Health professionals' recommendations on the use of fluoride varnish for caries prevention in preschool children.

BACKGROUND: Fluoride varnish (FV) is widely recommended for caries prevention in preschool children, despite its anticaries benefits being uncertain and modest. Dentists often report using clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) as a source of scientific information. AIM: To identify and analyze recommendations for clinical practice on the use of FV for caries prevention in preschool children and to assess the methodological quality of the CPG on this topic. DESIGN: Two researchers independently used 12 search strategies and searched the first five pages of Google Search™ and three guideline databases for recommendations freely available to health professionals on the use of FV for caries prevention in preschoolers. Then, they retrieved and recorded recommendations that met the eligibility criteria and extracted the data. A third researcher resolved disagreements. Each included CPG was appraised using the AGREE II instrument. RESULTS: Twenty-nine documents were included. Recommendations varied according to age, patients' caries risk, and application frequency. Of the six CPGs, only one scored above 70% in the AGREE II overall assessment. CONCLUSION: Recommendations on the use of FV lacked scientific evidence, and CPGs were of poor quality. Application of FV is widely recommended despite recent evidence showing an uncertain, modest, and possibly not clinically relevant anticaries benefit. Dentists should be aware that it is necessary to critically appraise CPGs since they may be of poor quality.

How different attributes are weighted in professionals' decision-making in Pediatric Dentistry-a protocol for guiding discrete choice experiment focused on shortening the evidence-based practice implementation for dental care.

BACKGROUND: Important evidence has been constantly produced and needs to be converted into practice. Professional consumption of such evidence may be a barrier to its implementation. Then, effective implementation of evidence-based interventions in clinical practice leans on the understanding of how professionals value attributes when choosing between options for dental care, permitting to guide this implementation process by maximizing strengthens and minimizing barriers related to that. METHODS: This is part of a broader project investigating the potential of incorporating scientific evidence into clinical practice and public policy recommendations and guidelines, identifying strengths and barriers in such an implementation process. The present research protocol comprises a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) from the Brazilian oral health professionals' perspective, aiming to assess how different factors are associated with professional decision-making in dental care, including the role of scientific evidence. Different choice sets will be developed, either focusing on understanding the role of scientific evidence in the professional decision-making process or on understanding specific attributes associated with different interventions recently tested in randomized clinical trials and available as newly produced scientific evidence to be used in clinical practice. DISCUSSION: Translating research into practice usually requires time and effort. Shortening this process may be useful for faster incorporation into clinical practice and beneficial to the population. Understanding the context and professionals' decision-making preferences is crucial to designing more effective implementation and/or educational initiatives. Ultimately, we expect to design an efficient implementation strategy that overcomes threats and potential opportunities identified during the DCEs, creating a customized structure for dental professionals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://osf.io/bhncv .

Harms and benefits of mammographic screening for breast cancer in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: In the absence of evidence on the effect of mammographic screening on overall mortality, comparing the number of deaths avoided with the number of deaths caused by screening would be ideal, but the only existing models of this type adopt a very narrow definition of harms. The objective of the present study was to estimate the number of deaths prevented and induced by various mammography screening protocols in Brazil. METHODS: A simulation study of cohorts of Brazilian women screened, considering various age groups and screening interval protocols, was performed based on life tables. The number of deaths avoided and caused by screening was estimated, as was the absolute risk reduction, the number needed to invite for screening-NNS, the net benefit of screening, and the ratio of "lives saved" to "lives lost". Nine possible combinations of balances between benefits and harms were performed for each protocol, in addition to other sensitivity analyses. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The most efficient protocol was biennial screening from 60 to 69 years of age, with almost three times more deaths avoided than biennial screening from 50 to 59 years of age, with a similar number of deaths avoided by biennial screening from 50 to 69 years of age and with the greatest net benefit. Compared with the best scenario of annual screening from 40 to 49 years of age, the NNS of the protocol with biennial screening from 60 to 69 years of age was three-fold lower. Even in its best scenario, the addition of annual screening from 40 to 49 years of age to biennial screening from 50 to 69 years of age results in a decreased net benefit. However, even in the 50-69 year age group, the estimated reduction in breast cancer mortality for Brazil was half that estimated for the United Kingdom.

Quality of life of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic, social, and health crisis in Venezuela has resulted in the largest forced migration in recent Latin American history. The general scenario in host countries influence migrants' self-perception of quality of life, which can be understood as an indicator of their level of integration. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated socioeconomic and health vulnerabilities, especially for forced migrants. We hypothesized that the adverse circumstances faced by Venezuelan migrants during the pandemic have deepened their vulnerability, which may have influenced their perception of quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the quality of life of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed the quality of life of 312 adult Venezuelan migrants living in Brazil using the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment, which was self-administered online from October 20, 2020, to May 10, 2021. The associations of quality of life and its domains with participants' characteristics were analyzed via multiple linear regression models. Mean quality of life score was 44.7 (±21.8) on a scale of 0 to 100. The best recorded mean was in the physical domain (66.2±17.8) and the worst in the environmental domain (51.1±14.6). The worst quality of life was associated with being a woman, not living with a partner, lower household income, and discrimination based on nationality. Factors associated with overall quality of life and respective domains, especially income and discrimination, were also observed in other studies as obstacles to Venezuelan migrants. The unsatisfactory quality of life among Venezuelans living in Brazil may have been worsened by the pandemic during the study period.

