The role of latex agglutination test for the etiological diagnosis of pleural effusion in children and adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: The etiological diagnosis of pleural effusion is a difficult task because the diagnostic tools can only establish a definitive etiological diagnosis in at most 76% of cases. OBJECTIVES: To verify the diagnostic accuracy of the latex agglutination test (LAT) for the etiological diagnosis of pleural effusions caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b. METHODS: After thoracocentesis, paired fresh samples of pleural fluid from 418 children and adolescents were included in this investigation. They were tested blindly and simultaneously through counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) and LAT for both bacteria. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and likelihood ratios (LR) were calculated taking CIE as a reference standard. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of LAT was 100% (95% confidence interval, 94.4%-100%) and 83.3% (95% confidence interval, 79.0%-87.0%), respectively, whereas the positive (calculated from Bayes' theorem) and negative predictive values were, respectively, lower than 1% and 100% (95% confidence interval, 98.8%-100%). Positive and negative LR were 6.0 (95% confidence interval, 4.7-7.6) and zero, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that LAT is a useful tool for the etiological diagnosis of pleural effusion. It is a reliable, rapid, simple to perform and shows an excellent yield in our studied population, helping to prescribe appropriate antibiotics for this clinical condition.

Atualizações no tratamento de bronquiolite viral aguda / Updates on acute bronchiolitis treatment

Bronquiolite viral aguda consiste em uma afecção viral que acomete lactentes com idade inferior a dois anos, sendo o pico de incidência abaixo de seis meses de vida. O quadro clínico consiste em sintomas de infecção de vias aéreas superiores, que evolui após dois a quatro dias com cansaço, dispneia, taquipneia, além de esforço respiratório. Febre e redução da aceitação da dieta também podem ocorrer. Apneia tem sido relatada em casos graves ou em prematuros. O diagnóstico baseia-se na história clínica e no exame físico, sendo exames complementares reservados quando há suspeita de outros diagnósticos ou de complicações. O tratamento é suportivo, sendo a oxigenoterapia indicada para pacientes com saturação de oxigênio abaixo de 90%. Atualmente, o corticoide oral não tem indicação no tratamento. Broncodilatadores não são indicados de rotina e o uso da salina hipertônica é controverso. O antiviral, ribavirina, tem indicação em casos específicos, devido aos efeitos adversos e ao alto custo. A profilaxia da BVA é fundamental, sendo a lavagem das mãos e o uso de álcool, de máscaras e de luvas essenciais para prevenção da doença. Como medicação profilática, o palivizumabe é indicado apenas em casos selecionados.(AU)

Acute bronchiolitis consists of a viral infection that affects children younger than 2 years old, with the peak of incidence under 6 months. The clinical disease has symptoms of infection of the upper airway, which develops after 2-4 days with fatigue, dyspnea, tachypnea, and respiratory effort. Fever and reduction of dietary compliance, may also occur. Apnea has been reported in severe cases or premature. The diagnosis is based on clinical history and physical examination, reserved additional tests when there is a suspicion of other diagnoses or complications. Treatment is supportive, the oxygen therapy is indicated for patients with oxygen saturation under 90%. Currently, oral corticosteroids has no indication for the treatment. The use of bronchodilators is not routinely indicated and the use of hypertonic saline is controversial. The use of the antiviral ribavirin is indicated in specific cases because there are adverse effects and high costs. Prophylaxis of bronchiolitis is fundamental, and hand-washing, use of alcohol, use of masks and gloves are essential for disease prevention. The use of palivizumab is indicated in selected cases.(AU)

A workshop on asthma management programs and centers in Brazil: reviewing and explaining concepts.

OBJECTIVE: To report the results of a workshop regarding asthma management programs and centers (AMPCs) in Brazil, so that they can be used as a tool for the improvement and advancement of current and future AMPCs. METHODS: The workshop consisted of five presentations and the corresponding group discussions. The working groups discussed the following themes: implementation of asthma management strategies; human resources needed for AMPCs; financial resources needed for AMPCs; and operational maintenance of AMPCs. RESULTS: The workshop involved 39 participants, from all regions of the country, representing associations of asthma patients (n = 3), universities (n = 7), and AMPCs (n = 29). We found a direct relationship between a lack of planning and the failure of AMPCs. Based on the experiences reported during the workshop, the common assumptions about AMPCs in Brazil were the importance of raising awareness of managers; greater community participation; interdependence between primary care and specialized care; awareness of regionalization; and use of medications available in the public health system. CONCLUSIONS: Brazil already has a core of experience in the area of asthma management programs. The implementation of strategies for the management of chronic respiratory disease and their incorporation into health care system protocols would seem to be a natural progression. However, there is minimal experience in this area. Joint efforts by individuals with expertise in AMPCs could promote the implementation of asthma management strategies, thus speeding the creation of treatment networks, which might have a multiplier effect, precluding the need for isolated centers to start from zero.

