A telemedicine network for remote paediatric cardiology services in north-east Brazil.

PROBLEM: Providing health care for children with congenital heart diseases remains a major challenge in low- and middle-income countries. APPROACH: In October 2011, the Government of Paraíba, Brazil, established a paediatric cardiology network in partnership with the nongovernmental organization Círculo do Coração. A cardiology team supervised all network activities, using the Internet to keep in contact with remote health facilities. The network developed protocols for screening heart defects. Echocardiograms were performed by physicians under direct online supervision of a cardiologist; alternatively, a video recording of the examination was subsequently reviewed by a cardiologist. Cardiovascular surgeons came to a paediatric hospital in the state capital once a week to perform heart surgeries. LOCAL SETTING: Until 2011, the State of Paraíba had no structured programme to care for children with heart disease. This often resulted in missed or late diagnosis, with adverse health consequences for the children. RELEVANT CHANGES: From 2012 to 2014, 73,751 babies were screened for heart defects and 857 abnormalities were identified. Detection of congenital heart diseases increased from 4.09 to 11.62 per 1000 live births (P < 0.001). Over 6000 consultations and echocardiograms were supervised via the Internet. Time to diagnosis, transfers and hospital stays were greatly reduced. A total of 330 operations were carried out with 6.7% (22/330) mortality. LESSONS LEARNT: Access to an echocardiography machine with remote supervision by a cardiologist improves the detection of congenital heart disease by neonatologists; virtual outpatient clinics facilitate clinical management; the use of Internet technology with simple screening techniques allows resources to be allocated more efficiently.

Busca ativa por cardiopatias congênitas é factível? Experiência em oito cidades Brasileiras / Active search for congenital heart disease is possible? Experience from eight brazilian cities

Fundamentos: As cardiopatias congênitas são causa de alta morbimortalidade na faixa etária pediátrica. Em regiões em desenvolvimento, a falta de diagnóstico precoce pode acarretar a piora do quadro; uma busca ativa por cardiopatias congênitas pode colaborar na resolução dessa situação.Objetivo: Descrever os principais achados de uma busca ativa por cardiopatias na infância, realizada em oito cidades brasileiras do estado da Paraíba. Métodos: Estudo realizado em oito cidades brasileiras do estado da Paraíba. A busca ativa compreendeu duas fases. Na primeira, os centros de saúde locais realizaram a triagem de crianças com sintomas ou história clínica de doenças cardiovasculares. Na segunda fase, realizada uma consulta clínica com posterior realização de ecocardiograma para identificação de cardiopatias. As frequências obtidas foram analisadas. Variáveis categóricas foram comparadas utilizando-se o teste do qui-quadrado. Resultados: Atendidas 440 crianças. Destas, 192 (43,63%) apresentaram alterações ao ecocardiograma. As presenças de sopro e da síndrome de Down mostraram correlação significativa (p<0,05) com a cardiopatia congênita. A maioria dos casos era de cardiopatia congênita por shunt (64,1%), seguida pelos defeitos valvares (12,5%) e pelas cardiopatias obstrutivas acianogênicas (8,3%). Conclusão: A busca ativa realizada foi capaz de identificar um número expressivo de cardiopatias congênitas na infância, não reconhecidas previamente, e inserir esses pacientes nos serviços de saúde para o tratamento adequado, garantindo-lhes melhor qualidade de vida.

Background: Congenital heart defects are the cause of high morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. In developing regions, the lack of early diagnosis may lead to worsening of the condition; an active search for congenital heart diseases can assist in resolving this situation. Objective: To describe the key findings of an active search for heart diseases in childhood, held in eight Brazilian cities in the state of Paraíba. Methods: A study conducted in eight Brazilian cities in the state of Paraíba. The active search included two phases. In the first, local health centers screened children with symptoms or a history of cardiovascular diseases. In the second phase, a clinical consultation with echocardiogram to identify diseases was conducted. The frequencies were then analyzed. Categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test. Results: 440 children were assisted. Of these, 192 (43.63%) had abnormalities on echocardiogram. The presence of heart sounds and Down’s syndrome showed a significant correlation (p <0.05) with the congenital heart disease. Most cases were congenital heart disease by shunt (64.1%), followed by valve defects (12.5%) and acyanogenic obstructive heart diseases (8.3%). Conclusion: The active search conducted was able to identify a significant number of congenital heart diseases in childhood not previously recognized and inserting these patients in health services for appropriate treatment, thus ensuring them a better quality of life.

