Clinical response to prednisone in a severe case of infant-juvenile paracoccidioidomycosis.

BACKGROUND: Paracoccidioidomycosis is a neglected tropical disease caused by fungi of the genus Paracoccidioides. A wide range of symptoms is related to the disease; however, lungs and skin are the sites predominantly affected. The disease is mostly seen in people living in rural areas in Latin America. CASE REPORT: We present a pediatric case of severe disseminated paracoccidioidomycosis that slowly responded to the antifungal treatment. Within three months, symptoms evolved into hepatosplenomegaly, necrotic cervical and abdominal lymph nodes, and splenic abscess. Clinical response to amphotericin B deoxycholate and itraconazole was slow, resulting in pleural and peritoneal cavity effusions, heart failure and shock. Amphotericin B deoxycholate was replaced by the liposomal formulation, with no response. Subsequently, prednisone was added to the treatment, which led to improvement in the clinical response. Serological Paracoccidioides antibody titers were atypical, with very low titers in the critical phase and significant increase during the convalescence phase. The infection was finally cleared up with amphotericin B deoxycholate, liposomal amphotericin B and the use of corticosteroids. Paracoccidioidomycosis serology was non-reactive two years post-discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the intense inflammatory response triggered by Paracoccidioides cells, giving low-dose prednisone for a short period of time modulated the inflammatory response and supported antifungal treatment.

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of spinal cord lesions: what can we find? - Part 2. Inflammatory and infectious injuries.

Diseases involving the spinal cord include a heterogeneous group of abnormalities, including those of inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic origin. Making the clinical differentiation between different entities is often difficult, magnetic resonance imaging being the diagnostic method of choice. Although the neuroimaging findings are not pathognomonic, many are quite suggestive, and the radiologist can assist in the diagnosis and, consequently, in the therapeutic guidance. In this second part of our article, the objective is to review the magnetic resonance imaging findings of the main inflammatory and infectious spinal cord injuries.

As doenças que envolvem a medula espinal incluem um grupo heterogêneo de anomalias, englobando causas inflamatórias, infecciosas, neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas. Muitas vezes a diferenciação clínica entre as diversas entidades é difícil, sendo a ressonância magnética a modalidade de escolha na investigação diagnóstica. Apesar de os achados de neuroimagem não serem patognomônicos, muitos são bastante sugestivos, podendo o radiologista auxiliar no diagnóstico e, consequentemente, na orientação terapêutica. O objetivo desta segunda parte do artigo é revisar os achados de ressonância magnética das principais lesões medulares inflamatórias e infecciosas.

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of spinal cord lesions: what can we find? - Part 1. Neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic injuries.

Diseases involving the spinal cord include a heterogeneous group of abnormalities, including those of inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic origin. Making the clinical differentiation between different entities is often difficult, magnetic resonance imaging being the diagnostic method of choice. Although the neuroimaging findings are not pathognomonic, many are quite suggestive, and the radiologist can assist in the diagnosis and, consequently, in the therapeutic guidance. In this first part of our article, the objective is to review the magnetic resonance imaging findings of the main neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic spinal cord injuries.

As doenças que envolvem a medula espinal incluem um grupo heterogêneo de anomalias, englobando causas inflamatórias, infecciosas, neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas. Muitas vezes a diferenciação clínica entre as diversas entidades é difícil, sendo a ressonância magnética a modalidade de escolha na investigação diagnóstica. Apesar de os achados de neuroimagem não serem patognomônicos, muitos são bastante sugestivos, podendo o radiologista auxiliar no diagnóstico e, consequentemente, na orientação terapêutica. O objetivo desta primeira parte do artigo é revisar os achados de ressonância magnética das principais lesões medulares neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas.

Non-neoplastic intracranial cystic lesions: not everything is an arachnoid cyst.

Intracranial cystic lesions are common findings on neuroimaging examinations, arachnoid cysts being the most common type of such lesions. However, various lesions of congenital, infectious, or vascular origin can present with cysts. In this pictorial essay, we illustrate the main causes of non-neoplastic intracranial cystic lesions, discussing their possible differential diagnoses as well as their most relevant imaging aspects.