OBJETIVO: Relatar os resultados de uma oficina de trabalho sobre programas e centros de atenção a asmáticos (PCAAs) no Brasil para que possam servir como instrumento para melhoria e avanço dos PCAAs existentes e criação de novos. MÉTODOS: A oficina de trabalho constituiu-se de cinco apresentações e discussões em grupos. Os grupos de trabalho discutiram os seguintes temas: implementação de uma linha de cuidado em asma; recursos humanos necessários para os PCAA; recursos necessários para financiar os PCAA; e manutenção do funcionamento dos PCAAs. RESULTADOS: A oficina envolveu 39 participantes de todas as regiões do país, representando associações de asmáticos (n = 3), centros universitários (n = 7) e PCAAs (n = 29). Evidenciou-se uma relação direta entre a ausência de planejamento e o insucesso dos PCAAs. Com base nas experiências brasileiras elencadas durante a oficina, as premissas comuns foram a importância da sensibilização do gestor, maior participação da comunidade, interdependência entre a atenção primária e a especializada, observação da regionalização e utilização dos medicamentos disponíveis no sistema público de saúde. CONCLUSÕES: O Brasil já tem um núcleo de experiências na área programática da asma. A implementação de uma linha de cuidado em doenças respiratórias crônicas e sua inclusão nas redes de saúde parecem ser o caminho natural. Porém, a experiência nessa área ainda é pequena. Agregar pessoas com experiência nos PCAAs na elaboração da linha de cuidado em asma encurtaria tempo na criação de redes de atenção com possível efeito multiplicador, evitando que se partisse do zero em cada local isolado.

A workshop on asthma management programs and centers in Brazil: reviewing and explaining concepts / Programas e centros de atenção a asmáticos no Brasil; uma oficina de trabalho: revisitando e explicitando conceitos

Objective: To report the results of a workshop regarding asthma management programs and centers (AMPCs) in Brazil, so that they can be used as a tool for the improvement and advancement of current and future AMPCs. Methods: The workshop consisted of five presentations and the corresponding group discussions. The working groups discussed the following themes: implementation of asthma management strategies; human resources needed for AMPCs; financial resources needed for AMPCs; and operational maintenance of AMPCs. Results: The workshop involved 39 participants, from all regions of the country, representing associations of asthma patients (n = 3), universities (n = 7), and AMPCs (n = 29). We found a direct relationship between a lack of planning and the failure of AMPCs. Based on the experiences reported during the workshop, the common assumptions about AMPCs in Brazil were the importance of raising awareness of managers; greater community participation; interdependence between primary care and specialized care; awareness of regionalization; and use of medications available in the public health system. Conclusions: Brazil already has a core of experience in the area of asthma management programs. The implementation of strategies for the management of chronic respiratory disease and their incorporation into health care system protocols would seem to be a natural progression. However, there is minimal experience in this area. Joint efforts by individuals with expertise in AMPCs could promote the implementation of asthma management strategies, thus speeding the creation of treatment networks, which might have a multiplier effect, precluding the need for isolated centers to start from zero. .

Objetivo: Relatar os resultados de uma oficina de trabalho sobre programas e centros de atenção a asmáticos (PCAAs) no Brasil para que possam servir como instrumento para melhoria e avanço dos PCAAs existentes e criação de novos. Métodos: A oficina de trabalho constituiu-se de cinco apresentações e discussões em grupos. Os grupos de trabalho discutiram os seguintes temas: implementação de uma linha de cuidado em asma; recursos humanos necessários para os PCAA; recursos necessários para financiar os PCAA; e manutenção do funcionamento dos PCAAs. Resultados: A oficina envolveu 39 participantes de todas as regiões do país, representando associações de asmáticos (n = 3), centros universitários (n = 7) e PCAAs (n = 29). Evidenciou-se uma relação direta entre a ausência de planejamento e o insucesso dos PCAAs. Com base nas experiências brasileiras elencadas durante a oficina, as premissas comuns foram a importância da sensibilização do gestor, maior participação da comunidade, interdependência entre a atenção primária e a especializada, observação da regionalização e utilização dos medicamentos disponíveis no sistema público de saúde. Conclusões: O Brasil já tem um núcleo de experiências na área programática da asma. A implementação de uma linha de cuidado em doenças respiratórias crônicas e sua inclusão nas redes de saúde parecem ser o caminho natural. Porém, a experiência nessa área ainda é pequena. Agregar pessoas com experiência nos PCAAs na elaboração da linha de cuidado em asma encurtaria tempo na criação de redes de atenção com possível efeito multiplicador, evitando que se partisse do zero em cada local isolado. .

