Echocardiographic predictors of early in-hospital heart failure during first ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction: does myocardial performance index and left atrial volume improve diagnosis over conventional parameters of left ventricular function?

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been considered a major determinant of early outcome in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Myocardial performance index (MPI) has been associated to early evolution in AMI in a heterogeneous population, including non ST-elevation or previous AMI. Left atrial volume has been related with late evolution after AMI. We evaluated the independent role of clinical and echocardiographic variables including LVEF, MPI and left atrial volume in predicting early in-hospital congestive heart failure (CHF) specifically in patients with a first isolated ST-elevation AMI. METHODS: Echocardiography was performed within 30 hours of chest pain in 95 patients with a first ST-elevation AMI followed during the first week of hospitalization. Several clinical and echocardiographic variables were analyzed. CHF was defined as Killip class ≥ II. Multivariate regression analysis was used to select independent predictor of in-hospital CHF. RESULTS: Early in-hospital CHF occurred in 29 (31%) of patients. LVEF ≤ 0.45 was the single independent and highly significant predictor of early CHF among other clinical and echocardiographic variables (odds ratio 17.0; [95% CI 4.1 - 70.8]; p < 0.0001). MPI alone could not predict CHF in first ST-elevation AMI patients. Left atrial volume was not associated with early CHF in such patients. CONCLUSION: For patients with first, isolated ST-elevation AMI, LVEF assessed by echocardiography still constitutes a strong and accurate independent predictor of early in-hospital CHF, superior to isolated MPI and left atrial volume in this particular subset of patients.

Severe physical punishment: risk of mental health problems for poor urban children in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between specific types of child mental health problems and severe physical punishment, in combination with other important known risk factors. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Embu, São Paulo, Brazil, as the Brazilian component of a multicountry survey on abuse in the family environment. From a probabilistic sample of clusters that included all eligible households (women aged 15-49 years with a son or daughter < 18 years of age), we randomly selected one mother-child pair per household (n = 813; attrition rate: 17.6%). This study focused on children aged 6-17 years (n = 480). Child Behaviour Checklist CBCL/6-18 was used to identify children with internalizing problems only, externalizing problems only, and both internalizing and externalizing problems (comorbidity). Severe physical punishment was defined as being hit with an object, being kicked, choked, smothered, burnt, scalded, branded, beaten or threatened with a weapon. We examined other potential correlates from four domains: child (gender, age, ever witnessing marital violence); mother (education, unemployment, anxiety or depression, marital violence); father (absence, drunkenness); and family (socioeconomic status). The WHO Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to identify maternal anxiety or depression (score > 7). Backward logistic regression analysis identified independent correlates and significant interactions. FINDINGS: Multivariate modelling showed that severe punishment was an independent correlate of comorbid internalizing and externalizing problems but was not associated with internalizing problems only. It increased the risk of externalizing problems alone only for children and adolescents not exposed to maternal anxiety or depression. Maternal anxiety or depression increased the risk only for children or adolescents not exposed to severe punishment. CONCLUSION: Severe punishment may be related to child mental health problems, with the mechanism depending on the type of problem. Its influence persists in the presence of family stressors such as the father's absence and maternal anxiety or depression.

Disagreement between parents and health professionals regarding pain intensity in critically ill neonates.

OBJECTIVE: To verify whether parents and health professionals homogeneously evaluate presence and intensity of neonatal pain. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 52 neonates and 154 adults. Inclusion criteria for neonates were admission to neonatal intensive care unit, presence of gastric tube, tracheal tube, and venous lines. Each newborn was observed by a different group of three adults (parent, nurse assistant and pediatrician) for 1 minute at the same time to evaluate presence and intensity of infant's pain. Homogeneity of pain evaluation was analyzed by a modified Bland-Altman plot and by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate association of neonatal characteristics and heterogeneity of pain scores for adults. RESULTS: ICC showed disagreement of the pain scores given by the three groups of adults (ICC 0.066, agreement > 0.75). Bland-Altman analysis showed agreement among adults when they thought pain was absent. When they thought pain was present, there was heterogeneity of opinions regarding intensity of neonatal pain. Multiple regression analysis indicated that 10% of this disagreement could be explained by infant's gender and mode of delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Disagreement among adults about intensity of neonatal pain is a marker of the difficulty in deciding the need for analgesia in preverbal patients.