Lesões císticas intracranianas são achados comuns nos exames de neuroimagem, sendo os cistos aracnoides os mais comuns. Porém, muitas outras lesões, de origem congênita, infecciosa e vascular, podem se apresentar com cistos. Neste ensaio ilustramos as principais causas de lesões císticas intracranianas não neoplásicas, discutindo seus possíveis diagnósticos diferenciais, bem como seus aspectos de imagem mais relevantes.

Retrospective analysis of the role of cyclin E1 overexpression as a predictive marker for the efficacy of bevacizumab in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer.

The relative benefit of bevacizumab in ovarian cancer (OC) patients is greater the more the disease becomes platinum-resistant. Among other mechanisms of action, antiangiogenic agents may induce homologous recombination deficiency. Cyclin E1 (CCNE1) overexpression is a proposed marker of platinum resistance and is mutually exclusive with deficiency in homologous recombination. In this study, we evaluated the predictive value of CCNE1 expression with regard to the efficacy of bevacizumab. We retrospectively evaluated data from patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent OC who were treated with chemotherapy (CT) plus bevacizumab (Bev group) or CT alone (CT group) at a tertiary cancer centre from 2005 to 2017. The two groups were paired according to histology, platinum-free interval (PFI) and number of previous treatment lines. Progression-free survival (PFS) was compared between groups by log rank test and Cox regression. A total of 124 patients were included, with 62 in each group. The groups were well balanced regarding histology, PFI and number of previous treatment lines. Median PFS (mPFS) was 19.5 months for the Bev group versus 16.0 months for CT group (p = 0.150). By multivariate analysis, the HR for PFS was 2.25 (95% CI: 1.10-4.60) for CCNE1 overexpression. The benefit of bevacizumab was larger in the subgroups of patients with PFI 6-12 months (mPFS 18.6 versus 10.4 months, p = 0.002) and CCNE1 overexpression (mPFS 16.3 versus 7.0 months, p = 0.010). In conclusion, CCNE1 overexpression and PFI may suggest which patients will receive the greatest benefit from bevacizumab. These data, if confirmed by other studies, could help better select patients for antiangiogenic therapy.

Children's public health: Danger of exposure to pathogenic fungi in recreational places in the middle-west region of Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are keratinophilic fungi, considered etiological agents of cutaneous mycoses in man and animals. The objective of this work was to isolate dermatophytic and non-dermatophytic fungi in recreational sandboxes (rainy and dry periods) in public day-care centers located in the city of Cuiabá-MT (Middle-west of Brazil). METHODS: Samples (n=200) were collected from the superficial layer of the sandboxes at a depth of 2-5cm in 10 public nurseries in Cuiabá-MT. Hair baits measuring 1-2cm were autoclaved and dispersed in 50g of the sample in sterile plates, incubated at 28°C, moistened with chloramphenicol solution (50mg/L). After 6 weeks the baits were inoculated on Sabouraud agar plus 50mg/L chloramphenicol and 500mg/L cycloheximide. The fungi were identified according to macroscopic and micromorphological characteristics. RESULTS: From the collected sand samples, 1318 colonies and 56 species of fungi belonging to 22 genera were isolated. The most important genera were Paecilomyces spp. (30.42%), Penicillium spp. (19.12%), Fusarium spp. (11.46%) and Aspergillus spp. (11.15%). Dermatophytes were recovered in 50% of day-care centers in a total of 29 identified colonies, the Trichophyton genus (86.2%) being the most frequently isolated. CONCLUSIONS: The dermatophytes in the recreational areas of day-care centers can pose a risk to the health of its users, especially for children and the employees. Work with this profile is very important to guide actions related to health surveillance.

Age- and Sex-Related Differences in the Maximum Muscle Performance and Rate of Force Development Scaling Factor of Precision Grip Muscles.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of age and sex on the rate of force development scaling factor (RFD-SF) and maximum performance (i.e., maximum grip force [GFMax] and maximum rate of grip force development [RGFDMax]) of precision handgrip muscles. Sixty-four subjects, allocated in four groups according to their age and sex, were asked to hold an instrumented handle with the tip of the digits and perform two tests: maximum voluntary contraction and RFD-SF tests. In the maximum voluntary contraction test, GFMax and RGFDMax were assessed. In the RFD-SF test, the subjects generated quick isometric force pulses to target amplitudes varying between 20% and 100% of their GFMax. The RFD-SF and R2 values were obtained from the linear relationship between the peak values of the force pulses and the corresponding peak values of the rate of force development. Younger adults and males produced higher GFMax and RGFDMax and presented higher R2 and RFD-SF than older adults and females, respectively. No correlations between GFMax and RFD-SF and between RGFDMax and RFD-SF were observed.

