Prevalence of Mollicutes among men who have sex with men and transgender women aged 15 to 19 years in Salvador, North-eastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Some species of Mollicutes have been associated with different pathologies of the urogenital tract in humans, with a high prevalence among adult men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW). However, few studies have been performed to investigate its prevalence among adolescents. In this study, we estimated the initial prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), Mycoplasma hominis (MH), Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU), and Ureaplasma parvum (UP); the rate of misdiagnosis at different anatomical sites; and the associated factors with positive tests for Mollicutes among MSM and TGW aged 15 to 19 years enrolled in the PrEP1519 study. METHODS: PrEP-1519 is the first study to investigate the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis for human immunodeficiency virus among adolescent MSM and TGW aged 15 to 19 in Latin America. Oral, anal, and urethral swabs were taken from 246 adolescents upon enrolment in the study to detect MG, MH, UU, and UP by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted by Poisson regression and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated. RESULTS: The prevalence of Mollicutes was 32.1%. UU was the most prevalent species (20.7%), followed by MH (13.4%), MG (5.7%), and UP (3.2%); 67.3% of the positive samples would have been missed if only urethral samples had been taken. Receptive anal sex (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.07-3.01) and clinical suspicion of sexually transmitted infection (PR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.01-2.61) were factors associated with the detection of Mollicutes in general. Group sex (PR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.12-3.50) and receptive anal sex (PR = 2.36; 95% CI = 0.95-5.86) were associated with the detection of Mycoplasma spp. No sociodemographic, clinical, or behavioural variable was significantly associated with the detection of Ureaplasma spp. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of Mollicutes was observed among adolescent MSM and TGW, especially at extragenital sites. Further research is required to understand the epidemiological profile of high-risk adolescents in different regions and contexts, and to investigate the pathogenesis of Mollicutes in the oral and anal mucosa before routine screening can be recommended in clinical practice.

Physicians' and nurses' perspective on chronic disease care practices in Primary Health Care in Brazil: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Primary health care-oriented systems provide better healthcare, especially for chronic diseases. This study analyzed the perspectives of physicians and nurses performing care for patients with chronic diseases in Primary Health Care in a Brazilian city. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil, using semi-structured interviews with five physicians and 18 nurses. The interview included questions from an analytical matrix based on three dimensions of healthcare practices: organizational, technical care, and biopsychosocial, following a deductive approach. The interviews were fully transcribed and analyzed using a thematic categorical approach. RESULTS: The results indicated that the provision of chronic care occurs in a comprehensive way. Potentialities were identified in the diversification of access, offer of care actions and technologies, integration of teamwork, and bringing together social networks to foster autonomy and self-care. Weaknesses were mostly related to the high number of people in the teams, follow-up of several cases, high turnover of support teams, low integration of Primary Health Care with other levels, difficulties in intersectoral articulation and family participation in care. CONCLUSION: The multidimensional assessment of health care practices aimed at individuals with chronic noncommunicable diseases was useful to portray the strengths and weaknesses of the services. It also ratifies the need to consider the importance of and investment in primary health care by offering the necessary technical, political, logistical and financial support to the units, to ensure the sustainability of the actions by nurses, doctors and entire team.

Association between gender-based discrimination and medical visits and HIV testing in a large sample of transgender women in northeast Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Gender-based discrimination remains a substantial barrier to health care access and HIV prevention among transgender women in Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between gender-based discrimination and medical visits, as well as with HIV testing among transgender women in the last 12 months in northeast Brazil. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 864 transgender women recruited using Respondent-Driven Sampling in three cities in northeastern Brazil in 2016. A socio-behavioral questionnaire was applied. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression, with odds ratio and respective 95% confidence intervals estimation, to estimate the effect of gender-based discrimination on two outcomes: i) medical visits and ii) HIV testing in the last 12 months. RESULTS: 547 transgender women (67·0%) had medical visits, and 385 (45·8%) underwent HIV testing in the last 12 months. In the multivariate analysis, gender-based discrimination was associated with a reduced likelihood of medical visits (OR: 0·29; 95%CI: 0·14-0·63) and HIV testing (OR: 0·41; 95%CI: 0·22-0·78) in the last 12 months. CONCLUSION: Gender-based discrimination played an essential role in reducing the access of TGW to medical visits and HIV testing services. Furthermore, by confirming the association between gender-based discrimination and medical visits and HIV testing in the multivariate analysis, we have demonstrated how this predictive variable can affect by reducing access to health services. The findings point to the need for non-discriminatory policies based on the defense and promotion of human rights that may foster the access of transgender women to Brazilian health services.