Características dos pacientes em serviço privado de cardiologia pediátrica: análise de sete anos / Characteristics of patients in private pediatric cardiology unit: seven-year analysis

Fundamentos: Apesar dos avanços no diagnóstico etratamento das cardiopatias na infância, as cardiopatias congênitas figuram como fator de destaque namorbimortalidade neonatal. Cardiopatias adquiridas,como a febre reumática, também têm alto impacto nasaúde pública. Logo, o conhecimento do perfil dessescardiopatas é importante para focalizar recursos eotimizar resultados. Objetivo: Descrever os principais achados clínicos ediagnósticos de pacientes atendidos em clínica privadade cardiologia pediátrica por faixa etária. Métodos: Analisados 17873 prontuários de pacientesatendidos nos últimos sete anos, com ênfase em: sexo, idade, motivo do encaminhamento, principais achadosna história da doença atual, achados ao exame físico,exames complementares realizados e principais diagnósticos ao ecocardiograma. Resultados: Houve predomínio do sexo masculino(53,7 %). A média de idade foi 63,5 meses, compacientes abaixo de 2 anos representando aproximadamente 25,0 % da amostra. O motivoprincipal do encaminhamento foi o parecer cardiológicoem pacientes acima de 2 anos, e suspeita de cardiopatianas faixas etárias menores. Ao exame físico, 59,8 %apresentavam anormalidades, com sopro presente em35,8%. O ecocardiograma foi realizado em 96,93% daamostra. Dentre as cardiopatias detectadas ao ecocardiograma, as mais frequentes foram as de shuntE-D (62,75%). Conclusão: A maioria das cardiopatias ocorreu empacientes de menor faixa etária no momento doencaminhamento. A diferença entre as faixas etáriasfoi essencial na diferenciação das cardiopatias e dosachados clínicos.

Background: Despite advances in the diagnosis andtreatment of heart diseases during childhood, congenital heart defects remain a prominent factor in neonatal morbidity and mortality. Acquired heart diseases, such as rheumatic fever, also have high impact on public health. Knowledge of these cardiac patient profiles is thus important for focus ingresources and optimizing results. Objective: To describe the main diagnostic and clinical findings for patients seen at a private pediatric cardiology center, by age bracket. Methods: We analyzed 17,873 records for patients seen during the past seven years, emphasizing: gender, age, reason for referral, the main findings in the history of the current disease, main findings from physical examinations, supplementary tests and the main diagnoses through echocardiograms. Results: There was a predominance of males (53.7%), with an average age of 63.5 months, with some 25% of the sample younger than two years of age. The main reasons for referral were cardiological reports for patients more than two years old, and suspected CHD for younger children. On physical examination, 59.8% presented anomalies, with murmurs found in 35.8%. Echocardiography was performed for 96.93% of the sample. The most frequent CHDs detected by echocardiography were left-to-right shunt lesions (62.75%).Conclusion: Most CHDS were found in younger children, on referral. The difference between the age brackets was essential for distinguishing CHDs and clinical findings.

L.E.R. Lesöes por esforços repetitivos: revisäo / R.M.I. Repetitive motion injuries: literature review

Para verificar como anda a saúde do trabalhador, e principalmente no que tange a LER(Lesöes por Esforços Repetitivos), houve a agregaçäo de conhecimentos de vários artigos, autores e opiniöes, resultando em uma revisäo abrangente sobre o tema. As análises foram feitas sob vários ângulos e perspectivas e culminaram com uma observaçäo epidemiológica e legislativa sobre a situaçäo da LER no Brasil.