Conhecimento de profissionais de Enfermagem sobre cuidados paliativos em unidades de internação clínica / Knowledge of Nursing professionals about palliative care in clinical inpatient units / Conocimiento de los profesionales de Enfermaría sobre cuidados paliativos en unidades clínicas de pacientes hospitalizados

Objetivo: identificar o conhecimento dos profissionais de enfermagem sobre cuidados paliativos nos setores de clínica médica. Metodologia: estudo qualitativo, realizado em um hospital público no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Foram entrevistados 20 profissionais de enfermagem nos meses de janeiro e fevereiro de 2019. Os dados foram analisados através da análise de conteúdo temática. Resultados: Evidenciou-se a compreensão dos profissionais de enfermagem sobre os cuidados paliativos; fatores intervenientes a realização dos cuidados paliativos de qualidade e o conhecimento dos profissionais de enfermagem acerca das normatizações e legislações referentes aos cuidados paliativos. Conclusão: os profissionais de enfermagem possuem uma percepção contraditória sobre os cuidados paliativos com ocorrência de fatores intervenientes a implementação dos cuidados paliativos e um desconhecimento a respeito das legislações e normas que regem os cuidados paliativos. (AU)

Objective: To identify the knowledge of nursing professionals about palliative care in the sectors of medical clinic. Methods: Qualitative study, carried out in a public hospital in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Twenty nursing professionals were interviewed in the months of January and February 2019. The data were analyzed through thematic content analysis. Results: The nursing professionals' understanding of palliative care became evident; intervening factors the provision of quality palliative care and the knowledge of nursing professionals about the standards and legislation regarding palliative care. Conclusion: Nursing professionals have a contradictory perception about palliative care with the occurrence of intervening factors in the implementation of palliative care and a lack of knowledge about the laws and regulations that govern palliative care. (AU)

Objetivo: Identificar el conocimiento de los profesionales de enfermería sobre cuidados paliativos en los sectores de la clínica médica. Metodos: Estudio cualitativo, realizado en un hospital público del estado de Río de Janeiro, Brasil. Veinte profesionales de enfermería fueron entrevistados en los meses de enero y febrero de 2019. Los datos se analizaron mediante análisis de contenido temático. Resultados: La comprensión de los profesionales de enfermería sobre los cuidados paliativos se hizo evidente; los factores intervinientes son la provisión de cuidados paliativos de calidad y el conocimiento de los profesionales de enfermería sobre los estándares y la legislación sobre cuidados paliativos. Conclusión: Los profesionales de enfermería tienen una percepción contradictoria sobre los cuidados paliativos con la aparición de factores intervinientes en la implementación de los cuidados paliativos y la falta de conocimiento sobre las leyes y regulaciones que rigen los cuidados paliativos. (AU)

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of spinal cord lesions: what can we find? - Part 2. Inflammatory and infectious injuries / Avaliação por ressonância magnética das lesões intramedulares: o que podemos encontrar? - Parte 2. Lesões inflamatórias e infecciosas

Abstract Diseases involving the spinal cord include a heterogeneous group of abnormalities, including those of inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic origin. Making the clinical differentiation between different entities is often difficult, magnetic resonance imaging being the diagnostic method of choice. Although the neuroimaging findings are not pathognomonic, many are quite suggestive, and the radiologist can assist in the diagnosis and, consequently, in the therapeutic guidance. In this second part of our article, the objective is to review the magnetic resonance imaging findings of the main inflammatory and infectious spinal cord injuries.

Resumo As doenças que envolvem a medula espinal incluem um grupo heterogêneo de anomalias, englobando causas inflamatórias, infecciosas, neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas. Muitas vezes a diferenciação clínica entre as diversas entidades é difícil, sendo a ressonância magnética a modalidade de escolha na investigação diagnóstica. Apesar de os achados de neuroimagem não serem patognomônicos, muitos são bastante sugestivos, podendo o radiologista auxiliar no diagnóstico e, consequentemente, na orientação terapêutica. O objetivo desta segunda parte do artigo é revisar os achados de ressonância magnética das principais lesões medulares inflamatórias e infecciosas.