Chest expansion for assessing tidal volume in premature newborn infants on ventilators.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether clinical observation of chest expansion predicts tidal volume in neonates on mechanical ventilation and whether observer experience interferes with results. METHODS: An observational study that enrolled less experienced physicians in the first year of pediatric residency, moderately experienced (second year pediatric residency, first year of neonatology or pediatric intensive care specialization) or who were already experienced (second year neonatology specialization, graduate students or primary physician supervisors with minimum experience of 4 years in neonatology). These professionals observed the chest expansion of newborn infants on mechanical ventilation and estimated the tidal volume being supplied to the babies. True tidal volume given was calculated, indexed by the patient's current weight, and considered adequate between 4 and 6 mL/kg, insufficient below 4 mL/kg and excessive over 6 mL/kg. Results were analyzed using chi-square test. RESULTS: One hundred and eleven assessments were carried out with 21 newborn infants and the estimates given were in agreement with measured volume in 23.1, 41.3 and 65.7% for less, moderately and experienced physicians, respectively. These results are evidence that the three groups are not statistically equal (p = 0.013) and that the group of fully-experienced physicians have a better level of agreement than those with little or moderate experience (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical analysis of chest expansion by physicians with less or moderate experience exhibit a low level of agreement with the tidal volume given to newborn infants on mechanical ventilation. Although increased experience did result in higher levels of agreement, chest expansion must still be interpreted with caution.

Apolipoprotein E4 allele and ribosomal genes in Alzheimer's disease.

Ribosomal genes are involved in cellular transcription, translation and gene expression modulation process. An association between 28S/18S rRNA ratio levels with apoptosis and aging has been reported. Moulder et al. [22] and Hashimoto et al. [8] showed an association between apolipoprotein E4 allele and neuronal cell apoptosis through diverse mechanisms. The apoE 4 allele is considered a late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factor associated with AD pathogenesis. We evaluated the association between apoE4 allele genotyping by PCR and rRNA 28S/18S ratio by slot blotting technique using peripheral blood samples of 18 Alzheimer's disease patients, 18 elderly controls and 18 young controls. A rRNA ratio decrease was observed in AD individuals confirming our previous results but this association is independently of the ApoE4 allele genotype. Thus our results pointed that two different mechanisms are involved in the etiology of Alzheimer disease each one leading independently to cell death. Further studies could investigate these factors.

[Profile of opioid prescriptions for intubated and mechanically ventilated neonates]. / Perfil da indicação de analgésicos opióides em recém-nascidos em ventilação pulmonar mecânica.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that affect the decision of prescribing opioids for intubated and ventilated neonates. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Retrospective study of intubated and ventilated newborn infants for periods longer than one hour, admitted to the NICU from January 1995 to June 1997. During this period, 203 patients fulfilled inclusion criteria and data of 176 charts were reviewed. Charts were analyzed regarding demographic data, characteristics of analgesia and respiratory support, invasive procedures performed and clinical entities diagnosed during the period of mechanical ventilation. Discriminative analysis was used to understand factors that lead to opioid use by some of these patients. RESULTS: Ninety-seven neonates received at least one dose of opioids during the period of mechanical ventilation. None of these patients was evaluated with pain scales, and in 63% of them we could not retrieve any reason for opioid prescription in their charts. Discriminative analysis showed that the main differences between groups were birthweight, gestational age, oxygenation index at intubation, and number of arterial sticks during the first 72 hours of mechanical ventilation. The most mature and heaviest neonates with a more severe respiratory insufficiency received opioid analgesia during ventilation. CONCLUSION: The decision to use opioids in intubated and ventilated neonates was based on the infants' aspect and respiratory status. It did not consider the pain these patients might be suffering and it was not based on the evaluation of pain.

Risk factors for surgical site infection in kidney transplant recipients.

We analyzed the epidemiologic characteristics and risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) in kidney transplant recipients. From among 1,939 kidney transplant recipients, 120 with corresponding control subjects were evaluated in this study (1:1 ratio). Reoperation, chronic glomerulonephritis, acute graft rejection, delayed graft function, diabetes, and high body mass index were identified in the analysis as risk factors for SSI.

