Background Adherence to treatment, a public health issue, is of particular importance in chronic disease therapies. Primary care practices offer ideal venues for the effective care and management of these conditions. The aim of this study is to assess adherence to treatment and related-factors among patients with chronic conditions in primary care settings. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 299 adult patients with ≥1 chronic condition(s) and prescribed medication in primary healthcare centers of Spain. The Morisky-Green-Levine questionnaire was used to assess medication adherence via face-to-face interviews. Crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze factors associated with adherence using the Multidimensional Model proposed by the World Health Organization — social and economic, healthcare team and system-related, condition-related, therapy-related, and patient-related factors. Results The proportion of adherent patients to treatment was 55.5%. Older age (adjusted odds ratio 1.31 per 10-year increment, 95% CI 1.01–1.70), lower number of pharmacies used for medication refills (0.65, 95% CI 0.47–0.90), having received complete treatment information (3.89, 95% CI 2.09–7.21), having adequate knowledge about medication regimen (4.17, 95% CI 2.23–7.80), and self-perception of a good quality of life (2.17, 95% CI 1.18–4.02) were independent factors associated with adherence. Conclusions Adherence to treatment for chronic conditions remained low in primary care. Optimal achievement of appropriate levels of adherence through tailored multifaceted interventions will require attention to the multidimensional factors found in this study, particularly those related to patients’ education and their information needs.

Esophageal cancer is a rare disease. In Spain, this tumor is the third most common gastrointestinal malignancy after colorectal and gastric cancer. Esophageal adenocarcinoma metastasizes to the skin with an incidence of 1 %, generally located in the neck, head and abdomen. It usually occurs in the overlying skin of the primary tumor, but may also appear in a distant site, the scalp being the most common place. Although the pathogenesis of esophageal adenocarcinoma is not well known, the existence of genetic alterations, such as the suppressor gene, has been proved and the involvement of oncogene c-erbB-2 amplified. Cytokeratin 20 and 7 are expressed in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Typically, cutaneous metastases from internal malignancy present as firm asymptomatic nodules. These nodules usually occur in multiple arrays on the skin adjacent to the primary tumor; however, they can occasionally become painful spontaneously. The main diagnostic test of esophageal cancer is the upper endoscopy, along with histopathology for confirmation of the tumor. The developments in surgery and the discovery of new cytotoxic agents have considerably decreased the locoregional recurrence. To date, the combination of these treatment modalities for advanced adenocarcinoma revealed that the recurrences mainly occur from hematic spread. Excision of the skin lesions produces pain palliation. In patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer who have responded satisfactorily to treatment with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery while having a long history of remission, and dermatology outpatient visits by the appearance of skin lesions, should make us think among the different differential diagnoses, the possibility of cutaneous metastases.

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Resumen Existen numerosas variaciones de la forma, talla y del contorno del parénquima pancreático. El páncreas izquierdo se encuentra en el epiplón pancreato-esplénico. Según el desarrollo de este epiplón y su comunicación con el epiplón espleno-gástrico, la cola del páncreas puede ser más o menos móvil y ocupar espacios variables en el hipocondrio izquierdo; esto va a permitir formas originales: páncreas plano, concavidad inferior, en gancho anterior o posterior, etc, incluso se puede observar en ocasiones un páncreas bífido. Existen pocos artículos publicados que describan las variaciones del contorno del páncreas; por tal motivo, el objetivo de este artículo es la revisión de las diferentes variantes anatómicas que podemos encontrar durante las exploraciones radiológicas que se efectúan por diferentes motivos que pueden semejar tumoraciones neoplásicas.

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