Entre Panamá, Pandora y otros Asteroides

En términos astronómicos, la distancia que separa Panamá (Tierra) del planeta Pandora, de la película Avatar, es de 6 años luz; algo así como 5,676 1013 klms. Sin embargo, desde la perspectiva de los comprometedores documentos generados por la International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), conocidos como Panamá Papers el 2015 y Pandora Papers liberados el pasado 3 de octubre del 2021, en términos de contenidos, compromisos, acuerdos, responsabilidades, intenciones, principios y valores consignados en los mismos; parecieran ser que, ambos lugares idílicos y paradisiacos, efectivamente son limítrofes.

President’s Address, 22nd Biennial International Conference of the International Consortium for Social Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 13–16 July 2021

The president’s address includes welcome and concluding speeches covering the main global issues of the time, the acknowledgement of organisers, Social Development Leadership Awards, the summary of achievements in the first term and vision for the International Consortium for Social Development in the second term.

Which outcomes are most important to measure in patients with COVID-19 and how and when should these be measured? Development of an international standard set of outcomes measures for clinical use in patients with COVID-19: a report of the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) COVID-19 Working Group

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread morbidity and mortality with the consequences expected to be felt for many years. Significant variation exists in the care even of similar patients with COVID-19, including treatment practices within and between institutions. Outcome measures vary among clinical trials on the same therapies. Understanding which therapies are of most value is not possible unless consensus can be reached on which outcomes are most important to measure. Furthermore, consensus on the most important outcomes may enable patients to monitor and track their care, and may help providers to improve the care they offer through quality improvement. To develop a standardised minimum set of outcomes for clinical care, the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) assembled a working group (WG) of 28 volunteers, including health professionals, patients and patient representatives.DesignA list of outcomes important to patients and professionals was generated from a systematic review of the published literature using the MEDLINE database, from review of outcomes being measured in ongoing clinical trials, from a survey distributed to patients and patient networks, and from previously published ICHOM standard sets in other disease areas. Using an online-modified Delphi process, the WG selected outcomes of greatest importance.ResultsThe outcomes considered by the WG to be most important were selected and categorised into five domains: (1) functional status and quality of life, (2) mental functioning, (3) social functioning, (4) clinical outcomes and (5) symptoms. The WG identified demographic and clinical variables for use as case-mix risk adjusters. These included baseline demographics, clinical factors and treatment-related factors.ConclusionImplementation of these consensus recommendations could help institutions to monitor, compare and improve the quality and delivery of care to patients with COVID-19. Their consistent definition and collection could also broaden the implementation of more patient-centric clinical outcomes research.