Knowledge, behaviour and attitudes towards Chagas disease among the Bolivian migrant population living in Japan: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, behaviour and attitudes towards Chagas disease (CD) among Latin American migrants in Japan and to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational activity (EA) in increasing knowledge of CD. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, mixed-methods study employing a preknowledge and postknowledge test and focus group discussion, conducted from March 2018 to June 2018. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two participants were included, all born in Bolivia and residents in four Japanese cities. Fifty-nine of them participated in the EA. INTERVENTIONS: The EA comprised showing three videos about CD and a group discussion covering different dimensions of CD and was evaluated with questionnaires to analyse the knowledge of the participants before and after. RESULTS: Seventy-two participants were enrolled, predominantly from highly endemic CD areas of Bolivia. Though most participants were familiar with vector-borne transmission, epidemiology and symptomatology of CD, the baseline knowledge of CD was low. Less than 10% of them had been tested prior for CD. The dominant factors associated with better knowledge were living in Japan for more than 10 years (OR=8.42, 95% CI 1.56 to 48.62) and previously testing for CD (OR=11.32; 95% CI 1.52 to 105.9). The EA significantly improved the CD knowledge of the participants (p value <0.0001; 95% CI 2.32 to 3.84). The participants associated the term 'Chagas' mostly with fear and concern. The level of stigmatisation was low, in contrast to the results of other studies. The barriers encountered in care-seeking behaviour were language, the migration process and difficulties to access the healthcare system. CONCLUSION: EA with an integrative approach is useful to increase the knowledge of CD within the Bolivian migrant population living in Japan. The activity brings the possibility to explore not only the level of knowledge but also to reveal experiences and to understand the needs of the people at risk. Considering them as actors towards healthcare solutions could lead to better outcomes for the success of future policies and interventions aimed to decrease the global burden.

Computed tomography evaluation of internal nasal valve angle and area and its correlation with NOSE scale for symptomatic improvement in rhinoplasty / Avaliação do ângulo e da área da válvula nasal interna por tomografia computadorizada e sua correlação com a escala NOSE na melhora sintomática pós rinoplastia

Abstract Introduction: Nasal obstruction is one of the most frequent otolaryngologic complaints; and the collapse of the internal nasal valve is one the main causes of the nasal air flow obstruction. Objective: We aimed to evaluate internal nasal valve by using reformatted CT-scans pre- and post- rhinoplasty at 3 months and to assess its correlation to symptomatic improvement of nasal obstruction using the NOSE scale. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted between March 2017-May 2018 in a tertiary care otorhinolaryngology center. We included patients suffering from nasal obstruction secondary to internal nasal angle collapse and nasal deformity. Patients with sinusitis, nasal polyposis, and nasal masses were excluded. Results: Twenty consecutive patients underwent rhinoplasty, with a mean age (22.2 ± 2.8), with majority of males (n = 14; 70%). There was no significant correlation between pre- and post- CT-scans of the internal nasal valve angle/area and NOSE scores. A high significant difference was detected between mean pre- and post- NOSE scores (p < 0.0001), which was absent in CT-scan results. Conclusion: Reformatted CT-scans measurements of internal nasal valve area and angle were not of value. NOSE scores pre- and post- rhinoplasty had a significant value to determine degree of obstructive symptom improvement.

Resumo Introdução: A obstrução nasal é uma das queixas otorrinolaringológicas mais comuns, e o colapso ou obstrução da válvula nasal interna é a principal causa da obstrução das vias aéreas nasais. Objetivo: Objetivamos avaliar a válvula nasal interna pré, e 3 meses pós-rinoplastia utilizandotomografias computadorizadas reformatadas e avaliar sua correlação com a melhora do sintoma obstrutivo utilizando a escala NOSE, do Inglês Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation. Método: Um estudo observacional prospectivo foi realizado entre março de 2017 e maio de 2018 em um centro de otorrinolaringologia de atenção terciária. Foram incluídos pacientes que apresentavam obstrução nasal secundário a colapso da valva nasal interna e deformidade nasal. Pacientes com sinusite, polipose nasal e tumores nasais foram excluídos. Resultados: Vinte pacientes consecutivos, a maioria do sexo masculino (n = 14; 70%) com média de idade de 22,2 ± 2,8 anos, foram submetidos a rinoplastia eincluídos no estudo. Não houve correlação significante entre as avaliações tomográficas pré / pós cirúrgicas do ângulo/área da valva nasal interna e os escores NOSE. Foi detectada uma diferençã altamente significante entre os escores médios da escala NOSE entre o pré e pós-operatório (p < 0,0001), mas não nos resultados da avaliação por tomografia computadorizada. Conclusão: As medidas reformatadas de tomografias computadorizadas da área e ângulo da valva nasal interna pré e pós cirúrgicas não tiveram valor. Entretanto, os escores da escala NOSE pré e pós-rinoplastia mostraram uma diferença significante ao determinar o grau de melhora do sintoma obstrutivo.