Resentment, forgiveness and revenge among violent people incarcerated for property offenses

The present study was conducted among incarcerated people who had committed property offenses using more or less violent means. Using a simulation technique derived from Information Integration Theory, it examined the relationship between lasting resentment, willingness to forgive and willingness to avenge on the one h and, and level of violence (severity of the harm done) on the other hand. In the simulation, two adults work in the same company. One worker asks for a promotion, and the other worker tries to block his advancement by circulating rumors. The variables considered in the simulation are the offender’s reaction and the type of response. The reaction factor has five levels: the offender (a) denies implication and joke about the victim’s misfortune, (b) recognizes that he circulated rumors but try to self-justify, (c) recognizes that he circulated rumors and apologizes, (d) recognizes, apologizes, and try to repair his fault by informing the head of the company, and (e) recognizes, apologizes, and try to repair his fault by informing the head of the company who se verely punishes him. The response factor had four levels. Participants were requested to express a level of (a) resentment/anger, (b) willingness to forgive, (c) willingness to avenge in circumstances where revenge would be riskless for them, and (d) willingness to avenge in circumstances where revenge would be risky for them. As expected, more violent offenders did not differ much from other offenders regarding the level of immediate resentment they experience just after having been harmed but they differed from them in the management of this emotion. Among them, resentment would be more directly converted into willingness to avenge, irrespective of the associated risk that is incurred (AU)

No disponible

Wheezy child program: the experience of the belo horizonte pediatric asthma management program.

BACKGROUND: : Until 1994, assistance provided by the Municipal Public Health System to children with asthma in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, was ineffective because it focused only on treating exacerbations. This scenario motivated the implementation of the Wheezy Child Program. OBJECTIVES: : The main objectives were to reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations. METHODS: : The strategies adopted were as follows: continued medical education for pediatricians, reorganization of public assistance into different levels of complexity regarding asthma care, and free dispensation of inhaled beclomethasone, albuterol, and valved spacers. A partnership between the Pediatric Pulmonology staff of the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Belo Horizonte Municipal Health Authority made these strategies come to fruition, especially through the training of health workers and the devising of protocol after GINA guidelines. RESULTS: : Of 2149 patients with a history of hospitalization after program admission, only 453 were re-admitted in the 6 to 12 months after, a reduction of 79%. There was a 300% increase in the use of aerosol and a reduction to 50% in the use of oxygen-driven nebulizers (P < 0.001) in the management of exacerbations. For patients enrolled in the program with moderate and severe persistent asthma, the median adherence rate was 50%. CONCLUSIONS: : The Wheezy Child Program has significantly reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits, has improved quality of life, and has shown that programs of this kind are feasible in low- to middle-income countries. More than 30,000 children have been assisted by the program, and now it seeks to optimize asthma control and increase adherence rates.

Peak expiratory flow monitoring in asthmatic children.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate forced expiratory volume in 1 second (VEF(1)) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) with clinical parameters in children with moderate and severe asthma. METHODS: This was a non-concurrent cohort study, carried out at a pediatric pneumology clinic, in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, between March and October 2002. The study enrolled children aged 5 to 16 years, with persistent asthma, being treated with a minimum of 500 mcg/day beclomethasone, and with symptoms under control for at least 3 months. Seventy-five patients (96.1%) were selected by simple randomization and monitored for 3 months, via a clinical severity scale and pulmonary function tests (PEF and VEF(1)). Results were analyzed using Pearson's coefficient. RESULTS: Correlations between absolute and percentage PEF figures and clinical severity score were negative and very close to zero, signifying a weak correlation with no statistical significance. The same relationship was observed between VEF(1) and clinical severity score. The correlation between VEF(1) and PEF had a positive value with statistical significance (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Since the best parameter for evaluating airway obstruction is VEF(1), the finding that there is a positive correlation between this measure and absolute PEF reinforces the importance of its use and allows for the recommendation that PEF be measured as part of the management of asthmatic children, particularly in severe cases.

