Translation and Validation of the Boston Technical Performance Score in a Developing Country

Abstract Introduction: The Technical Performance Score (TPS) was developed and subsequently refined at the Boston Children's Hospital. Our objective was to translate and validate its application in a developing country. Methods: The score was translated into the Portuguese language and approved by the TPS authors. Subsequently, we studied 1,030 surgeries from June 2018 to October 2020. TPS could not be assigned in 58 surgeries, and these were excluded. Surgical risk score was evaluated using Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery (or RACHS-1). The impact of TPS on outcomes was studied using multivariable linear and logistic regression adjusting for important perioperative covariates. Results: Median age and weight were 2.2 (interquartile range [IQR] = 0.5-13) years and 10.8 (IQR = 5.6-40) kilograms, respectively. In-hospital mortality was 6.58% (n=64), and postoperative complications occurred in 19.7% (n=192) of the cases. TPS was categorized as 1 in 359 cases (37%), 2 in 464 (47.7%), and 3 in 149 (15.3%). Multivariable analysis identified TPS class 3 as a predictor of longer hospital stay (coefficient: 6.6; standard error: 2.2; P=0.003), higher number of complications (odds ratio [OR]: 1.84; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-3; P=0.01), and higher mortality (OR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.4-7; P=0.004). Conclusion: TPS translated into the Portuguese language was validated and showed to be able to predict higher mortality, complication rate, and prolonged postoperative hospital stay in a high-volume Latin-American congenital heart surgery program. TPS is generalizable and can be used as an outcome assessment tool in resource diverse settings.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy: a cross-sectional study in a single center in Northeastern Brazil / Angiopatia amiloide cerebral: um estudo transversal em um único centro no Nordeste brasileiro

ABSTRACT Background: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a cerebrovascular disorder caused by progressive deposition of β-amyloid peptides in the walls of small and medium-sized cortical and leptomeningeal vessels. Until today, the prevalence of CAA is unknown in our region. Objective: This study aims to analyze the prevalence of this entity in a specific elderly population in a tertiary hospital in Northeastern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective study with the enrollment of patients aged 65 or older followed in the neurological outpatient service of the Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brazil, who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from July 2016 to June 2018. Results: One hundred and seventy-four patients were enrolled, of whom 100 were women (57.4%) and 74, men (42.6%), aged from 65 to 91 years old (median age 73.27). Nine patients were excluded from the study due to unavailability of MRI sequences needed for an appropriate analysis. Out of the 165 remaining patients, 12 (7.2%) had established the diagnosis of CAA, according to the modified Boston criteria. Conclusion: The prevalence of CAA in our study was like those of medical literature, with a progressive age-related increase.

RESUMO Introdução: A angiopatia amiloide cerebral (AAC) é uma desordem vascular causada pela deposição progressiva de peptídeos β-amiloides nas paredes de pequenos e médios vasos corticais e leptomeníngeos. Até a presente data, a epidemiologia da AAC é desconhecida em nossa região. Objetivos: Avaliar a prevalência da AAC em uma população específica de pacientes idosos de um hospital terciário no nordeste brasileiro. Métodos: Estudo transversal, retrospectivo, com seleção de pacientes com idade igual ou superior a 65 anos, acompanhados no serviço de Neurologia do Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brasil, e que foram submetidos a exame de ressonância nuclear magnética entre julho de 2016 e junho de 2018. Resultados: Foram recrutados 174 pacientes, dos quais 100 eram mulheres (57,4%) e 74 homens (42,6%), com idades entre 65 e 91 anos (média de 73,27). Nove pacientes foram excluídos devido à indisponibilidade de sequências de ressonância magnética necessárias para uma análise apropriada. Dos 165 pacientes restantes, 12 (7,2%) foram diagnosticados com AAC de acordo com os critérios de Boston modificados. Conclusão: A prevalência da AAC em nosso estudo foi semelhante ao resultado encontrado na literatura médica, com um aumento progressivo relacionado à idade.

Application of Piezosurgery in Surgical Extraction of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars Versus Conventional Rotatory Technique: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of conventional rotatory and piezosurgery technique for surgical removal of lower third molars. Material and Methods: Twenty patients with impacted lower third molars (with no acute symptoms) were divided into two groups (G1 and G2) and evaluated clinically and radiographically. They were allotted alternately into rotatory (G1) and piezotome (G2). Parameters assessed were the pain, swelling, trismus, comfort, analgesics consumed, the time taken for the procedure, intraoperative soft tissue damage and any other complications. Findings were then tabulated and analyzed. Results: Findings of pain, swelling, trismus, analgesics consumed and tissue damage were favorable in the piezosurgery group. However, the time taken for the procedure was significantly more as compared to the rotatory group. Post-operative trismus, values from the piezosurgery group were found to approach normality by day seven while in the rotatory group, a significant difference was found to exist up to day 14, suggesting that patients tend to return to normal function faster in the piezo group. Conclusion: Piezosurgery was found to be a good alternative to the conventional rotatory handpiece in select cases where extraction of the tooth could be carried out with minimal bone removal.