Computed tomography evaluation of internal nasal valve angle and area and its correlation with NOSE scale for symptomatic improvement in rhinoplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Nasal obstruction is one of the most frequent otolaryngologic complaints; and the collapse of the internal nasal valve is one the main causes of the nasal air flow obstruction. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate internal nasal valve by using reformatted CT-scans pre- and post- rhinoplasty at 3 months and to assess its correlation to symptomatic improvement of nasal obstruction using the NOSE scale. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted between March 2017-May 2018 in a tertiary care otorhinolaryngology center. We included patients suffering from nasal obstruction secondary to internal nasal angle collapse and nasal deformity. Patients with sinusitis, nasal polyposis, and nasal masses were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty consecutive patients underwent rhinoplasty, with a mean age (22.2 ±â€¯2.8), with majority of males (n = 14; 70%). There was no significant correlation between pre- and post- CT-scans of the internal nasal valve angle/area and NOSE scores. A high significant difference was detected between mean pre- and post- NOSE scores (p < 0.0001), which was absent in CT-scan results. CONCLUSION: Reformatted CT-scans measurements of internal nasal valve area and angle were not of value. NOSE scores pre- and post- rhinoplasty had a significant value to determine degree of obstructive symptom improvement.

Association of HLA and post-schistosomal hepatic disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Several human genetic variants, HLA antigens and alleles are reportedly linked to post-schistosomal hepatic disorder (PSHD), but the results from these reports are highly inconclusive. In order to estimate overall associations between human genetic variants, HLA antigens, HLA alleles and PSHD, we systematically reviewed and performed a meta-analysis of relevant studies in both post-schistosomal hepatic disorder and post-schistosomal non-hepatic disorder patients. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, The HuGE Published Literature database, Cochrane Library, and manual search of reference lists of articles published before July 2009 were used to retrieve relevant studies. Two reviewers independently selected articles and extracted data on study characteristics and data regarding the association between genetic variants, HLA antigens, HLA alleles and PSHD in the form of 2×2 tables. A meta-analysis using fixed-effects or random-effects models to pooled odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated only if more than one study had investigated particular variation. We found 17 articles that met our eligibility criteria. Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum were reported as the species causing PSHD. Since human genetic variants were only investigated in one study, these markers were not assessed by meta-analysis. Thus, only HLA-genes (a total of 66 HLA markers) were conducted in the meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that human leucocyte antigens HLA-DQB1*0201 (OR=2.64, P=0.018), DQB1*0303 (OR=1.93, P=0.008), and DRB1*0901 (OR=2.14, P=0.002) alleles and HLA-A1 (OR=5.10, P=0.001), A2 (OR=2.17, P=0.005), B5 (OR=4.63, P=0.001), B8 (OR=2.99, P=0.02), and B12 (OR=5.49, P=0.005) serotypes enhanced susceptibility to PSHD, whereas HLA-DQA1*0501 (OR=0.29, P≤0.001) and DQB1*0301 (OR=0.58, P=0.007) were protective factors against the disease. We further suggested that the DRB1*0901-DQB1*0201, DRB1*0901-DQB1*0303 and A1-B8 haplotypes enhanced susceptibility to PSHD, whereas DQA1*0501-DQB1*0301 linkage decreased the risk of PSHD. The result improved our understanding of the association between the HLA loci and PSHD with regard to pathogenic or protective T-cells and provided novel evidence that HLA alleles may influence disease severity.