Spin in dental publications: a scoping review.

The aim of this review was to map the practice of spin in scientific publications in the dental field. After registering the review protocol (osf.io/kw5qv/), a search was conducted in MEDLINE via PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, Scopus, LILACS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and OpenGrey databases in June 2023. Any study that evaluated the presence of spin in dentistry was eligible. Data were independently extracted in duplicate by two reviewers. After removing duplicates, 4888 records were screened and 38 were selected for full-text review. Thirteen studies met the eligibility criteria, all of which detected the presence of spin in the primary studies, with the prevalence of spin ranging from 30% to 86%. The most common types of spin assessed in systematic reviews were failure to mention adverse effects of interventions and to report the number of studies/patients contributing to the meta-analysis of main outcomes. In randomized controlled trials, there was a focus on statistically significant within-group and between-group comparisons for primary or secondary outcomes (in abstract results) and claiming equivalence/noninferiority/similarity for statistically nonsignificant results (in abstract conclusions). The practice of spin is widespread in dental scientific literature among different specialties, journals, and countries. Its impact, however, remains poorly investigated.

Randomized trial of dentists' understanding: treatment benefit in absolute numbers vs relative risk reduction.

This study aimed to assess whether dentists correctly understand the benefit of a dental treatment when it is presented using absolute numbers or relative risk reduction (RRR). This parallel-group randomized controlled trial recruited dentists from 3 postgraduate courses in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Participants received, in sequentially numbered sealed opaque envelopes, the description of a hypothetical scenario of the benefit (avoidance of multiple tooth loss) of nonsurgical periodontal treatment without or with antibiotics. Treatment benefit was presented in 2 different formats: absolute numbers or RRR. Dentists were given 10 minutes to read the treatment scenario and answer 5 questions. The final sample for analysis included 101 dentists. When asked to estimate the number of patients out of 100 who would avoid multiple tooth loss without antibiotics, 17 dentists (33%) in the absolute numbers group and 12 (25%) in the RRR group provided the correct response (p = 0.39). Regarding treatment with antibiotics, 26 dentists (50%) in the absolute numbers group and 14 (29%) in the RRR group provided the correct response (p = 0.04). Only 16 dentists (31%) in the absolute numbers group and 12 (25%) in the RRR group gave correct answers for both questions (p = 0.51). Most dentists did not correctly understand the benefit of the treatment, irrespective of the format it was presented. Slightly more dentists correctly understood the benefit of the treatment when it was presented as absolute numbers than as RRR.

High certainty evidence is stable and trustworthy, whereas evidence of moderate or lower certainty may be equally prone to being unstable.

OBJECTIVES: To assess to what extent the overall quality of evidence indicates changes to observe intervention effect estimates when new data become available. METHODS: We conducted a meta-epidemiological study. We obtained evidence from meta-analyses of randomized trials of Cochrane reviews addressing the same health-care question that was updated with inclusion of additional data between January 2016 and May 2021. We extracted the reported effect estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from meta-analyses and corresponding GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) assessments of any intervention comparison for the primary outcome in the first and the last updated review version. We considered the reported overall quality (certainty) of evidence (CoE) and specific evidence limitations (no, serious or very serious for risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, and/or indirectness). We assessed the change in pooled effect estimates between the original and updated evidence using the ratio of odds ratio (ROR), absolute ratio of odds ratio (aROR), ratio of standard errors (RoSE), direction of effects, and level of statistical significance. RESULTS: High CoE without limitations characterized 19.3% (n = 29) out of 150 included original Cochrane reviews. The update with additional data did not systematically change the effect estimates (mean ROR 1.00; 95% CI 0.99-1.02), which deviated 1.06-fold from the older estimates (median aROR; interquartile range [IQR]: 1.01-1.15), gained precision (median RoSE 0.87; IQR 0.76-1.00), and maintained the same direction with the same level of statistical significance in 93% (27 of 29) of cases. Lower CoE with limitations characterized 121 original reviews and graded as moderate CoE in 30.0% (45 of 150), low CoE in 32.0% (48 of 150), and very low CoE in 18.7% (28 of 150) reviews. Their update had larger absolute deviations (median aROR 1.12 to 1.33) and larger gains in precision (median RoSE 0.78-0.86) without clear and consistent differences between these categories of CoE. Changes in effect direction or statistical significance were also more common in the lower quality evidence, again with a similar extent across categories (without change in 75.6%, 64.6%, and 75.0% for moderate, low, very low CoE). As limitations increased, effect estimates deviated more (aROR 1.05 with zero, 1.11 with one, 1.25 with two, 1.24 with three limitations) and changes in direction or significance became more frequent (93.2% stable with no limitations, 74.5% with one, 68.2% with two, and 61.5% with three limitations). CONCLUSION: High-quality evidence without methodological deficiencies is trustworthy and stable, providing reliable intervention effect estimates when updated with new data. Evidence of moderate and lower quality may be equally prone to being unstable and cannot indicate if available effect estimates are true, exaggerated, or underestimated.