Discordância entre pais e profissionais de saúde quanto à intensidade da dor no recém-nascido criticamente doente / Disagreement between parents and health professionals regarding pain intensity in critically ill neonates

OBJETIVO: Verificar se pais e profissionais de saúde que trabalham em unidades de terapia intensiva neonatal avaliam de maneira semelhante a presença e a magnitude da dor no recém-nascido (RN). MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com 52 RN e 154 adultos. Os critérios de inclusão foram: internação em unidade de terapia intensiva neonatal, presença de sonda gástrica, cânula traqueal e acesso venoso. Cada RN foi observado de modo simultâneo por um trio diferente de adultos (pai/mãe, pediatra e auxiliar de enfermagem) durante 1 minuto para avaliar presença e intensidade da dor do paciente. A análise quanto à homogeneidade da avaliação de dor foi realizada por meio do gráfico de Bland-Altman modificado e do coeficiente de correlação intraclasses (CCI). A associação de fatores próprios do recém-nascido com a heterogeneidade da avaliação da dor do RN pelos adultos foi avaliada por meio de regressão linear múltipla. RESULTADOS: O CCI mostrou discordância entre os três grupos de adultos quanto à avaliação da dor (CCI 0,066, concordância > 0,75). A análise de Bland-Altman mostrou que houve concordância entre os adultos quanto à ausência de dor no RN. Porém, quando os adultos achavam que a dor estava presente, houve heterogeneidade na avaliação da intensidade de dor neonatal. A análise de regressão múltipla indicou que apenas 10 por cento desta heterogeneidade foi explicada pelo sexo e via de parto do RN. CONCLUSÕES: A heterogeneidade na avaliação feita por adultos da intensidade da dor de RN é um marcador da dificuldade de se decidir a respeito da necessidade de analgesia em pacientes pré-verbais.

OBJECTIVE: To verify whether parents and health professionals homogeneously evaluate presence and intensity of neonatal pain. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 52 neonates and 154 adults. Inclusion criteria for neonates were admission to neonatal intensive care unit, presence of gastric tube, tracheal tube, and venous lines. Each newborn was observed by a different group of three adults (parent, nurse assistant and pediatrician) for 1 minute at the same time to evaluate presence and intensity of infant's pain. Homogeneity of pain evaluation was analyzed by a modified Bland-Altman plot and by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate association of neonatal characteristics and heterogeneity of pain scores for adults. RESULTS: ICC showed disagreement of the pain scores given by the three groups of adults (ICC 0.066, agreement > 0.75). Bland-Altman analysis showed agreement among adults when they thought pain was absent. When they thought pain was present, there was heterogeneity of opinions regarding intensity of neonatal pain. Multiple regression analysis indicated that 10 percent of this disagreement could be explained by infant's gender and mode of delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Disagreement among adults about intensity of neonatal pain is a marker of the difficulty in deciding the need for analgesia in preverbal patients.

Perfil da indicação de analgésicos opióides em recém-nascidos em ventilação pulmonar mecânica / Profile of opioid prescriptions for intubated and mechanically ventilated neonates

Objetivo: identificar fatores que levaram os médicos a prescreverem opióides a recém-nascidos em ventilação mecânica. Método: estudo retrospectivo de pacientes em ventilação mecânica por cânula traqueal, por mais de 1 hora, internados em UTI neonatal entre janeiro de 1995 ajunho de 1997. Nesse período, 203 recém-nascidos preencheram o critério de inclusão, recuperando-se 176 prontuários. Os prontuários foram analisados quanto a dados demográficos, características da analgesia e do suporte ventilatório, procedimentos invasivos realizados e entidades mórbidas diagnosticadas durante o período de ventilação. Para entender os fatores que determinaram o uso da analgesia em parte dessa população, utilizou-se a análise discriminante. Resultados: Nos 97 pacientes que receberam 2: 1 dose de opióides durante a ventilação, a analgesia foi iniciada, em média, até 24 horas após o início da ventilação. As escalas de avaliação da dor não foram usadas em nenhum paciente e, em 63por cento, não havia relato do motivo para a analgesia. A análise discriminante mostrou que as variáveis que diferenciaram os grupos submetidos ou não à analgesia foram: peso ao nascer, idade gestacional, índice de oxigenação e número de punções arteriais. Os neonatos com maior chance dereceberem alguma dose de opióide durante a ventilação foram os de peso mais elevado, idade gestacional mais avançada, índice de oxigenação mais acentuado no início da ventilação e maior necessidade de gasometrias, ou seja, os bebês mais maduros e com doença respiratória mais grave.Conclusão: os médicos...