Risk factors for reduction in adherence to protective measures following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and vaccine perceptions among healthcare workers, in São Paulo, Brazil.

A survey evaluated 2,300 healthcare workers following the first dose of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in a tertiary-quaternary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Adherence to protective measures following vaccination was compared to previous non-work-related behaviors. Younger age, previous COVID-19, and burnout symptoms were associated with reduced adherence to mitigation measures.

Impact of Discontinuing Levofloxacin Prophylaxis on Bloodstream Infections in Neutropenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients.

Multidrug-resistant pathogens have emerged worldwide. We have driven the hypothesis that the non-use of fluoroquinolone prophylaxis during neutropenia could reduce antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria that cause bloodstream infections (BSIs) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients and that this change in resistance pattern could lead to an impact on BSI mortality. This is a quasi-experimental study comparing BSI incidence, resistance patterns of bacteria that cause BSI, and BSI mortality when levofloxacin prophylaxis was routine for neutropenic HSCT patients (2016-2018) to when fluoroquinolone prophylaxis was discontinued in our center (2019). Bivariate comparisons and multivariate logistic regression models were used for analyses. A total of 310 HSCTs (66 (21%) allogeneic and 244 (79%) autologous) were performed during the study period. Sixty (19%) patients had BSIs, 30 in each evaluated period. The discontinuation of levofloxacin prophylaxis was associated with an increase in BSI incidence and a decrease in the resistance rates of causative BSI bacteria and in BSI 30-day mortality. The increase in the rate of resistant bacteria causing BSI and in BSI mortality might outweigh the benefits of a decrease in BSI incidence caused by fluoroquinolone prophylaxis in neutropenic HSCT patients. We suggest that the routine use of fluoroquinolone in this context be revisited.

SARS-Cov-2 seroprevalence and risk factors among health care workers: Estimating the risk of COVID-19 dedicated units.

We evaluated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and risk factors among 1,996 oligo/asymptomatic health care workers. The seroprevalence was 5.5% and risk factors associated with being infected with SARS-CoV-2 was professional category of cleaning (adj odds ratio 2.22, 95% confidence interval: 1.12-4.44, P: .023) and male gender (adj odds ratio: 1.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.32, P: .035).Working at dedicated COVID-19 units (high-risk group) was not an independent risk factor for seropositivity.

Serological diagnosis of pneumococcal infection in children with pneumonia using protein antigens: A study of cut-offs with positive and negative controls.

The etiological diagnosis of infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children is difficult, and the use of indirect techniques is frequently warranted. We aimed to study the use of pneumococcal proteins for the serological diagnosis of pneumococcal infection in children with pneumonia. We analyzed paired serum samples from 13 Brazilian children with invasive pneumococcal pneumonia (positive control group) and 23 Finnish children with viral pharyngitis (negative control group), all aged <5years-old. Children with pharyngitis were evaluated for oropharyngeal colonization, and none of them carried S. pneumoniae. We used a multiplex bead-based assay with eight proteins: Ply, CbpA, PspA1 and 2, PcpA, PhtD, StkP and PcsB. The optimal cut-off for increase in antibody level for the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection was determined for each antigen by ROC curve analysis. The positive control group had a significantly higher rate of ≥2-fold rise in antibody levels against all pneumococcal proteins, except Ply, compared to the negative controls. The cut-off of ≥2-fold increase in antibody levels was accurate for pneumococcal infection diagnosis for all investigated antigens. However, there was a substantial increase in the accuracy of the test with a cut-off of ≥1.52-fold rise in antibody levels for PcpA. When using the investigated protein antigens for the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection, the detection of response against at least one antigen was highly sensitive (92.31%) and specific (91.30%). The use of serology with pneumococcal proteins is a promising method for the diagnosis of pneumococcal infection in children with pneumonia. The use of a ≥2-fold increase cut-off is adequate for most pneumococcal proteins.

The immediate effect of sildenafil on right ventricular function in patients with heart failure measured by cardiac magnetic resonance: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies have demonstrated that phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibition is associated with right ventricle (RV) functional improvement in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. This study aims to demonstrate the immediate impact of Sildenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, on RV function, measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), in patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS: We conducted a randomized double-blind controlled trial. INCLUSION CRITERIA: diagnosis of HF functional class I-III; left ventricle ejection fraction < 35%. Patients underwent CMR evaluation and were then equally randomly assigned to either 50 mg of Sildenafil or Placebo groups. One hour following drug administration, they were submitted to a second scan examination. RESULTS: 26 patients were recruited from a tertiary reference center in Brazil and 13 were allocated to each study group. The median age was 61.5 years (50-66.5 years). Except for the increase in RV fractional area change following the administration of sildenafil (Sildenafil [before vs. after]: 34.3 [25.2-43.6]% vs. 42.9 [28.5-46.7]%, p = 0.04; Placebo [before vs. after]: 28.1 [9.2-34.8]% vs. 29.2 [22.5-38.8]%, p = 0.86), there was no statistically significant change in parameters. There was no improvement in left ventricular parameters or in the fractional area change of the pulmonary artery. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that a single dose of Sildenafil did not significantly improve RV function as measured by the CMR. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01936350.

Atividade educativa na sala de espera com pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca / An educational activity in the waiting room with heart failure patients

Fundamentos: A insuficiência cardíaca (IC) é uma síndrome crônica, de tratamento complexo; de tal modo permite que estratégias de educação em saúde tenham importante impacto na qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia de palestra realizada na sala de espera de um ambulatório para pacientes com IC. Métodos: Palestra educativa foi realizada para pacientes que aguardavam o atendimento, com duração média de 40 minutos. Antes e após a palestra, os pacientes responderam ao mesmo questionário, composto por 10 perguntas objetivas, concernentes à IC. Dados sociodemográficos foram coletados na ocasião do preenchimento do questionário e os dados clínicos durante a consulta. Resultados: 187 pacientes responderam ao questionário inicial e 114 ao questionário final. Foi encontrada uma melhora significativa no desempenho dos pacientes após a palestra (79,3% vs. 92,8%, p<0,001). Conclusões: Palestras constituem uma importante estratégia educacional, são de simples execução e apresentam impacto imediato e significativo no conhecimento dos pacientes sobre IC.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic syndrome and of complex treatment. So that, it allows health education strategies to have important impact on the management of these patients. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of educational activities on the waiting room of a specialized clinic for patients with HF. Methods: While waiting for their appointments at the clinic, the patients took part on an educational activity with main duration of 40 minutes. They answered questionnaire (consisting of 10 questions) both before and after the lectures about HF. Sociodemographic data were collected during the questionnaire application and the clinical data during the medical appointment. Results: 187 patients answered the initial questionnaire and 114 answered both of them. There was a significant improvement of the questionnaire's results after the lectures (79.3% vs 92.8%, p<0.001). Conclusions: Lectures performed at the waiting room of a specialized clinic represent an important educational strategy of simple execution and with a significant immediate impact on the patient's knowledge about HF.