Too Much Dentistry.

This Viewpoint explores whether all dental procedures are clinically necessary given their expense and the disparate access to treatment among some socioeconomic and racial and ethnic groups.

Spin in dental publications: a scoping review

Abstract The aim of this review was to map the practice of spin in scientific publications in the dental field. After registering the review protocol (osf.io/kw5qv/), a search was conducted in MEDLINE via PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, Scopus, LILACS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and OpenGrey databases in June 2023. Any study that evaluated the presence of spin in dentistry was eligible. Data were independently extracted in duplicate by two reviewers. After removing duplicates, 4888 records were screened and 38 were selected for full-text review. Thirteen studies met the eligibility criteria, all of which detected the presence of spin in the primary studies, with the prevalence of spin ranging from 30% to 86%. The most common types of spin assessed in systematic reviews were failure to mention adverse effects of interventions and to report the number of studies/patients contributing to the meta-analysis of main outcomes. In randomized controlled trials, there was a focus on statistically significant within-group and between-group comparisons for primary or secondary outcomes (in abstract results) and claiming equivalence/noninferiority/similarity for statistically nonsignificant results (in abstract conclusions). The practice of spin is widespread in dental scientific literature among different specialties, journals, and countries. Its impact, however, remains poorly investigated.

Quality of life of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic / Calidad de vida de los inmigrantes venezolanos en Brasil durante la pandemia del COVID-19 / Qualidade de vida de imigrantes venezuelanos no Brasil durante a pandemia da COVID-19

The economic, social, and health crisis in Venezuela has resulted in the largest forced migration in recent Latin American history. The general scenario in host countries influence migrants' self-perception of quality of life, which can be understood as an indicator of their level of integration. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated socioeconomic and health vulnerabilities, especially for forced migrants. We hypothesized that the adverse circumstances faced by Venezuelan migrants during the pandemic have deepened their vulnerability, which may have influenced their perception of quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the quality of life of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed the quality of life of 312 adult Venezuelan migrants living in Brazil using the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment, which was self-administered online from October 20, 2020, to May 10, 2021. The associations of quality of life and its domains with participants' characteristics were analyzed via multiple linear regression models. Mean quality of life score was 44.7 (±21.8) on a scale of 0 to 100. The best recorded mean was in the physical domain (66.2±17.8) and the worst in the environmental domain (51.1±14.6). The worst quality of life was associated with being a woman, not living with a partner, lower household income, and discrimination based on nationality. Factors associated with overall quality of life and respective domains, especially income and discrimination, were also observed in other studies as obstacles to Venezuelan migrants. The unsatisfactory quality of life among Venezuelans living in Brazil may have been worsened by the pandemic during the study period.

La crisis económica, social y sanitaria en Venezuela ha provocado la mayor emigración forzada en la historia reciente de América Latina. Las circunstancias imperantes en los países de acogida influyen en la calidad de vida autopercibida de los inmigrantes, lo que puede entenderse como un indicador de su nivel de integración. La pandemia del COVID-19 ha intensificado las vulnerabilidades socioeconómicas y sanitarias, especialmente para los inmigrantes forzados. Se plantea la hipótesis de que las circunstancias adversas que enfrentaron los inmigrantes venezolanos durante la pandemia profundizaron su vulnerabilidad, lo que puede haber influido en su percepción de la calidad de vida. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar la calidad de vida de los inmigrantes venezolanos en Brasil durante la pandemia del COVID-19. Se evaluó la calidad de vida de 312 inmigrantes venezolanos adultos viviendo en Brasil mediante una herramienta desarrollada por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (WHOQOL-BREF), autollenada en línea del 20 de octubre de 2020 al 10 de mayo de 2021. Las asociaciones de la calidad de vida y sus dominios con las características de los participantes se analizaron mediante modelos de regresión lineal múltiple. La puntuación media de la calidad de vida fue de 44,7 (±21,8) en una escala de 0 a 100. La mejor media registrada fue en el dominio físico (66,2±17,8), y la peor en el dominio medio ambiente (51,1±14,6). La peor calidad de vida se asoció al sexo femenino, no convivir con pareja, menores ingresos y discriminación por nacionalidad. Los factores asociados con la calidad de vida general y sus respectivos dominios, especialmente ingresos y discriminación, coinciden con lo presentado por otros estudios como obstáculos para los inmigrantes venezolanos. La calidad de vida insatisfactoria entre los venezolanos que viven en Brasil debió de ser empeorada por la pandemia en el período estudiado.

