"Health for All" in England and Brazil?

This article discusses the achievements and challenges that England and Brazil face in relation to their capacity to address inequalities in health through health promotion and public health policies. Using secondary data (policy texts and related documents), this article contextualizes, explains, and critically appraises health promotion and public health efforts for the reduction of inequalities in health in the 2 countries. A historic documentary analysis was undertaken, with hermeneutics as the methodological framework. The global economic crisis has prompted the so-called developed economies of Europe to reconsider their economic and social priorities. England represents a state facing this kind of challenge. Equally, Brazil is assuming new positions not only on the world stage but also in terms of the relationship it has with its citizens and the priorities it has for state welfare. The United Kingdom continues to finance a health care system allowing universal access in the form of the National Health Service, and state concern about the public health task of reducing inequalities has recently been underlined in policy. For Brazil, although there have been recent achievements related to population access to healthcare, challenges continue, especially with regard to the quality of care.

Clinical-epidemiological and laboratory profiles of severe Schistosomiasis mansoni infections at a university hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem. This was a descriptive and retrospective study of 42 patients with a severe form of schistosomiasis who were admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: A data collection questionnaire was designed from the patient charts, and the following variables were evaluated: age, sex, place of birth, occupation, signs and symptoms of schistosomiasis, data from laboratory and imaging examinations, data regarding treatment outcomes, and the existence of comorbidities. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 15.0 and Microsoft Excel 2003 software. The significance levels of the tests were fixed, accepting 5% type 1 error (α=0.05). Since this was a retrospective observational study, not all data were available for analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 48.24 years; 57.1% were male. Statistically significant associations were observed between splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia (p=0.004) and between splenomegaly and leukopenia (p=0.046); however, only 4.5% of the patients had esophageal hemorrhage. Some patients received a specific treatment; of those, 42% took praziquantel, and 35.4% took oxamniquine. Nonspecific drug therapy was given as follows: 65% received propranolol, 90% omeprazole, and 43.6% aluminum hydroxide. The other treatments were as follows: 92.9% of patients underwent endoscopic treatment, 85% received sclerotherapy, and 62.5% used elastic bandages. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study presents a multidisciplinary outpatient follow-up associated with endoscopic and drug treatments that may be effective at preventing bleeding.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome associated with disseminated mycobacterial infection in patients with AIDS.

Restoration of the immune system after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) resulting from a quantitative and qualitative process of cell immune activity recovery may evolve with adverse clinical phenomena, known as the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). It can occur in association with several opportunist infections, although most reported cases have been related to mycobacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium. We describe three clinical cases of mycobacterial infection with different presentation patterns of IRIS after HAART. In each of these patients, immune reconstitution led to clinical manifestation of a latent infection, or clinical worsening of preexisting lesions, or manifestation of new lesions in the central nervous system. Clinical aspects of IRIS are presented in the paper and clinical management options for this event are carefully discussed.

Clinical-epidemiological and laboratory profiles of severe Schistosomiasis mansoni infections at a university hospital

OBJECTIVE: Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem. This was a descriptive and retrospective study of 42 patients with a severe form of schistosomiasis who were admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: A data collection questionnaire was designed from the patient charts, and the following variables were evaluated: age, sex, place of birth, occupation, signs and symptoms of schistosomiasis, data from laboratory and imaging examinations, data regarding treatment outcomes, and the existence of comorbidities. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 15.0 and Microsoft Excel 2003 software. The significance levels of the tests were fixed, accepting 5% type 1 error (α=0.05). Since this was a retrospective observational study, not all data were available for analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 48.24 years; 57.1% were male. Statistically significant associations were observed between splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia (p=0.004) and between splenomegaly and leukopenia (p=0.046); however, only 4.5% of the patients had esophageal hemorrhage. Some patients received a specific treatment; of those, 42% took praziquantel, and 35.4% took oxamniquine. Nonspecific drug therapy was given as follows: 65% received propranolol, 90% omeprazole, and 43.6% aluminum hydroxide. The other treatments were as follows: 92.9% of patients underwent endoscopic treatment, 85% received sclerotherapy, and 62.5% used elastic bandages. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study presents a multidisciplinary outpatient follow-up associated with endoscopic and drug treatments that may be effective at preventing bleeding.