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of spinal cord lesions: what can we find? - Part 1. Neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic injuries / Avaliação por ressonância magnética das lesões intramedulares: o que podemos encontrar? - Parte 1. Lesões neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas

Abstract Diseases involving the spinal cord include a heterogeneous group of abnormalities, including those of inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic origin. Making the clinical differentiation between different entities is often difficult, magnetic resonance imaging being the diagnostic method of choice. Although the neuroimaging findings are not pathognomonic, many are quite suggestive, and the radiologist can assist in the diagnosis and, consequently, in the therapeutic guidance. In this first part of our article, the objective is to review the magnetic resonance imaging findings of the main neoplastic, vascular, metabolic, and traumatic spinal cord injuries.

Resumo As doenças que envolvem a medula espinal incluem um grupo heterogêneo de anomalias, englobando causas inflamatórias, infecciosas, neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas. Muitas vezes a diferenciação clínica entre as diversas entidades é difícil, sendo a ressonância magnética a modalidade de escolha na investigação diagnóstica. Apesar de os achados de neuroimagem não serem patognomônicos, muitos são bastante sugestivos, podendo o radiologista auxiliar no diagnóstico e, consequentemente, na orientação terapêutica. O objetivo desta primeira parte do artigo é revisar os achados de ressonância magnética das principais lesões medulares neoplásicas, vasculares, metabólicas e traumáticas.

Non-neoplastic intracranial cystic lesions: not everything is an arachnoid cyst / Lesões císticas intracranianas não neoplásicas: nem tudo são cistos aracnoides

Abstract Intracranial cystic lesions are common findings on neuroimaging examinations, arachnoid cysts being the most common type of such lesions. However, various lesions of congenital, infectious, or vascular origin can present with cysts. In this pictorial essay, we illustrate the main causes of non-neoplastic intracranial cystic lesions, discussing their possible differential diagnoses as well as their most relevant imaging aspects.

Resumo Lesões císticas intracranianas são achados comuns nos exames de neuroimagem, sendo os cistos aracnoides os mais comuns. Porém, muitas outras lesões, de origem congênita, infecciosa e vascular, podem se apresentar com cistos. Neste ensaio ilustramos as principais causas de lesões císticas intracranianas não neoplásicas, discutindo seus possíveis diagnósticos diferenciais, bem como seus aspectos de imagem mais relevantes.

Analysis of a Brazilian baroque sculpture using Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR.

In this study, samples were taken from the sculpture of Our Lady of Sorrows and analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR. This sculpture has been dated to the early eighteenth century. Samples were also examined using optical microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Based on chemical analysis, the pigments vermilion [HgS], massicot [PbO] and azurite [Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2]were found in the sculpture polychrome. The results indicate that the green polychrome of the sculpture's mantle comes from the blending of massicot and azurite. Because the literature reports that the mantle of the Our Lady of Sorrows sculpture is blue, the mixing of these pigments results from a production error. The results also indicate the presence of Au in the sculpture, which indicates the originality of the piece. The results from this study helped restorers to choose the appropriate procedures for intervening in the sculpture and contributed to the knowledge about the manufacturing process of Brazilian baroque sculptures.

The Glória quartz-monzodiorite: isotopic and chemical evidence of arc-related magmatism in the central part of the Paleoproterozoic Mineiro belt, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

The Glória quartz-monzodiorite, one of the mafic plutons of the Paleoproterozoic Mineiro belt, is intrusive into banded gneisses, amphibolites, schists and phyllites of the Rio das Mortes greenstone belt, in the southern portion of the São Francisco Craton, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Glória quartz-monzodiorite yields a SHRIMP U-Pb zircon age of 2188 +/- 29 Ma, suggesting a tectonic relationship with the pre-collisional phase of the Mineiro belt. According to the Nd isotopic evidence (epsilonNd(T) = -3.4; T DM = 2.68 Ga) the original magmas was formed by a mixture among Archean crustal material and Paleoproterozoic juvenile magma. The Glória quartz-monzodiorite shows metaluminous and calc-alkaline tendency with intermediate K content, comparable to that of volcanic-arc rocks. The primary mineralogical assemblage was partly modified by metamorphism, dated between 2131-2121 Ma in nearby coeval plutons. Such metamorphism is significantly older than the reported metamorphic episodes of the Mineiro belt in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region (2059-2041 Ma) in the eastern portion of the study area. This evidence, together with chemical and isotopic data from other mafic and felsic plutons coeval with the Glória quartz-monzodiorite, indicate a tectonic and magmatic migration within the Mineiro belt from west to east.

