Dengue fever ophthalmic manifestations: A review and update.

Dengue fever, the most common arbovirus disease, affects an estimated 390 million people annually. Dengue virus (DENV) is an RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family with four different serotypes. Dengue haemorrhagic fever is the deadliest form of dengue infection and is characterised by thrombocytopaenia, hypotension, and the possibility of multi-system organ failure. The mechanism hypothesised for DENV viral replication is intrinsic antibody-dependent enhancement, which refers to Fcγ receptor-mediated viral amplification. This hypothesis suggests that the internalisation of DENV through the Fcγ receptor inhibits antiviral genes by suppressing type-1 interferon-mediated antiviral responses. DENV NS1 antibodies can promote the release of various inflammatory mediators in the nuclear transcription factor pathway (NF-κB-dependent), including monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8. As a result, MCP-1 increases ICAM-1 expression and facilitates leukocyte transmigration. In addition, anti-DENV NS1 antibodies induce endothelial cell apoptosis via a nitric oxide-regulated pathway. A chain reaction involving pre-existing DENV heterotypic antibodies and innate immune cells causes dysfunction in complement system activity and contributes to the action of autoantibodies and anti-endothelial cells, resulting in endothelial cell dysfunction, blood-retinal barrier breakdown, haemorrhage, and plasma leakage. A spectrum of ocular diseases associated with DENV infection, ranging from haemorrhagic to inflammatory manifestations, has been reported in the literature. Although rare, ophthalmic manifestations can occur in both the anterior and posterior segments and are usually associated with thrombocytopenia. The most common ocular complication is haemorrhage. However, ophthalmic complications, such as anterior uveitis and vasculitis, suggest an immune-mediated pathogenesis.

Acquired acoria and iris pearls in leprosy: Case report.

PURPOSE: To describe a case of a patient presenting with acquired acoria and iris pearls, a rare eye manifestation and pathognomonic finding for leprosy; to reinforce clinical, histopathological, and therapeutic aspects of ocular involvement in leprosy. METHODS: Case report. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 62-year-old male presenting with acquired acoria and iris pearls in both eyes due to leprosy also had anterior uveitis and cataract. Histopathological diagnosis of iris pearls was confirmed by the presence of Hansen's bacilli. Ophthalmological examination revealed improvement of the visual acuity after iridectomy and extracapsular cataract extraction. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of acquired acoria in a leprosy patient. It led to impaired vision and reversible blindness. Proper diagnosis and ophthalmological treatment of patients with these conditions are essential for the maintenance of a good quality of life.

Red reflex technique training simulator in newborns / Simulador para o treinamento da técnica do reflexo vermelho em recém-nascidos

Abstract: Introduction: The Red Reflex Test (RRT) consists of visualizing the reflection that light causes in the retina when it passes through the pupil. It is a screening test for pathologies that can lead to blindness, which still have great social and economic impact on families and the government. Teaching through simulators allows students and health professionals to acquire and improve their clinical skills. Objective: The aim of the study is to develop a low-cost dummy, 3D printed and based on the Arduino platform, for the training of the red reflex technique (RRT) in newborns and evaluate its educational effectiveness. Method: A RRT dummy was presented to 7 expert judges: 6 pediatricians and 1 ophthalmologist to evaluate its applicability in medical learning. For this purpose, they used a 14-item Likert scale of 5 points. Subsequently, 40 individuals participated in a course: 33 medical students, 5 pediatric residents, a nurse and a general physician. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups: control (CG) and experimental (EG) group. Each group consisted of 20 participants. The EG went through 4 stages: 1) theoretical background; 2) handling of the simulator; 3) simulated clinical practice and; 4) evaluation in real-life patients. Whereas the CG went through the following teaching methodological processes: 1) theoretical background; 2) direct training in real-life patients and; 4) practical evaluation in a real-life patient. After each respective group intervention, both groups were assessed on their learning in 40 newborns at Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Pará Foundation in Belém, state of Pará, Brazil. Results: At the judges' evaluation regarding the simulator positive items (design, similarity, interest, relevance, content, memorization, didactics, previous reminiscence, comprehension and application), 49.2% answered 'strongly agree' and 44.4%, 'agree'. Regarding the negative questions (difficulty in understanding, information overload, abstraction, difficulty in handling and clarity of operation), 40.0% answered 'strongly disagree', and 57.1%, 'disagree'. The judges were 94.9% favorable to the use of the simulator in medical education. However, comparing the two groups of students, regarding the time of exam, the results showed no statistically significant difference (p-value = 0.29). Conclusions: The dummy showed its applicability for the learning of RRT, with the advantage of being able to perform the exam without having to disturb a real-life patient.