A crise econômica, social e sanitária na Venezuela resultou na maior emigração forçada da história recente da América Latina. As circunstâncias prevalentes nos países de acolhimento influenciam a autopercepção da qualidade de vida dos imigrantes, o que pode ser entendido como um indicador do seu nível de integração. A pandemia da COVID-19 exacerbou as vulnerabilidades socioeconômicas e de saúde, especialmente para imigrantes forçados. Levantamos a hipótese de que as circunstâncias adversas enfrentadas pelos imigrantes venezuelanos durante a pandemia aprofundaram sua vulnerabilidade, o que pode ter influenciado sua percepção de qualidade de vida. Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade de vida de imigrantes venezuelanos no Brasil durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Avaliamos a qualidade de vida de 312 imigrantes venezuelanos adultos vivendo no Brasil por meio de um instrumento desenvolvido pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (WHOQOL-BREF), autoadministrado online de 20 de outubro de 2020 a 10 de maio de 2021. As associações da qualidade de vida e seus domínios com as características dos participantes foram analisadas por meio de modelos de regressão linear múltipla. O escore médio de qualidade de vida foi de 44,7 (±21,8) em uma escala de 0 a 100. A melhor média registrada foi no domínio físico (66,2±17,8) e a pior no domínio do meio ambiente (51,1±14,6). A pior qualidade de vida associou-se ao sexo feminino, não viver com companheiro, menor renda familiar e discriminação por nacionalidade. Fatores associados à qualidade de vida geral e seus respectivos domínios, especialmente renda e discriminação, também foram observados em outros estudos como obstáculos aos imigrantes venezuelanos. A qualidade de vida insatisfatória entre os venezuelanos residentes no Brasil pode ter sido agravada pela pandemia no período estudado.

Is bad breath associated with dyspepsia? An association and an equivalence study

Abstract Halitosis affects all populations worldwide. The presence of chronic halitosis may be related to a health problem. Patients with bad breath usually seek a gastroenterologist and, in some cases, invasive and expensive exams, such as digestive endoscopy, are performed to investigate the etiology of halitosis. This study aimed to investigate whether the prevalence of bad breath in patients diagnosed with dyspepsia (any pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen) is higher than or equivalent to that in non-dyspeptic patients. This is a cross-sectional study that included 312 patients from university hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro (141 dyspeptic patients and 171 non-dyspeptic ones). The presence of halitosis was defined based on different cutoff points. Association analyses were performed using a log-binomial model and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the coefficients, adjusting for sex and age. The equivalence test (Westlake) was used to test the hypothesis of equivalence between the proportions of patients with bad breath in the two groups (dyspeptic vs. non-dyspeptic), considering an equivalence band of ± 15%. The prevalence of bad breath ranged from 30% to 64% according to the definition of bad breath. Dyspepsia was not associated with bad breath in any of the three definitions of bad breath (two specific ones and a sensitive one). The proportion of patients with marked bad breath was equivalent in patients with and without dyspepsia.

Accuracy of two methods to detect the presence of halitosis: the volatile sulfur compounds concentration in the mouth air and the information from a close person

Abstract This study aimed to analyze the accuracy of two methods for detecting halitosis, the organoleptic assessment by a trained professional (OA) with volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) measurement via Halimeter® (Interscan Corporation) and information obtained from a close person (ICP). Methodolody Participants were patients and companions who visited a university hospital over one year period to perform digestive endoscopy. A total of 138 participants were included in the VSC test, whose 115 were also included in the ICP test. ROC curves were constructed to establish the best VSC cut-off points. Results The prevalence of halitosis was 12% (95%CI: 7% to 18%) and 9% (95%CI 3% to 14%) for the OA and ICP, respectively. At the cut-off point >80 parts per billion (ppb) VSC, the prevalence of halitosis was 18% (95%CI: 12% to 25%). At the cut-off point >65 ppb VSC, sensitivity and specificity were 94% and 76%, respectively. At the cut-off point >140 ppb, sensitivity was 47% and specificity 96%. For the ICP, sensitivity was 14% and specificity 92%. Conclusions VSC presents high sensitivity at the cut-off point of >65 ppb and high specificity at the cut-off point of >140 ppb. ICP had high specificity, but low sensitivity. The OA can express either occasional or chronic bad breath, whereas the ICP can be a potential instrument to detect chronic halitosis.

Avaliação da qualidade da informação de saúde na internet: indicadores de acurácia baseados em evidência para tuberculose / Assessment of the quality of health information on the Internet: evidence-based accuracy indicators for tuberculosis

RESUMO Pouco tempo atrás, para alguém obter informação, era preciso comprar um jornal, um livro, uma revista ou ir até uma biblioteca. Hoje, a internet disponibiliza uma miríade de informação rapidamente. Entretanto, as informações veiculadas podem estar desatualizadas, incompletas, incorretas ou deliberadamente mentirosas: as fakenews. Na saúde, essas informações podem afetar o bem-estar ou causar dano ao indivíduo e à sociedade. Para enfrentar esse problema, avaliações da qualidade da informação de sites de saúde têm sido realizadas por profissionais, pesquisadores e instituições. As avaliações verificam frequentemente a exatidão da informação oferecida. Contudo, os indicadores de acurácia da informação não têm sido construídos a partir da Medicina Baseada em Evidências (MBE). O objetivo desse artigo é construir indicadores a partir das práticas da MBE, analisando o caso da tuberculose. O artigo propõe 43 indicadores de acurácia da informação. Com eles, foi avaliada a informação disponível sobre tuberculose no site do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Os resultados indicam que falta muita informação e há informação incorreta. Essa avaliação reitera a importância da construção de indicadores de acurácia da informação a partir da MBE. Este trabalho pretende incentivar a realização de novos estudos sobre avaliação da qualidade da informação de saúde na internet.

