Artificial Inteligence-Based Decision for the Prediction of Cardioembolism in Patients with Chagas Disease and Ischemic Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease (CD) and ischemic stroke (IS) have a close, but poorly understood, association. There is paucity of evidence on the ideal secondary prophylaxis and etiological determination, with few cardioembolic patients being identified. AIMS: This study aimed to describe a multicenter cohort of patients with concomitant CD and IS admitted in tertiary centers and to create a predictive model for cardioembolic embolism in CD and IS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied data obtained from electronic medical and regular medical records of patients with CD and IS in several academic, hospital-based, and university hospitals across Brazil. Descriptive analyses of cardioembolic and non-cardioembolic patients were performed. A prediction model for cardioembolism was proposed with 70% of the sample as the derivation sample, and the model was validated in 30% of the sample. RESULTS: A total of 499 patients were analyzed. The median age was similar in both groups; however, patients with cardioembolic embolism were younger and tended to have higher alcoholism, smoking, and death rates. The predictive model for the etiological classification showed close relation with the number of abnormalities detected on echocardiography and electrocardiography as well as with vascular risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results replicate in part those previously published, with a higher prevalence of vascular risk factors and lower median age in patients with cardioembolic etiology. Our new model for predicting cardioembolic etiology can help identify patients with higher recurrence rate and therefore allow an optimized strategy for secondary prophylaxis.

Mucormicose em paciente com diabetes mellitus: evolução grave de sinusopatia para acometimento cerebral por provável lesão arterial extensa / Mucormycosis in a diabetic patient: severe evolution from synuspath to cerebral involvemement likely due to extensive arterial lesion

A mucormicose é causada por fungos da classe dos zigomicetos e acomete especialmente pacientes imunossuprimidos ou diabéticos em presença de cetoacidose. O marco patológico das zigomicoses é a invasão direta dos vasos pelas hifas, causando trombose e infarto hemorrágico dos tecidos, com intensa resposta inflamatória polimorfonuclear. Descreve-se aqui o caso clínico de um paciente idoso, diabético com controle inadequado, portador da forma rinocerebral da mucormicose. Apresentou evolução desfavorável, com oftalmoplegia à esquerda, isquemia cerebral grave, com repercussões funcionais significativas, perda da consciência e paralisia do dimidio direito e óbito.

The mucormycosis is caused by fungy of the class of Zygomycetos, especially attacking patient imunossupressed or diabetics in cetoacidose. The case here described corresponds to an elderly patient, diabetic, with inadequeted control, carrier of the rhinocerebral form of the mucormycosis. This case presented unfavorable evolution, with left ophtalmoplegy, suggesting lesion of cranial nerves and invasion of the base of the cranium. The lesion extended probably to the cerebral arteries, imposing serious cerebral ischemia, with significant functional repercussions, loss of the conscience, paralysis of the right side of the body and death.