[Tuberculosis in childhood and adolescence: prevalence and factors associated with treatment abandonment]. / Tuberculose na infância e adolescência: prevalência e fatores associados ao abandono do tratamento.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that remains a serious public health problem worldwide. In the pediatric population, the knowledge about the factors that lead to the abandonment of TB treatment is limited, especially in regions with a high prevalence of the disease. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with TB treatment abandonment in children and adolescents. A cross-sectional study was carried out using data obtained from TB notifications from the São Paulo State Tuberculosis Patient Control System, Brazil, for individuals aged between 0 and 18 years, from January 2009 to December 2019. The crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated with a 95% confidence interval, using the Poisson regression model to identify associations between the outcome of treatment abandonment and the sociodemographic, clinical-epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic factors of TB cases with complete information. Of the 12,256 cases analyzed, 941 individuals abandoned treatment. The highest prevalence rate of treatment abandonment occurs among Black or brown adolescents, those over 11 years of age and those deprived of their liberty. Other characteristics associated with treatment abandonment include: being a person living with HIV/AIDS, having a history of previous TB treatment, using illicit substances and using a self-administered TB treatment regimen. Knowing the profile of the patient most likely to abandon TB treatment makes it possible to devise more effective strategies focused on adherence to drug treatment.

A tuberculose (TB) é uma doença infectocontagiosa que ainda representa um grave problema de saúde pública no mundo. Na população pediátrica, os fatores que levam ao abandono do tratamento da TB, especialmente em regiões de elevada prevalência da doença, são pouco conhecidos. Portanto, este estudo objetivou identificar a prevalência e os fatores de risco associados ao abandono do tratamento da TB em crianças e adolescentes. Foi realizado um estudo transversal com dados obtidos das notificações de TB provenientes do Sistema de Controle de Pacientes com Tuberculose do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, em indivíduos com idade entre 0 e 18 anos, no período de janeiro de 2009 a dezembro de 2019. Estimou-se a razão de prevalência bruta e ajustada com intervalo de 95% de confiança, utilizando-se o modelo de regressão de Poisson para identificar associações entre o desfecho abandono do tratamento com os fatores sociodemográficos, clínico-epidemiológicos, diagnósticos e terapêuticos dos casos de TB, contendo informações completas. Dos 12.256 casos analisados, 941 indivíduos abandonaram o tratamento. A maior taxa de prevalência de abandono do tratamento ocorre entre os adolescentes pretos ou pardos, acima de 11 anos e privados de liberdade. Outras características associadas ao abandono do tratamento incluem: serem pessoas vivendo com HIV/aids, ter histórico de tratamento anterior para TB, fazer uso de substâncias ilícitas e utilizar o regime de tratamento de TB autoadministrado. Concluiu-se que conhecer o perfil do paciente com maiores chances para abandonar o tratamento da TB permite elaborar estratégias focadas na adesão ao tratamento medicamentoso mais efetivas.

La tuberculosis (TB) es una enfermedad infectocontagiosa que sigue siendo un grave problema de salud pública mundial. Se sabe poco sobre los factores que conducen al abandono del tratamiento de la TB en la población pediátrica, especialmente en regiones con alta prevalencia de la enfermedad. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar la prevalencia y los factores de riesgo asociados con el abandono del tratamiento de la TB en niños y adolescentes. Se trató de un estudio transversal realizado a partir de los datos de notificaciones de TB del Sistema de Control de Pacientes con Tuberculosis del Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, recopilados de individuos con edades comprendidas entre 0 y 18 años, en el período de enero de 2009 a diciembre de 2019. La relación de prevalencia bruta y ajustada se estimó con un intervalo de 95% de confianza; y se utilizó el modelo de regresión de Poisson para identificar las asociaciones entre el resultado del abandono del tratamiento y los factores sociodemográficos, clínico-epidemiológicos, diagnósticos y terapéuticos de los casos de TB que contienen información completa. De los 12.256 casos analizados, 941 individuos habían abandonado el tratamiento. La mayor tasa de prevalencia de abandono del tratamiento se dio entre adolescentes negros o pardos, mayores de 11 años y los privados de libertad. Otras características asociadas con el abandono del tratamiento fueron personas que viven con VIH/sida, tener antecedentes de tratamiento previo de TB, usar sustancias ilícitas y utilizar el régimen de tratamiento de TB autoadministrado. Se concluyó que conocer el perfil de los pacientes con mayor tendencia a abandonar el tratamiento de la TB nos permite desarrollar estrategias efectivas enfocadas en una adherencia al tratamiento farmacológico.