ABSTRACT Not long ago, someone had to buy a newspaper, a book, or a magazine or go to a library to obtain information. Today, the Internet quickly facilitates a myriad of information. However, the information provided may be obsolete, incomplete, incorrect, or deliberately false: fake news. In the health field, this information can affect well-being or harm individuals and society. Thus, professionals, researchers, and institutions have assessed the quality of information on health websites to address this issue. Evaluations often verify the accuracy of the information provided. However, the information accuracy indicators have yet to be constructed from Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). This article aims to build indicators from EBM practices, analyzing the case of tuberculosis. This manuscript proposes 43 information accuracy indicators that evaluated the tuberculosis information available on the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The results indicate that much information needs to be included, and some data must be corrected. This evaluation reiterates the importance of building EBM accuracy indicators. This work intends to encourage new studies about assessing the quality of health information on the Internet.

Um ano de e-mails não solicitados: o modus operandi de revistas e editoras predatórias / One year of unsolicited e-mails: the modus operandiof predatory journals and publishers

Objetivo: Quantificar, caracterizar e analisar e-mails de revistas predatórias (RP) recebidos por uma pesquisadora da área de odontologia. Materiais e métodos: E-mails recebidos em 2019 e suspeitos de serem potencialmente predatórios foram pré-selecionados. O checklist do Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) para identificar RP biomédicas suspeitas foi aplicado, incluindo os seguintes critérios: taxa/preço de publicação (TP), fator de impacto falso, a revista estar listada no Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) e no Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Também foram extraídas informações sobre a falta de um fator de impacto no Journal Citations Reports, endereço de contato de e-mail não afiliado à revista, linguajar lisonjeiro, citação pessoal e/ou de um artigo, link de cancelamento de inscrição do tipo unsubscribe, estar listado no catálogo atual da National Library of Medicine (NLM) e estar indexado no Medline. Resultados: Um total de 2.812 e-mails suspeitos não solicitados foram recebidos e 1.837 requisitaram algum tipo de manuscrito; entre eles, 1.751 preencheram algum critério do OHRI. Menos da metade (780/1.837, 42%) referiu-se a alguma área da odontologia. A TP mediana foi de US$ 399. Um falso fator de impacto foi mencionado em 11% (201/1.837) dos e-mails e 27% (504/1.837) correspondiam a periódicos atualmente listados no catálogo da NLM. Os periódicos listados no DOAJ e COPE enviaram 89 e-mails. Conclusão: A campanha editorial das RP, sob a forma de e-mails, foi intensa e recorrente. Os pesquisadores devem estar bem informados sobre o modus operandi das RP para proteger sua própria reputação como autores, assim como a reputação da ciência

Objectives: To quantify, characterize and analyze e-mail from predatory journals (PJ) received by an academic in dentistry. Materials and methods: E-mails received in 2019 and suspected of being potentially predatory were pre-selected. The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) checklist was applied to identify the suspected biomedical PJ, including the following criteria: article processing charge (APC), fake impact factor, the journal being listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We also extracted information on the lack of an impact factor on Journal Citations Reports, non-journal affiliated contact e-mail address, flattering language, article and/or personal citation, unsubscribe link, being listed in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) current catalog and indexed on Medline. Results: A total of 2,812 unsolicited suspected e-mails were received, and 1,837 requested some sort of manuscript; among these, 1,751 met some of the OHRI criteria. Less than half (780/1,837, 42%) referred to some area of dentistry. The median APC was US$399. A false impact factor was mentioned in 11% (201/1,837) of the e-mails, and 27% (504/1,837) corresponded to journals currently listed in the NLM catalog. Journals listed in DOAJ and COPE sent 89 e-mails. Conclusions: The email campaign from PJ was high and recurrent. Researchers should be well informed about PJ' modus operandi to protect their own reputation as authors and that of science.