Impact of oral health conditions on the quality of life of quilombola and non-quilombola rural adolescents in the countryside of Bahia, Brazil: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of negative impacts of oral health conditions on the quality of life of quilombola and non-quilombola rural adolescents and identify associated factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in a rural area in the countryside of Bahia, Brazil, in 2015. Participants were asked to complete the Oral Impacts on Daily Performance Questionnaire. Prevalence and prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated together with their respective 95% confidence intervals. Multiple analysis was conducted using Poisson regression with robust error variance and hierarchical entry of variables. RESULTS: Of the 390 rural adolescents who took part in the study, 42.8% were quilombolas, and 45.6% of all participants reported a negative impact of their oral health conditions on their quality of life. The most prevalent impact was difficulty eating (32.6%). After adjusted analysis, the following factors were found to be associated with the negative impact of oral health conditions on quality of life: age (PR = 1.04), feeling lonely (PR = 1.42), worst evaluation of oral health (PR = 1.52), need of dental care (PR = 1.33), and occurrence of toothache in the last 6 months (PR = 1.83). Quilombolas and non-quilombolas presented with a different prevalence of discomfort when brushing their teeth and had different factors associated with the negative impact of oral health conditions on their quality of life. Both quilombola and non-quilombola rural adolescents showed a high prevalence of negative impact of oral health conditions on their quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for improved oral healthcare for specific populations like the quilombolas. Furthermore, the results illustrate the importance of incorporating oral healthcare strategies that take into consideration the sociocultural context of adolescents.

Cost-Effectiveness of Point-of-Care A1C Tests in a Primary Care Setting.

Objective: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the point-of-care A1c (POC-A1c) test device vs. the traditional laboratory dosage in a primary care setting for people living with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: The Markov model with a 10-year time horizon was based on data from the HealthRise project, in which a group of interventions was implemented to improve diabetes and hypertension control in the primary care network of the urban area of a Brazilian municipality. A POC-A1c device was provided to be used directly in a primary care unit, and for a period of 18 months, 288 patients were included in the point-of-care group, and 1,102 were included in the comparison group. Sensitivity analysis was performed via Monte Carlo simulation and tornado diagram. Results: The results indicated that the POC-A1c device used in the primary care unit was a cost-effective alternative, which improved access to A1c tests and resulted in an increased rate of early control of blood glucose. In the 10-year period, POC-A1c group presented a mean cost of US$10,503.48 per patient and an effectiveness of 0.35 vs. US$9,992.35 and 0.09 for the traditional laboratory test, respectively. The incremental cost was US$511.13 and the incremental effectiveness was 0.26, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 1,947.10. In Monte Carlo simulation, costs and effectiveness ranged between $9,663.20-$10,683.53 and 0.33-0.37 for POC-A1c test group, and $9,288.28-$10,413.99 and 0.08-0.10 for traditional laboratory test group, at 2.5 and 97.5 percentiles. The costs for nephropathy, retinopathy, and cardiovascular disease and the probability of being hospitalized due to diabetes presented the greatest impact on the model's result. Conclusion: This study showed that using POC-A1c devices in primary care settings is a cost-effective alternative for monitoring glycated hemoglobin A1c as a marker of blood glucose control in people living with type 2 diabetes. According to our model, the use of POC-A1c device in a healthcare unit increased the early control of type 2 diabetes and, consequently, reduced the costs of diabetes-related outcomes, in comparison with a centralized laboratory test.

[Evaluation of potential drug interactions in primary health care prescriptions in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia (Brazil)]. / Avaliação de interações medicamentosas potenciais em prescrições da atenção primária de Vitória da Conquista (BA), Brasil.

Drug interactions are risk factors for the occurrence of adverse drug reactions. The risk for drug interactions includes factors related to prescription that are intrinsic to the patient. This study sought to evaluate the potential drug interactions in primary care prescriptions in Vitória da Conquista in the state of Bahia to fill the knowledge gap on this topic in Brazil. Information about several variables derived from the primary health care prescriptions was collected and drug interactions were evaluated based on information from Medscape and Micromedex(R) databases. Polypharmacy frequency and its association with the occurrence of drug interactions were also evaluated. Results revealed a 48,9% frequency of drug interactions, 74,9% of moderate or greater severity, 8,6% of prescriptions in polypharmacy that in the chi-square test showed a positive association with the occurrence of drug interactions (p < 0,001). Prescriptions from primary care in Vitória da Conquista in the state of Bahia showed a high frequency of drug interactions, however it is necessary to analyze other risk factors for their occurrence at this level of health care.