In Nasal Mucosal Secretions, Distinct IFN and IgA Responses Are Found in Severe and Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Likely as in other viral respiratory diseases, SARS-CoV-2 elicit a local immune response, which includes production and releasing of both cytokines and secretory immunoglobulin (SIgA). Therefore, in this study, we investigated the levels of specific-SIgA for SARS-CoV-2 and cytokines in the airways mucosa 37 patients who were suspected of COVID-19. According to the RT-PCR results, the patients were separated into three groups: negative for COVID-19 and other viruses (NEGS, n = 5); negative for COVID-19 but positive for the presence of other viruses (OTHERS, n = 5); and the positive for COVID-19 (COVID-19, n = 27). Higher specific-SIgA for SARS-CoV-2, IFN-ß, and IFN-γ were found in the COVID-19 group than in the other groups. Increased IL-12p70 levels were observed in OTHERS group as compared to COVID-19 group. When the COVID-19 group was sub stratified according to the illness severity, significant differences and correlations were found for the same parameters described above comparing severe COVID-19 to the mild COVID-19 group and other non-COVID-19 groups. For the first time, significant differences are shown in the airway's mucosa immune responses in different groups of patients with or without respiratory SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Lower cost alternatives for molecular diagnosis of COVID-19: conventional RT-PCR and SYBR Green-based RT-qPCR.

In March 2020, WHO declared a pandemic state due to SARS-CoV-2 having spread. TaqMan-based real-time RT-qPCR is currently the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis. However, it is a high-cost assay, inaccessible for the majority of laboratories around the world, making it difficult to diagnose on a large scale. The objective of this study was to standardize lower cost molecular methods for SARS-CoV-2 identification. E gene primers previously determined for TaqMan assays by Colman et al. (2020) were adapted in SYBR Green assay and RT-PCR conventional. The cross-reactivity test was performed with 17 positive samples for other respiratory viruses, and the sensibility test was performed with 8 dilutions (10 based) of SARS-CoV-2 isolated and 63 SARS-CoV-2-positive samples. The SYBR Green assays and conventional RT-PCR have not shown amplification of the 17 respiratory samples positives for other viruses. The SYBR Green-based assay was able to detect all 8 dilutions of the isolate. The conventional PCR detected until 107 dilution, both assays detected the majority of the 63 samples, 98.42% of positivity in SYBR Green, and 93% in conventional PCR. The average Ct variation between SYBR Green and TaqMan was 1.92 and the highest Ct detected by conventional PCR was 35.98. Both of the proposed assays are less sensitive than the current gold standard; however, our data shows a low sensibility variation, suggesting that these methods could be used by laboratories as a lower cost molecular method for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.

Surveillance system of hemodialysis-associated infections in a pediatric unit.

The bloodstream infection surveillance system proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was prospectively conducted in a pediatric hemodialysis unit. Thirty patients were included; 73% had a catheter for vascular access at enrollment. Vascular access infection rate was 21.1 per 100 patient-months, well above those observed in adult patient surveys. Staphylococcus aureus was most frequently isolated (23%).

O olhar bioético sobre o fast food: um estudo de caso no Distrito Federal / A Bioethical Look Upon Fast Food - A Case Study in Distrito Federal

O presente estudo discute na perspectiva Bioética as estratégias de fidelização de crianças e adultos em relação ao fast food. Analisando os aspectos éticos, morais, culturais e de saúde, evidencia a situação de vulnerabilidade das crianças e dos pais frente a uma grande empresa e suas estratégias de marketing, questionando o papel do Estado na proteção e promoção da saúde do cidadão e seu bem-estar, segundo a ética da responsabilidade.