Antecedentes. La empatía es un importante atributo que los estudiantes de medicina deben tener y ha sido poco estudiado en América Latina. Objetivo. Determinar el nivel de orientación empática de los estudiantes de medicina de las universidades Libre, seccional Barranquilla, y San Martín, sede Puerto Colombia, Barranquilla. Materiales y métodos. La orientación empática de los estudiantes se midió mediante la aplicación de la Escala de Empatía Médica de Jefferson en español, diseñada para estudiantes -versión S-, validada en otros países de Latinoamérica y adaptada culturalmente a Colombia. La comparación de los datos se realizó mediante análisis de varianza bifactorial -Modelo III-. Resultados. El nivel de orientación empática de los estudiantes tiene valores bajos, ubicados por encima del valor central del rango de la escala, 20 a140. Las diferencias entre las puntuaciones, según cursos y género, no fueron estadísticamente significativas al comparar los promedios de las sumatorias del puntaje de los estudiantes; sin embargo, se observó, un comportamiento diferente según el género entre las universidades: el femenino tuvo valores de orientación empática mejores que el masculino en la Universidad San Martín, mientras que en la Universidad Libre sucedió, relativamente, lo contrario. La comparación de las respuestas permitió observar que existen diferencias entre ellas. Conclusiones. Los resultados de este estudio no explican la contradicción encontrada en relación a las diferencias de género y cursos entre universidades; sin embargo, estos resultados son consistentes con otros trabajos, especialmente realizados en Latinoamérica, que muestran variabilidad de la respuesta empática en estudiantes de medicina. Las diferencias entre las universidades no pueden atribuirse a causas psicológicas solamente, sino a la presencia de otros factores que también influyen en la respuesta empática.

Background. Empathy is an important characteristic that medical students must have and which has not been a central subject of study in Latinamerica. Objective. To determine the level of empathic orientation of medicine students from San Martin University, Puerto Colombia campus, and Libre University, Barranquilla campus, both located in Barranquilla, Colombia. Materials and methods. The empathic orientation in medical students was measured by the implementation of the Jefferson Physician Empathy Scale Spanish version for students (S version), validated in other countries of Latin America and culturally adapted to Colombia. Data comparison was carried out through bifactorial analysis of (Model III). Results. The level of empathetic guidance of students is low, with levels situated above the central value of the scale range, 20 to 140. There were no statistically significant differences in the score, in terms of courses and gender, to compare averages of the sums of scores of students. However, a different behavior between the two universities in terms of gender and courses was observed: women had better absolute values of the levels of empathy than men at University of San Martin, but not statistically; while at University Libre statistical differences in gender and the courses were observed. As a result, there are differences between both universities. Conclusions. The results of this study do not explain the contradiction that was found in relation to gender differences between universities and courses. However, these results are consistent with other works, in particular those carried out in Latin America, which show variability of the empathic response in medical students and health. Differences between both universities cannot only be attributed to "psychological reasons", but also to the presence of other factors influencing the empathic response.

A actinomicose oronasal é uma infecção raramente descrita na literatura, especialmente na forma de coinfecção com tuberculose pulmonar. Descrevemos o caso de um paciente de 48 anos de idade, admitido em enfermaria de isolamento por tuberculose pulmonar bacilífera, com história de diabetes e alcoolismo. Durante a internação, o paciente referiu queixas de disfagia e regurgitação alimentar por via nasal. O exame da cavidade oral revelou uma fístula oronasal. O agente infeccioso foi identificado, e o tratamento foi realizado com sucesso. Apresentamos também uma breve revisão da literatura e uma descrição e discussão completa do processo de investigação deste raro caso clínico.

Oronasal actinomycosis is an infection seldom described in the literature, especially in the form of a co-infection with pulmonary tuberculosis. We report the case of a 48-year-old male admitted to the isolation ward due to active pulmonary tuberculosis, with a history of diabetes and alcohol abuse. While hospitalized, the patient complained of dysphagia and nasal regurgitation of food. The examination of the oral cavity revealed an oronasal fistula. The infecting agent was identified, and the treatment was successful. We also present a brief review of the literature, as well as a full description and discussion of the process of investigating this rare clinical case.

A doença de Madelung ou lipomatose simétrica múltipla é uma doença rara, caracterizada pelo acúmulo de tecido adiposo não-encapsulado, localizado simetricamente ao redor do pescoço e na região escapular. Os autores apresentam um caso de associação entre lipomatose difusa e apneia obstrutiva do sono, devido ao envolvimento cervical e à deformação facial que exigiu a utilização de almofadas nasais para a ventilação. O doente foi admitido com o diagnóstico de pneumonia com necessidade de ventilação não-invasiva devido à hipercapnia grave. É apresentada uma breve revisão da literatura, e descrevemos e discutimos a investigação clínica deste raro caso clínico.

Madelung's disease, or multiple symmetric lipomatosis, is a rare disease, characterized by accumulation of unencapsulated fat, generally located symmetrically around the neck and shoulders. Here, we present the case of a patient with diffuse lipomatosis accompanied by obstructive sleep apnea due to cervical involvement and facial deformity, which made it necessary to use nasal pillows for ventilation. The patient was hospitalized with a diagnosis of pneumonia and required noninvasive ventilation due to severe hypercapnia. A brief review of the literature was made, and we describe and discuss the investigation of this rare clinical case.