Hematoma subdural agudo traumático: estudo em 110 pacientes / Acute traumatic subdural haematomas: study of 110 cases

Apresentamos uma série consecutiva de 110 pacientes com hematoma subdural agudo traumático (HSDA) admitidos no serviço de emergência do HBDF no período de 1(-janeiro a 1(-dezembro-1994. Todos os pacientes foram atendidos de acordo com o mesmo protocolo. Houve predominância do sexo masculino (79 por cento), com idade variando entre 14 e 70 anos, sendo os atropelamentos (34 por cento) e os acidentes automobilísticos (20 por cento) as causas mais comuns. A maioria dos pacientes (85,7 por cento) foi admitida muito grave, com 8 pontos ou menos na Escala de Coma Glasgow (ECG), o que influenciou diretamente na mortalidade. A tomografia computadorizada de crânio foi o exame diagnóstico de escolha que mostrou serem as contusoes e o inchaço cerebral ("swelling") as lesoes intracranianas associadas mais frequentes. A cirurgia foi realizada em 45,1 por cento dos pacientes, e, em sua maioria, através de craniotomia fronto-têmporo-parietal ampla, com drenagem do hematoma, seguida de plástica da dura-mater. Em 54,9 por cento as condiçoes clínicas nao permitiram a realizaçao da cirurgia; neste grupo, cerca de 69,6 por cento estavam em coma profundo à admissao, com 3 pontos na ECG. A letalidade, incluindo todos os pacientes cirurgicos e nao cirurgicos com HSDA, mesmo aqueles admitidos já com sinais de falência de tronco cerebral, foi de 79,5 por cento. Além destes pacientes que faleceram, cerca de 7 por cento evoluíram sem sequelas ou com sequelas mínimas; outros 11,4 por cento com sequelas de moderadas a graves e 2,1 por cento permaneceram em estado vegetativo persistente. Nossos dados estao de acordo com os da literatura no que se refere a elevada taxa de morbidade e mortalidade dos pacientes com HSDA.

Medida da diferença artério-venosa de oxigênio na monitorizaçäo de pacientes com hemorragia subaracnóidea por aneurisma cerebral / Measurement of arteriovenous oxygen difference in the monitoring of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage due to cerebral aneurysm

A diferença arterio-venosa de oxigenio (DAVO2), pelo fatode estar relacionada com o metabolismo cerebral, reflete alteracoes que ocorrem em determinadas situacoes patologicas, entre elas as causadas pela hemoragia subaracnoidea espontanea (HSAE). Com a finalidade de avaliar a relacao entre alteracoes na DAVO2 com o quadro clinico e a evolucao de pacientes com HSAE, devido Ó ruptura de aneurisma cerebral, este metodo foi utilizado em 30 pacientes portadores desta patologia, admitidos na unidade de neurocirurgia do HBDF. A HSAE foi confirmada por CT de cranio em 17 pacientes e por punçÒo lombar em 13. Dezoito pacientes foram admitidos com Hunt & Hess (H&H) I ou II, sete com H&H III e cinco com H&H IV ou V. A medida da DAVO2 baseou-se na equacao de Fick e os resultados clinicos foram avaliados pela escala de sequelas de Glasgow. Dezenove pacientes apresentaram DAVO2 normais (inicialmente e durante a evoluçÒo), sendo que trÛs faleceram; cinco tiveram valores de DAVO2 sempre baixos e tres faleceram; os restantes seis pacientes tiveram valores da DAVO2 sempre elevados e dois faleceram. Os pacientes com DAVO2 normais tiveram melhor evolucao clinica e indice de mortalidade menor, quando comparados com os pacientes com valores anormais da DAVO2 (p<0,05). O diagnostico de vasoespasmo foi feito, em sua maioria, pela avaliacao clinica, sendo confirmado radiologicamente em oito pacientes, mas estes ultimos tiveram DAVO2 normais. A medida isolada da DAVO2 nao foi suficiente para o diagnostico do vasoespasmo, porem refletiu alteracoes metabolicas precoces. Baseada nestes resultados, a DAVO2 pode ser usada como parÔmetro importante na monitorizaçÒo da evoluçÒo dos pacientes com HSAE.