Peak expiratory flow monitoring in asthmatic children

OBJETIVO: Correlacionar as medidas de volume expiratório forçado no primeiro segundo (VEF1), pico do fluxo expiratório (PFE) e parâmetros clínicos em crianças com asma moderada a grave. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo de coorte não concorrente, realizado em ambulatório de pneumologia pediátrica, em Belo Horizonte, MG, de março a outubro de 2002. Participaram do estudo crianças entre 5 e 16 anos, com asma persistente, em uso de beclometasona na dosagem mínima de 500 mcg/dia, com sintomas controlados há pelo menos 3 meses. Foram selecionados 75 pacientes (96,1 por cento) de forma aleatória simples, os quais foram acompanhados durante 3 meses, sendo avaliados o escore clínico e as provas de função pulmonar (PFE e VEF1). Os resultados foram analisados através da regressão linear de Pearson. RESULTADOS: Entre os valores absolutos e percentuais do PFE e o escore clínico, a correlação foi negativa e muito próxima a zero, o que significa uma correlação fraca, sem significância estatística. O mesmo se observa entre VEF1 e escore clínico. A correlação entre VEF1 e PFE apresentou valor positivo e com significância estatística (p = 0,000). CONCLUSÕES: Como o melhor parâmetro para avaliar obstrução de vias aéreas é o VEF1, o encontro de correlação positiva entre este e os valores absolutos do PFE reforça a importância do seu uso e permite recomendar a mensuração do PFE no manejo das crianças asmáticas, sobretudo nos casos graves.

OBJECTIVE:To correlate forced expiratory volume in 1 second (VEF1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) with clinical parameters in children with moderate and severe asthma. METHODS: This was a non-concurrent cohort study, carried out at a pediatric pneumology clinic, in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, between March and October 2002. The study enrolled children aged 5 to 16 years, with persistent asthma, being treated with a minimum of 500 mcg/day beclomethasone, and with symptoms under control for at least 3 months. Seventy-five patients (96.1 percent) were selected by simple randomization and monitored for 3 months, via a clinical severity scale and pulmonary function tests (PEF and VEF1). Results were analyzed using Pearson's coefficient. RESULTS: Correlations between absolute and percentage PEF figures and clinical severity score, were negative and very close to zero, signifying a weak correlation with no statistical significance. The same relationship was observed between VEF1 and clinical severity score. The correlation between VEF1 and PEF had a positive value with statistical significance (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Since the best parameter for evaluating airway obstruction is VEF1, the finding that there is a positive correlation between this measure and absolute PEF reinforces the importance of its use and allows for the recommendation that PEF be measured as part of the management of asthmatic children, particularly in severe cases.

Adaptação marginal de coroas do sistema Procera em dois tipos de términos cervicais / Crowns fit of the Procera's system in two types of cervical limits

No sistema Procera, desenvolvido em 1986, na Suécia, os preparos devem apresentar términos cervicais em chanfro, contornos suaves e ausência de ângulos vivos. Entretanto, verificaseno cotidiano clínico muitos términos cervicais em chanfro biselado ou em 135°. Diante do preconizado e dessa situação clínica, torna-se necessária uma análise comparativa quanto àadaptação marginal das coroas em términos cervicais de 135° e em chanfro. Foram utilizados dezmodelos com preparo esquemático de coroa total com término em 135° e dez modelos com preparo esquemático de coroa total com término em chanfro, os dois tipos em liga de alumínio. A análisecomparativa foi realizada por meio de um microscópio óptico quanto à adaptação marginal. Os resultados mostraram que não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre as adaptações marginais dos dois tipos de término cervical.

Avaliação clínica do efeito do cloreto de sódio (NaCl) na diminuição da hipersensibilidade dentinária de colo / Clinical evaluation of the effect of sodium chloride (NaCl) on the treatment of dentine neck hypersensitivity

Este trabalho avaliou a ação dessensibilizante do cloreto de sódio (NaCl), popularmente conhecido como sal de cozinha, em 20 pacientes com hipersensibilidade dentinária de colo, selecionados das clínicas de periodontia da UNESP e UNIVAP de São José dos Campos - SP. Cada paciente utilizou a própria escova, cujas cerdas, ainda úmidas devido à escovação anterior, foram impregnadas com NaCl, procedendo a uma nova escovação noturna (Técnica de Bass) durante aproximadamente 10 segundos em cada dente selecionado. O período proposto foi de 4 semanas. Ao final de cada semana, os pacientes foram avaliados, por métodos subjetivos (questionários)e métodos objetivos (jatos de ar), quanto à resposta dolorosa. Os resultados demonstraram que houve diminuição significativa na hipersensibilidade dentinária

This work evaluates the pain-inhibiting action of sodium chloride (NaCl), traditionally know as cooking salt, on twenty patients with dentine neck hypersensitivity selected among Periodontic Clinic of the UNESP and UNIVAP in São José dos Campos, SP. Patients used their own toothbrushes with bristles still wet from previous brushing. In the treatment group, patients soaked with NaCl, their night brushing (Bass Technique) for about 10 seconds of each selected tooth. A 4-week period of assessment was suggested and, at the end of each week, patients were evaluated by both subjective means (using questionnaires) and objective methods (through assessment of pain in response to airjets). Our results reveal that NaCl application on the toothbrush significantly reduces dentine hypersensitivity