Assessment of liver disease by non-invasive methods in perinatally infected Brazilian adolescents and young adults living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

INTRODUCTION: Effective and long-term combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has decreased morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals. Despite treatment advances, HIV-infected children continue to develop noninfectious conditions, including liver fibrosis. METHODS: Cross-sectional study designed to identify liver fibrosis in HIV-infected adolescents and young adults, in an outpatients clinic of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division at Escola Paulista de Medicina/Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), diagnosed by noninvasive methods (liver elastography-FibroScan®, APRI and FIB4). Variables examined included demographics, clinical, laboratories, HIV treatment. All participants underwent FibroScan® to measure liver parenchyma elasticity. Values equal to above 7.0 kPa were interpreted as the presence of significant liver fibrosis. Two different biomarkers of liver fibrosis were employed: the AST-to-Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) and the Fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4). APRI values above 1.5 have been considered as levels of clinically significant liver fibrosis and FIB-4 values above 3.25 suggested the presence of advanced fibrosis. RESULTS: Between August 2014 and March 2017, the study enrolled 97 patients, age 10-27 years old, fourteen of 97 subjects (14.4%) presented liver stiffness (≥7 kPa) detected by the liver elastography. No patient had APRI> 1.5. No patient had FIB4 value > 3.25. The only isolated laboratory parameter that could be significantly associated with high liver stiffness was thrombocytopenia (p = 0.022, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSION: Liver stiffness was identified in 14.4% (14/97) of this cohort by liver elastography. Liver disease in HIV-infected adolescents and young adults manifests itself silently, so should be routinely investigated.

Alçando voo: a experiência de ampliar o diálogo entre psicologia e medicina / Soaring to new heights: the experience of expanding the dialog between psychology and medicine

O ensino médico tem sido alvo, nas últimas décadas, de permanente reflexão, mudanças e transformações, principalmente no que tange à revalorização da humanização do ensino e da atividade médica. Inserindo-se no bojo destas discussões e ações, este artigo relata a experiência da inclusão de temas humanísticos no currículo médico que vem ocorrendo na Faculdade de Medicina de Campos/RJ (FMC) desde a década de 1990 e que, avançando neste processo, em 2009 e nos anos subsequentes, implementou a disciplina de Habilidades Médicas, subdividida em módulos. Um deles é o módulo Conversas Médicas, que propõe a reflexão e ampliação da discussão sobre as competências ético-moral, técnica e emocional da atividade médica, esta essencialmente relacional. A implementação da metodologia requereu um esforço interdisciplinar para trabalhar com métodos diversificados com vistas a estabelecer uma relação que transcende o modelo tradicional de ensino. Esta proposta surge das inquietações de profissionais envolvidos na formação médica com o intuito de valorizar os seres humanos envolvidos no cotidiano da atividade médica.

The medical school has been the target, in recent decades, of _ permanent reflection, changes and transformations, especially regarding the revaluation of the humanization of education and medical practice. Inserting themselves in the midst of these discussions and actions, this paper aims to report the experience of inclusion of humanistic themes in the medical curriculum that has been occurring in the Medical School of Campos/RJ (FMC) since the 1990s and that advancing in this process ___, in 2009 _ and in subsequent years, implemented the Medical Skills course, sub-divided into modules. One is the module Medical Conversations, which proposes a reflection and extension of the discussion about ethical, moral, technical, and emotional skills of the medical practice, essentially relational. The implementation of the methodology required an interdisciplinary effort to work with diverse methods in order to establish a relationship that transcends the traditional model of education. This proposal arises from the concerns of professionals involved in medical education in order to value the human beings involved in everyday medical practice.