Implementation of this educational program showed the feasibility of a continent-wide interprofessional massive course on hospital acquired-infections in Latin America, in the two main languages spoken in the region. Next steps included a new edition of this course and a "New Challenges" course on hospital-acquired infections, which were successfully implemented in the second semester of 2015 by the same institutions.

The need to train physicians on tobacco cessation skills can be addressed via ICTs and educational activities that include participant interaction.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the Institutional Framework and Governance in Latin America, which aims at detecting similarities or differences among the countries of the region. Design/methodology/approach The objective of the research will be achieved through the application of multivariate factor analysis and cluster analysis techniques. Findings The paper shows the importance of the institutional framework and governance for the countries of Latin America and demonstrates the heterogeneity in the areas of institutions and governance in the region. The paper also confirms the presence of differentiated groups of countries that can and should collaborate with each other to enhance the socio-economic development of the region in a globalized context. Research limitations/implications Due to the limited Latin America countries example in this paper, the authors consider for future studies would be to enlarge the number of countries and to implement same study to Asian countries. Practical implications The main contribution of this study in practice is that by classifying countries into clusters with similarities and differences, this study allows politicians and the institutional leaders to redesign current and/or formulate new policies aimed at institutional quality and good governance. In addition, results of the study should be taken into account by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank when deciding on multilateral support or when taking financing decisions as the type of support and the conditions applied should be differentiated according to the cluster in question. Also, in the context of academic research, the clusters will allow comparative studies that can assess the impact of the institutional framework and other variables on indicators such as direct foreign investment, economic growth or sociological ones, such as poverty, the distribution of income, etc. Originality/value This paper provides the analysis of the Institutional Framework and Governance in Latin America under the multivariate analysis approach.

Abstract. Eight patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), who were refractory to glucocor ticoid therapy, were given slow infusions of vincristine (VCR) over a 4-to 6-hour period at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. Three patients showed a return to normal platelet counts maintained for 3 months or longer. A tran sient recovery was observed in 1 patient and a partial response was observed in 3 patients. All patients tolerated therapy well, without side effects. In conclusion, therapy with slow infusion of VCR can be effective in refrac tory ITP.