Homicide impunity in Brazil between 2006 and 2016 / A impunidade do homicídio no Brasil entre 2006 e 2016

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe the level and temporal trends of homicide impunity in Brazil. METHODS This is an ecological study that calculated two impunity indexes by dividing the total number of homicides committed in a 5-year period by the number of individuals arrested for murder (homicide impunity) or any other cause (general impunity) two years after this period. The Prais-Winsten linear regression model with serial autocorrelation correction was used to estimate the temporal trend of the impunity indexes. RESULTS Between 2009 and 2014, 328,714 homicides were recorded in Brazil, but only 84,539 prisoners were serving sentences for this kind of crime in 2016. This shows that the number of homicides in Brazil exceeded in 244,175 the number of individuals in prisons for this crime. The impunity index ranged from 3.9 in 2006 to 3.3 in 2014. All states reached values above 1. Rio de Janeiro stood out negatively, with values above 20. São Paulo, Santa Catarina, and Distrito Federal showed the lowest impunity indexes for homicide, with values below 2. Eight states showed a downward trend in the overall impunity index. CONCLUSIONS Most Brazilian states presented extremely high impunity indexes values. However, from 2010 to 2012, Brazilian society started to effectively combat impunity for serious violent crimes, including homicide. In São Paulo, this positive trend arose in the mid-1990s and that state currently shows impunity indexes values similar to those of developed countries.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Descrever o nível e a tendência temporal da impunidade do homicídio no Brasil. MÉTODOS Trata-se de estudo ecológico no qual dois índices de impunidade foram calculados a partir do número total de homicídios em determinado período, de cinco anos, dividido pelo número de indivíduos na prisão por homicídio (impunidade do homicídio) ou por qualquer causa (impunidade geral) dois anos após o final desse período. O modelo de regressão linear com correção de autocorrelação serial de Prais-Winsten foi utilizado para estimar a tendência temporal dos índices de impunidade. RESULTADOS No Brasil, entre 2009 e 2014, foram identificados 328.714 homicídios, contudo apenas 84.539 presos cumpriam pena por esse tipo de delito em 2016, revelando que houve 244.175 mais casos de homicídio no Brasil do que presos por esse crime. O índice de impunidade do homicídio variou de 3,9, em 2006, a 3,3 em 2014. Todos os estados apresentaram valores acima de 1. O Rio de Janeiro destacou-se negativamente, com valores acima de 20. Os menores índices de impunidade do homicídio foram encontrados nos estados de São Paulo, Santa Catarina e Distrito Federal, com valores abaixo de 2. Oito estados mostraram tendência de redução no índice de impunidade geral. CONCLUSÕES A maioria dos estados brasileiros apresentou valores altíssimos nos índices de impunidade. No entanto, detectamos um sinal positivo de que a sociedade brasileira começou, a partir de 2010-2012, a combater de forma efetiva a impunidade dos crimes violentos graves, incluindo o homicídio. São Paulo iniciou essa tendência positiva em meados dos anos 1990 e apresenta atualmente índices de impunidade similares aos dos países desenvolvidos.

Strategies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract The World Health Organization declared a COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020, when there were 4,293 confirmed cumulative deaths. By May 17, 2020 this number increased to 315,005. The risk of death is higher above the age of 60, but there are many deaths below 60 (for example, in Sao Paulo, 25%). Due to the lack of a vaccine or specific treatment, there are at least three types of interventions used in the first wave of this pandemic: increased alertness and hygiene (e.g. Sweden); identification and isolation of infected people and their contacts (e.g. South Korea); lockdown (e.g. Italy). These interventions are complementary. Choices of the right mix of interventions will vary from society to society and in the same society at different times. The search for a miracle drug is dangerous because it is based on the mistaken belief that any treatment option is better than "nothing". Brazilian society will not be able to maintain lockdown for a long period. Naturally, in the near future, regardless of the advice from scientists, doctors and authorities, commerce, services and schools will reopen. In order to implement any strategy aimed to control the pandemic and preserve the economy, the country needs leadership that centralizes and coordinates actions. Unfortunately, the Brazilian government is not fulfilling this role; on the contrary, it is a hindrance. This negative leadership and lack of coordination are causing many deaths and are severely damaging the lives of survivors by delaying the resuming of economic and social activities.

How heuristics and cognitive biases affect vaccination decisions / Cómo los sesgos heurísticos y cognitivos afectan a las decisiones de vacunación / Como as heurísticas e os vieses cognitivos afetam as decisões sobre vacinação

Abstract: Immunization, the most successful public health intervention to date, can only be effective if eligible individuals or their legal representatives have access to vaccines and subsequently comply with their use. Under-vaccination stems from multiple causes: access, affordability, awareness, acceptance and activation. In this paper, we focus on acceptance and, specifically, on factors pertaining to individual or parental compliance, specifically the psychology of judgment and decision making. We describe how heuristics and cognitive biases - a facet of thoughts and feelings - affect vaccination decision making. Additionally, we address when and how social processes play a role and how attitudes towards vaccines might reflect a more general underlying attitude or ideology. The understanding of how decision making, with regards to vaccines occurs, and the role played by heuristics and cognitive biases can help inform more appropriate public health interventions.

