ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Studies have identified a greater risk of sensory neural hearing loss in individuals with COPD compared to healthy individuals, but it is unclear whether they are at increased risk of hearing loss with impaired speech recognition. The aim of this study was to assess whether COPD is associated with hearing loss that affects speech recognition. METHODS: This is a case-control study. We screened individuals from health facilities in the municipality of Jundiai. We enrolled a test group of individuals with COPD and an age-matched control group composed of individuals with asthma. The selected individuals attended an appointment with a chest physician, responded questionnaires and underwent tonal and speech audiometry. Adjusted binary logistic regression analysis evaluated whether COPD was associated with reduced speech recognition. RESULTS: We enrolled 36 individuals with COPD and 72 with asthma. Individuals with COPD were more likely to have a reduced speech recognition compared to asthmatic individuals [Reduced recognition of three-syllable words: adjusted OR 3.72, 95 CI (1.38 - 10.02)] [Reduced recognition of monosyllable words: adjusted OR 4.74, 95 CI (1.52 - 14.76)]. CONCLUSION: We conclude that individuals with COPD from primary and secondary healthcare facilities have at least 38% greater risk of hearing loss with reduced speech recognition compared to an age-matched control group of individuals with asthma recruited from the same facilities. We recommend that longitudinal studies evaluate whether regular screening could contribute to the prevention or early treatment of hearing loss in individuals with moderate-severe COPD.
ABSTRACT
The presence of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in urban and periurban areas has caused increased numbers of cases of Brazilian spotted fever. With the aim of investigating the presence of the parasitoid Ixodiphagus hookeri in Amblyomma sculptum ticks in the municipality of Salto, state of São Paulo, samples were collected monthly from 14 sites. Thirty samples were placed in containers for observation of the emergence of microhymenopterans and 88 samples were subjected to molecular testing to identify the presence of I. hookeri DNA. Neither dissections nor observation of emergence indicated any presence of I. hookeri larvae in ticks. Samples subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the mCOX I region of I. hookeri did not reveal its presence, although fragments corresponding to mRNA 16S of Amblyomma sculptum ticks were amplified in all samples tested.