Resumo: Introdução: O Teste do Reflexo Vermelho (TRV) consiste em visualizar o reflexo que a luz causa na retina ao passar pela pupila. Dessa forma, o TRV tria patologias que levam à cegueira e pode reduzir o impacto social e econômico das famílias e do governo. O ensino por meio de simuladores permite que estudantes e profissionais de saúde adquiram e melhorem as habilidades clínicas. Objetivos: Este estudo teve como objetivos desenvolver um manequim de baixo custo, impresso em 3D e baseado na plataforma Arduino, para o treinamento do TRV em recém-nascidos e avaliar a eficácia educacional desse exame. Métodos: Um manequim do TRV foi apresentado a sete juízes especialistas - seis pediatras e um oftalmologista - que avaliaram a aplicabilidade do teste na aprendizagem médica. Para isso, utilizaram a escala Likert de 14 itens de 5 pontos. Posteriormente, 40 participantes participaram de um curso: 33 estudantes de Medicina, cinco residentes em pediatria, uma enfermeira e um médico generalista. Dividiram-se aleatoriamente os participantes em dois grupos: controle (GC) e experimental (GE). Cada grupo foi composto por 20 participantes. Submeteu-se o GC ao ensino convencional em pacientes reais. O GE passou por quatro etapas: 1. fundamentação teórica, 2. manipulação do simulador, 3. prática clínica simulada e 4. avaliação nos pacientes reais. No GC, adotaram-se os seguintes passos: 1. fundamentação teórica, 2. treinamento direto em pacientes reais e 3. avaliação em pacientes reais. Após a intervenção de cada grupo, os dois grupos foram avaliados quanto à aprendizagem em 40 recém-nascidos da Fundação Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Pará, em Belém, no Pará. Resultados: Na avaliação dos juízes em relação aos itens positivos para o simulador (design, similaridade, interesse, relevância, conteúdo, memorização, didática, reminiscência anterior, compreensão e aplicação), 49,2% afirmaram que concordavam fortemente e 44,4% mencionaram apenas que concordavam. Nas questões negativas (dificuldade de entendimento, sobrecarga de informação, abstração, dificuldade de manuseio e clareza de operação), 40,0% discordaram fortemente e 57,1% discordaram. Os juízes concordaram em 94,9% a favor do uso do simulador na educação médica. Porém, comparando os dois grupos de estudantes, em relação ao tempo de exame, os resultados não mostraram diferença estatisticamente significante (p = 0,29). Conclusão: O manequim mostrou aplicabilidade na aprendizagem do TRV, com a vantagem de realizar o exame sem que o paciente real fosse incomodado.

An Innovative Streaming Video System With a Point-of-View Head Camera Transmission of Surgeries to Smartphones and Tablets: An Educational Utility.

PURPOSE: In order to engage medical students and residents from public health centers to utilize the telemedicine features of surgery on their own smartphones and tablets as an educational tool, an innovative streaming system was developed with the purpose of streaming live footage from open surgeries to smartphones and tablets, allowing the visualization of the surgical field from the surgeon's perspective. The current study aims to describe the results of an evaluation on level 1 of Kirkpatrick's Model for Evaluation of the streaming system usage during gynecological surgeries, based on the perception of medical students and gynecology residents. METHODS: Consisted of a live video streaming (from the surgeon's point of view) of gynecological surgeries for smartphones and tablets, one for each volunteer. The volunteers were able to connect to the local wireless network, created by the streaming system, through an access password and watch the video transmission on a web browser on their smartphones. Then, they answered a Likert-type questionnaire containing 14 items about the educational applicability of the streaming system, as well as comparing it to watching an in loco procedure. This study is formally approved by the local ethics commission (Certificate No. 53175915.7.0000.5171/2016). RESULTS: Twenty-one volunteers participated, totalizing 294 items answered, in which 94.2% were in agreement with the items affirmative, 4.1% were neutral, and only 1.7% answers corresponded to negative impressions. Cronbach's α was .82, which represents a good reliability level. Spearman's coefficients were highly significant in 4 comparisons and moderately significant in the other 20 comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a local streaming video system of live surgeries to smartphones and tablets and shows its educational utility, low cost, and simple usage, which offers convenience and satisfactory image resolution, thus being potentially applicable in surgical teaching.