Resumen: La inmunización es la intervención en salud pública más exitosa hasta la fecha. No obstante, sólo puede ser efectiva si las personas elegibles, o sus representantes legales, tienen acceso a las vacunas y, consecuentemente, cumplen con su uso. Existen múltiples causas de infravacunación: acceso, asequibilidad, concienciación, aceptación y activación. En este trabajo, nos enfocamos en la aceptación y esceficamente, centrándonos en factores respecto a la conformidad individual o parental, específicamente en cuanto a la psicología de juicio y toma de decisiones. Describimos como sesgos heurísticos y cognitivos -una faceta de pensamientos y sentimientos- que afectan a la toma de decisiones sobre la vacunación. Asimismo, nos centramos en cuándo y cómo los procesos sociales desempeñan un papel y cómo las actitudes hacia las vacunas quizás reflejen una actitud subyacente más general o ideológica. La compresión sobre cómo se toman las decisiones, en relación a cuándo se tienen que tomar las vacunas y el papel desempeñado por sesgos heurísticos y cognitivos puede informarnos más apropiadamente sobre las intervenciones en salud pública.

Resumo: A imunização, a intervenção da saúde pública mais bem sucedida até hoje, só pode ser eficaz se as pessoas elegíveis ou seus representantes legais tiverem acesso às vacinas e aderirem ao seu uso. A subvacinação pode resultar de várias causas: acesso, viabilidade, conscientização, aceitação e ativação. Neste trabalho, focamos na aceitação e, especificamente, nos concentramos nos fatores relativos à cooperação do indivíduo ou de seus pais, especificamente a psicologia do julgamento e da tomada de decisões. Descrevemos como as heurísticas e os vieses cognitivos - um aspecto dos pensamentos e sentimentos - afetam a tomada de decisão quanto à vacinação. Além disso, abordamos quando e como os processos sociais desempenham um papel e como as atitudes em relação às vacinas podem refletir uma atitude ou ideologia subjacente mais geral. A compreensão de como a tomada de decisões em relação às vacinas ocorre e o papel desempenhado pelas heurísticas e pelos vieses cognitivos pode ajudar a informar as intervenções de saúde pública de forma mais adequada.

Risk communication in the context of clinical research

Abstract Physicians and dentists usually make clinical decisions and recommendations without a clear understanding of the meaning of the numbers regarding the accuracy of diagnostic tests and the efficacy of treatments. This critical review aimed to identify problems in the communication of diagnostic test accuracy and treatment benefits and to suggest strategies to improve risk communication in these contexts. Most clinical decisions are taken under uncertainty. Health professionals cannot predict the outcome in one individual patient. This uncertainty invites these professionals to make decisions based on heuristics, which gives rise to several cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are automatic and unconscious, so how is it possible to mitigate their undesirable effects on risk interpretation in the context of clinical practice? Some forms of risk communication reinforce cognitive bias, while others weaken them. Maybe one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is the difficulty to think with numbers. This difficulty probably arises from a mismatch of ancestral adaptations of the brain having to deal with modern environments, which are quite different from the ancestral ones. There are two quite common, but bad, forms of risk communication: the conditional probability and the relative risk reduction or efficacy. People, including physicians and dentists, are confused with this kind of information. The main methods discovered so far to facilitate a clearer understanding are to emphasize the base rates of the events and to use absolute numbers, that is to use natural frequencies, instead of percentages and conditional probabilities.

Mortalidade Cardiovascular Associada ao Rastreamento Mamográfico / Cardiovascular Mortality Associated with Mammographic Screening / Mortalidad Cardiovascular Asociada al Cribado Mamográfico

Introdução: Os danos cardiovasculares do rastreamento mamográfico não têm sido objeto de estudo ou preocupações, inclusive na área de cardio-oncologia. O resultado é uma importante lacuna na literatura a despeito de evidências da grande magnitude do sobrediagnóstico e do sobretratamento no rastreamento e sua ligação com aumento da mortalidade cardiovascular. Objetivo: Apresentar e discutir as principais evidências a respeito das causas de aumento de mortalidade cardiovascular associadas ao rastreamento. Método: Foram realizadas buscas sistemáticas na literatura, por meio de quatro estratégias de busca em duas bases de dados (MEDLINE e LILACS), para identificar as causas de aumento de mortalidade cardiovascular potencialmente associadas ao sobrediagnóstico e ao sobretratamento. Para cada uma das estratégias de busca, os resultados tiveram seu nível de evidência atribuídos de acordo com a classificação do Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Resultados: Dois grandes grupos de causas de aumento da mortalidade cardiovascular foram identificados: o primeiro ligado diretamente ao diagnóstico de câncer de mama; e o segundo ao tratamento do câncer de mama, incluindo cirurgia e radioterapia adjuvante. O aumento de mortalidade cardiovascular incluiu diversos subgrupos de causas, tais como infarto agudo do miocárdio, tromboembolismo pulmonar, insuficiência cardíaca, arritmias, doença orovalvar e acidente vascular encefálico. Conclusão: Existem evidências consistentes sobre mortalidade cardiovascular associada ao diagnóstico e ao tratamento do câncer de mama em situações clinicamente compatíveis com o rastreamento. É provável também que essa seja uma das causas mais importantes da mortalidade relacionada ao rastreamento, em especial aquelas associadas ao sobretratamento com radioterapia adjuvante.

