Methods Retrospective, international multi-center...

The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) has been widely used to measure students’ and professionals’ attitudes toward interprofessional learning. However, inconsistencies have been reported concerning its validity and reliability. This study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the RIPLS questionnaire to be applied to Spanish-...

Background Central venous access (CVA) is a frequent procedure taught in medical residencies. However, since CVA is a high-risk procedure requiring a detailed teaching and learning process to ensure trainee proficiency, it is necessary to determine objective differences between the expert’s and the novice’s performance to guide novice practitioners...

Purpose: this study had two aims: (1) Analyse students' perceptions of achieved learning in the simulation workshops implemented in multiple areas in a Speech and Language Therapy curricula, and (2) Establish the effect of incorporating simulation workshops in the students' comprehensive evaluation of the course. Methods: a survey on perceived lea...

Introducción: La presbiacusia es una condición muy prevalente. Habitualmente se implementan audífonos como tratamiento, pero un problema es la baja adherencia exhibida que puede rondar un 50%. Objetivo: Evaluar si el programa de rehabilitación auditiva Active Communication Education (ACE) mejora la adherencia al uso del audífono. Material y Métod...

Background: Abdominal paracentesis is an essential competence for physicians. Simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) programs lead to developing these skills for medical students. Most programs are structured as short boot-camps, without assessing skills' retention mid and long-term or learning curves. Aim: To assess the learning curve of paracen...

Background Treatments for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication include the use of antibiotics and a proton-pump inhibitor. Antibiotic resistance is a major concern for two drugs: levofloxacin and clarithromycin. The aim was to determine the prevalence of levofloxacin resistance (LevoR) and clarithromycin resistance (ClaR) in an urban populat...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Frailty is characterized by a poor restoration of homeostasis after a stressor event. Although it is not usually diagnosed, it has been associated with decreased survival in cirrhotic patients. We aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty and decreased gait speed over survival in cirrhotic patients at long-term follow-up....

Purpose: to determine the auditory effects of noise exposure from recreational and occupational sources among dentistry students. Methods: forty-two dentistry students, routinely exposed to occupational noise, and 72 students from other health science schools were recruited (control group). Audiometric testing, otoacoustic emissions and questionna...

Introducción: Se estima que hasta un 30% de la población mayor de 65 años presenta hipoacusia. Una intervención validada para la hipoacusia en adultos mayores es el uso de audífonos, pero el problema es que hasta un 50% de los adultos mayores no los utiliza. Objetivo: Estimar la adherencia al uso de audífonos en adultos mayores beneficiarios del p...

En Chile, entre un 20% y un 38% de los usuarios que sufren un ataque cerebro-vascular (ACV) presentan afasia. Pese a su alta prevalencia no existen herramientas validadas que permitan realizar una caracterización lingüística temprana de la afasia. Por lo anterior, el objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la sensibilidad y especificidad de la ve...

Introducción: las dinámicas de atención en salud requieren que los profesionales que componen el equipo de salud trabajen en forma colaborativa. Sin embargo, durante su formación, las oportunidades de aprendizaje con otras disciplinas son escasas. Se reportan los resultados del primer proyecto para promover el aprendizaje interprofesional en los in...

Introduction: In Chile, since the implementation of public policies linked to the program of cochlear implants, the only published studies were prepared in the Metropolitan Region, that have sought to describe the results that these responses have obtained in the population. Aim: Describe the results of the National Cochlear Implants Program and ex...

Background Workplace‐based assessment is a key component of dental‐student clerkships, allowing students to demonstrate clinical proficiency. Purpose This study adapts the Mini‐Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini‐CEX) to a dentistry‐program clerkship, analyzing the results and examining the psychometric properties of Mini‐CEX. Methods First, Delph...

Objectives/Hypothesis To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of voice disorders in healthcare workers of high‐risk hospital care units during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic. Study Design Cross‐sectional study. Methods Questionnaire survey to healthcare personnel of COVID‐19 high‐risk hospital units was conducted...

It has been suggested that factors such as auditory perception, oral motor skills, phonological awareness, and working memory are all associated with speech production problems in children with speech sound disorder (SSD) and developmental language disorder (DLD). However, it remains unclear whether the severity of the speech production problems in...

Background Clinical reasoning is a fundamental competency in the learning process of health professionals. Since learning with traditional methods presents difficulties, teaching with interactive virtual scenarios is a good alternative. Objective To describe the impact of a blended training with interactive virtual scenarios for the development of...