Risk of venous thromboembolism events in postmenopausal women using oral versus non-oral hormone therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Hormone therapy (HT) is an effective treatment for climacteric symptoms. Nevertheless, combined estrogen-progestin therapy and the oral route seem to entail higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than estrogen-only therapy and transdermal administration. The present study aimed to investigate the risk of thromboembolic events in postmenopausal women using non-oral estrogen compared to women using oral estrogen and control groups (women receiving placebo or non-users of HT), as well as to assess the thrombotic impact of estrogens alone vs. combined estrogen-progestin therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Systematic review of MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, EMBASE, and ClinicalTrials.gov according to PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies were included in the meta-analyses (9 case-control studies, 9 cohort studies, and 4 randomized controlled trials). As compared to control groups, VTE risk was not increased with non-oral HT, including users of estrogens and estrogens plus progestins (OR 0.97 [0.9-1.06]), non-oral estrogen therapy (ET)-only (OR 0.95 [0.81-1.10]), and non-oral combined estrogen-progestin therapy (OR 0.92 [0.77-1.09]). Conversely, increased risk of VTE was observed as compared with control groups in users of oral HT, including users of estrogens and estrogens plus progestins HT (OR 1.72 [1.47-2.01]), oral ET-only (OR 1.43 [1.34-1.53]), and combined oral estrogen-progestin HT (OR 2.35 [1.9-2.9]). The comparison of non-oral vs. oral HT showed increased VTE risk with oral HT (OR 1.66 [1.39-1.98]). CONCLUSIONS: VTE risk was increased in postmenopausal women with no previous thromboembolic events using oral HT. Non-oral HT did not significantly affect this risk. The quality of the evidence produced in our meta-analyses is low to moderate, and further clinical trials are needed to sort out the impact of different types of progestin and different estrogen doses and administration routes on VTE risk.

Neutropenia febril / Febrile neutropenia

A Neutropenia Febril (NF) deve ser considerada uma emergência médica, cujo diagnóstico precoce e tratamento antimicrobiano empírico são fundamentais para o bom desfecho dos casos. Este trabalho serve como um guia para acadêmicos e médicos, no qual abordaremos diagnóstico, estratificação de risco e terapias antimicrobianas da Neutropenia Febril.

Febrile Neutropenia (FN) should be considered a medical emergency in which an early diagnoses and empiric antibiotic therapy are essential for a successful outcome. This paper serves as a guide for medical students and physicians, in which we will report diagnoses, risk stratification and antimicrobial therapies.

Associação entre renda, características clínicas e angiográficas de pacientes submetidos a intervenção coronária percutânea / Association between income, clinical and angiographic characteristics in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

INTRODUÇÃO: Há grande interesse científico com relação ao status socioeconômico e à saúde populacional, e vários estudos demostraram influência dessas variáveis na evolução clínica dos pacientes. A presente análise avalia a influência da renda do indivíduo na distribuição dos fatores de risco e nas características clínicas e angiográficas em pacientes submetidos a angiografia percutânea. Método: Os pacientes submetidos a intervenção coronária percutânea em um centro terciário, entre dezembro de 2007 e março de 2008, foram incluídos prespectivamente. A informação relativa à renda foi coletada diretamente com o paciente por um dos pesquisadores do estudo. Na presente análise, os indivíduos foram divididos em quartis, de acordo com seus respectivos rendimentos mensais. Resultados: Foram incluídos 400 pacientes com média de idade de 61,6...

BACKGROUND: There is great scientific interest with respect to socioeconomic status and population health, and several studies have shown the influence of these variables on clinical outcome of patients. The present study assesses the influence of income on the distribution of risk factors, clinical and angiographic characteristics in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. METHOD: Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in a tertiary center from December 2007 to March 2008 were prospectively included. The information on income was directly collected from the patient by one of the investigators. In this analysis, subjects were divided into quartiles according to their respective monthly income. RESULTS: Four hundred patients with mean age of 61.01 ± 10.36 years, 64.7% males and 24.6% diabetics were included. A majority had stable angina (54.9%), and there were no differences between groups regarding comorbidities. Income was associated with the percentage of male patients (48% in the first quartile vs. 81.3% in the last quartile; P < 0.001), the weight and height (P < 0.05), but there was no association with mean body mass index. We also observed a significant association between income and use of drug-eluting stents with the following rates from first to fourth quartile: 0, 1%, 1.9% and 7.7% (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: In this study, there was an association between income and gender, anthropometric characteristics and use of drug-eluting stents. There was no association between income and risk factors, medical history and angiographic characteristics of patients.

Envelhecimento populacional: a importância de cuidar de quem cuida / Population aging: the importance of caring for caregivers

O envelhecimento populacional, decorrente da elevação da expectativa de vida, tem como uma de suas conseqüências o aumento no número de indivíduos dependentes. Neste contexto, o papel do cuidador torna-se fundamental. Este trabalho tem como objetivo, além de expor as principais causas de dependência do idoso, revisar o perfil dos cuidadores, principais patologias a que este grupo está exposto e de que forma o sistema de saúde pode auxilia-los.

Compreensão e manejo dos distúrbios funcionais digestivos / Understanding and management of functional digestive disorders

Os distúrbios gastrointestinais funcionais são bastante prevalentes na população e estão frequentemente presentes nos consultórios médicos. Mesmo assim, estes ainda são mal-compreendidos por parte dos clínicos, prejudicando a abordagem e tratamento adequado dos pacientes. Por este motivo, este trabalho visa realizar uma revisão sobre a fisiopatologia, o diagnostico e o manejo dos pacientes com estas alterações.