Introduction: Cardiovascular harms of mammographic screening have not been the subject of study or concern, including in the cardio-oncology area of. The result is an important gap in literature despite the evidence of great magnitude of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in screening and its association with increased cardiovascular mortality. Objective: Present and discuss the main evidence regarding the causes of increased cardiovascular mortality associated with screening. Method: Systematic searches were performed in the literature through four search strategies in two databases (MEDLINE and LILACS), to identify the causes of increased cardiovascular mortality potentially associated with overdiagnosis and overtreatment. For each one of the search strategies, it was used the classification of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine to assign the level of evidence of the results. Results: Two major groups of causes of increased cardiovascular mortality were identified: the first linked directly to the diagnosis of breast cancer; and the second to the treatment of breast cancer, including surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. The increase of cardiovascular mortality included several subgroups of causes such as acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary thromboembolism, heart failure, arrhythmias, heart valve disease and stroke. Conclusion: There are consistent evidence about cardiovascular mortality associated with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in conditions clinically compatible with screening. It is also likely to be one of the most important causes of mortality related to screening, especially those associated with overtreatment with adjuvant radiotherapy.

Introducción: El daño cardiovascular causado por el cribado mamográfico no ha sido objeto de estudio ni de preocupación, incluso en el área de la cardio-oncología. El resultado es una brecha importante en la literatura a pesar de la evidencia de la gran magnitud del sobrediagnóstico y el sobretratamiento en cribado. y su asociación con el aumento de la mortalidad cardiovascular. Objetivo: Presentar y discutir los principales pruebas en las causas del aumento de la mortalidad cardiovascular asociados con la tamización. Método: Se realizaron búsquedas sistemáticas en la literatura a través de cuatro estrategias de búsqueda en dos bases de datos (MEDLINE y LILACS), para identificar las causas del aumento de la mortalidad cardiovascular potencialmente asociadas con el sobrediagnóstico y el sobretratamiento. Para cada una de las estrategias de búsqueda, a los resultados se les asignó su nivel de evidencia de acuerdo con la clasificación del Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Resultados: Se identificaron dos grupos principales de causas de aumento de la mortalidad cardiovascular: el primero relacionado directamente con el diagnóstico de cáncer de mama; y el segundo para el tratamiento del cáncer de mama, incluida la cirugía y la radioterapia adyuvante. El aumento de la mortalidad cardiovascular incluyó varios subgrupos de causas como infarto agudo de miocardio, tromboembolismo pulmonar, insuficiencia cardíaca, arritmias, enfermedad orovalvar y accidente cerebrovascular. Conclusión: Existe evidencia consistente de mortalidad cardiovascular asociada con el diagnóstico y tratamiento del cáncer de mama en condiciones clínicamente compatibles con la tamización. También es probable que sea una de las causas más importantes de mortalidad relacionada con la tamización, especialmente aquellas asociadas con el sobretratamiento con radioterapia adyuvante.

Searching and selecting the best evidence efficiently: a tool for clinicians, professors and dental students / Como buscar e selecionar a melhor evidência de forma eficiente: uma ferramenta para cirurgiões-dentistas, professores e alunos de odontologia

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to offer an efficient systematic search strategy appropriate for clinicians, professors and dental students, for when they have a question regarding the effectiveness of clinical intervention. We adapted the "6-S System" proposed for Medicine in order to build a search strategy focused on oral health, which is speedy, easy to use and arrives at the appropriate evidence. With a focus on validity and search efficiency, the following searching sequence is proposed: critical abstracts of systematic reviews (SR) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), SR of RCTs, critical abstracts of RCTs, and RCTs. These can be searched in the Cochrane library; evidence-based journals; websites and blogs; and in Pubmed using the tool Clinical Queries. This strategy can enhance the ability to quickly retrieve evidence that is important to dental education, clinical practice and delivery of oral health care. The adoption of strategies such as the one proposed in this paper is likely to increase evidence based dental practice.

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo foi apresentar uma estratégia de busca sistemática e eficiente, apropriada para cirurgiões-dentistas, professores e alunos de Odontologia, para ser utilizada quando eles tiverem dúvidas sobre a efetividade de uma intervenção clínica. O sistema proposto para a Medicina, chamado de "Sistema 6-S", foi adaptado para que uma estratégia de busca com foco na Odontologia fosse construída. Essa estratégia é fácil e rápida de usar e alcança a melhor evidência científica disponível. A sequência de busca proposta, com foco na validade da evidência e eficiência da busca, consiste em: resumos críticos de revisões sistemáticas (RS) de ensaios controlados randomizados (ECR), RS de ECR, resumos críticos de ECR e, por último, ECR. A busca por esses artigos pode ser feita na biblioteca Cochrane; em revistas de odontologia baseada em evidência; sites da Internet e blogs; e no Pubmed através da ferramenta "Clinical Queries". Essa estratégia pode aprimorar a habilidade de obter rapidamente evidência importante para informar a prática clínica, a educação em Odontologia e o cuidado em saúde bucal. A adoção de estratégias como a proposta neste artigo pode aumentar a prática da Odontologia Baseada em Evidência.