Wilson's disease: the 60th anniversary of Walshe's article on treatment with penicillamine / Doença de Wilson: o 60° aniversário do artigo de Walshe no tratamento com penicilamina

ABSTRACT This historical review describes Professor Walshe's seminal contribution to the treatment of Wilson's disease on the 60th anniversary of his pioneering article on penicillamine, the first effective treatment for the condition.

RESUMO Esta revisão histórica enfatiza a contribuição seminal do Professor Walshe no tratamento da doença de Wilson (DW), com o seu trabalho pioneiro sobre o uso de penicilamina, o primeiro tratamento efetivo do mundo, publicado 60 anos atrás.

Is There a Relationship Between Periodontal Disease and Causes of Death? A Cross Sectional Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is any correlation between periodontal disease and mortality contributing factors, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus in the elderly population. A dental evaluation was performed by a single examiner at Tufts University dental clinics for 284 patients. Periodontal assessments were performed by probing with a manual UNC-15 periodontal probe to measure pocket depth and clinical attachment level (CAL) at 6 sites. Causes of death abstracted from death certificate. Statistical analysis involved ANOVA, chi-square and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The demographics of the population sample indicated that, most were females (except for diabetes mellitus), white, married, completed 13 years of education and were 83 years old on average. CAL (continuous or dichotomous) and marital status attained statistical significance (p<0.05) in contingency table analysis (Chi-square for independence). Individuals with increased CAL were 2.16 times more likely (OR=2.16, 95% CI=1.47-3.17) to die due to CVD and this effect persisted even after control for age, marital status, gender, race, years of education (OR=2.03, 95% CI=1.35-3.03). CAL (continuous or dichotomous) was much higher among those who died due to diabetes mellitus or out of state of Massachusetts. However, these results were not statistically significant. The same pattern was observed with pocket depth (continuous or dichotomous), but these results were not statistically significant either. CAL seems to be more sensitive to chronic diseases than pocket depth. Among those conditions, cardiovascular disease has the strongest effect.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar se existe relação entre doença periodontal e fatores de mortalidade como, por ex., doenças cardiovasculares e diabetes melitus, numa amostra de pessoas idosas. Um único examinador fez avaliação dentária em 284 pacientes. As avaliações periodontais foram feitas com sonda manual UNC-15 para medir profundidade da bolsa e nível de inserção clínica em 6 pontos. As causas dos óbitos foram obtidas das certidões. Para análise estatística utilizou-se ANOVA, teste do qui-quadrado e análise de regressão logística multivariada. Os dados demográficos indicaram que a maioria era constituída de mulheres (exceto para diabetes melitus), leucodermas, casadas, completaram 13 anos de escolaridade e média de 83 anos de idade. O nível de inserção clínica (contínuo ou dicotomizado) e estado civil tiveram significância estatística (p<0,05) na análise das tabelas de contingência (qui-quadrado para independentes). O nível de inserção clínica foi 2,16 vezes mais provável causa de óbito (OR=2,16; 95%CI 1,47-3,17) por doença cardiovascular que o grupo dos sobreviventes e este efeito persistiu mesmo depois de controlados idade, estado civil, sexo, raça e anos de escolaridade (OR=2,03, 95%CI 1.35-3.03). O nível de inserção clínica (contínuo ou dicotomizado) foi muito maior entre os que morreram por diabetes melitus ou fora do estado de Massachusetts, mas estes resultados não foram estatisticamente significantes. O mesmo ocorreu com a profundidade da bolsa gengival (contínua ou dicotomizada), mas estes resultados também não foram estatisticamente significantes. Aparentemente a inserção clínica é mais afetada pelas doenças crônicas em comparação com a profundidade da bolsa. Entre estas doenças, as cardiovasculares têm efeito mais forte.

The world´s microbiology laboratories can be a global microbial sensor network / Los laboratorios de microbiología del mundo pueden convertirse en una red de detección microbiana

The microbes that infect us spread in global and local epidemics, and the resistance genes that block their treatment spread within and between them. All we can know about where they are to track and contain them comes from the only places that can see them, the world´s microbiology laboratories, but most report each patient´s microbe only to that patient´s caregiver. Sensors, ranging from instruments to birdwatchers, are now being linked in electronic networks to monitor and interpret algorithmically in real-time ocean currents, atmospheric carbon, supply-chain inventory, bird migration, etc. To so link the world´s microbiology laboratories as exquisite sensors in a truly lifesaving real-time network their data must be accessed and fully subtyped. Microbiology laboratories put individual reports into inaccessible paper or mutually incompatible electronic reporting systems, but those from more than 2,200 laboratories in more than 108 countries worldwide are now accessed and translated into compatible WHONET files. These increasingly web-based files could initiate a global microbial sensor network. Unused microbiology laboratory byproduct data, now from drug susceptibility and biochemical testing but increasingly from new technologies (genotyping, MALDI-TOF, etc.), can be reused to subtype microbes of each genus/species into sub-groupings that are discriminated and traced with greater sensitivity. Ongoing statistical delineation of subtypes from global sensor network data will improve detection of movement into any patient of a microbe or resistance gene from another patient, medical center or country. Growing data on clinical manifestations and global distributions of subtypes can automate comments for patient´s reports, select microbes to genotype and alert responders.

.