Promising results of ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy for treating chronic venous ulcers.

Background: Despite advances in wound care, the dressing and management of chronic ulcers on lower limbs remains unsatisfactory. The simplicity, cost effectiveness, and diverse application possibilities of ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy make it an attractive and effective approach to treat patients with no access to or contraindications to more invasive methods. We sought to evaluate the healing rate of chronic venous ulcers (Clinical, Etiological, Anatomical, Pathophysiological [CEAP] C6) in patients treated with ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy.

2024 Standardization of Polysomnography Reports - A Consensus of the Brazilian Sleep Association.

 The absence of standardized reporting for sleep medicine exams across different laboratories can lead to misinterpretation, diagnostic inconsistencies, and suboptimal treatment strategies. This document seeks to establish guidelines for the development of sleep study reports, covering recordings from studies of types 1 to 4, and represents the official position of Associação Brasileira do Sono (ABS; Brazilian Sleep Association) on the standardization of polysomnography (PSG) and cardiorespiratory polygraphies.  The recommendations for the items to be reported in PSG records were developed by means of a Delphi study, comprised of two voting rounds.

Radiation dose assessment of pediatric computed tomography of the chest: the need to consider patient size.

Objective: To evaluate the radiation dose of chest computed tomography (CT) examinations of pediatric patients and the extent to which volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) underestimates radiation dose in comparison to size specific dose estimates (SSDE).

Methods: Single-center, retrospective study of consecutive unenhanced pediatric (age <18 years) chest CTs between October 2015 and October 2016. Radiation dose as well as demographic and clinical data were recorded from 133 chest CTs.

Association between human leukocyte antigen class II-DR-DQ and narcolepsy: a case control study.

Study Objectives: Narcolepsy is a neurologic disorder characterized by irresistible sleep attacks. Although its etiology is unknown, it is strongly associated with genetic variances in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex. We investigated the association of HLA class II-DR-DQ alleles in a sample of patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy (narcolepsy type 1 [NT1]) and patients with narcolepsy without cataplexy (narcolepsy type 2) with a control group.

2023 Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Insomnia in Adults - Brazilian Sleep Association.

Chronic insomnia disorder (simplified in this document as insomnia) is an increasingly common clinical condition in society and a frequent complaint at the offices of different areas of health practice (particularly Medicine and Psychology). This scenario has been accompanied by a significant evolution in treatment, as well as challenges in approaching patients in an appropriately way. This clinical guideline, coordinated by the Brazilian Sleep Association and the Brazilian Association of Sleep Medicine and counting on the active participation of various specialists in the area, encompasses an update on the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia in adults.

Effects of glass-ceramic produced by the sol-gel route in macrophages recruitment and polarization into bone tissue regeneration.

Effective bone substitute biomaterials remain an important challenge in patients with large bone defects. Glass ceramics produced by different synthesis routes may result in changes in the material physicochemical properties and consequently affect the success or failure of the bone healing response. To investigate the differences in the orchestration of the inflammatory and healing process in bone grafting and repair using different glass-ceramic routes production.

Insomnia symptoms during the covid-19 pandemic: a case-control study.

Objective: To identify lifestyle-related, sociodemographic, and mental health characteristics of people with insomnia symptoms and people without insomnia during the pandemic.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted with data collected by snowball sampling using an online questionnaire. From November 2020 to April 2021, 6,360 people with a mean age of 43.

Dose-response effect of Montelukast on post-extraction dental socket repair and skeletal phenotype of mice.

Bone metabolism and repair are directly regulated by arachidonic acid metabolites. At present, we analyzed the dose-response effects of a selective cysteinyl leukotriene receptor type-1 antagonist during bone repair after tooth extraction and on non-injured skeleton. Sixty-three 129 Sv/Ev male mice composed the groups: C-Control (saline solution); MTK2-2 mg/Kg of Montelukast (MTK) and MTK4-4 mg/Kg of MTK, daily administered by mouth throughout all experimental periods set at 7, 14, and 21 days post-operative.

COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increased sleep disturbances and mental health symptoms but not help-seeking: a cross-sectional nation-wide study.

Objective: This study aimed firstly to describe sleep-related and mental health symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a national-wide sample and, secondly, to verify attitudes towards help-seeking to treat these symptoms.

Material And Methods: Data were collected through an online questionnaire sent through the Brazilian Sleep Association's social media. The questionnaire included sociodemographic and sleep aspects questions currently and before the pandemic period.

Is there a link between COVID-19 and obstructive sleep apnea?

Although obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is not considered a risk factor for COVID-19, studies have observed that these two conditions have comorbidities in common such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, obesity, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thus, one may question the possible contribution of OSAS to the worsening of hypoxemia in patients with COVID-19 since OSAS and obesity (hypoventilation) are associated with hypoxemia, which can be a worsening factor in the hypoxemia of COVID-19 pneumonia. Moreover, one may question whether sleep deprivation would negatively interfere with the pulmonary condition caused by COVID-19.

Insomnia episodes, new-onset pharmacological treatments, and other sleep disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Brazilian health care professionals.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on insomnia and other sleep disturbances in health care professionals.

Methods: A survey was distributed using social media and organizational emails to Brazilian active health care professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak. We explored potential associated factors including age, sex, occupation, workplace, work hours, income, previous infection with COVID-19, recent/current contact with COVID-19 patients, regional number of incident deaths, anxiety, and burnout.

Performance of Prediction Models for Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury after Transcutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has shown to adversely affect outcomes in patients undergoing transcutaneous aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and its correct risk estimation may interfere in procedural planning and strategies. The aim of the study was to test and compare 6 scores in predicting AKI after TAVR.

Methods: We tested 6 scores (the contrast material limit score, volume-to-creatinine clearance ratio, ACEF, CR4EATME3AD3, Mehran model A, and Mehran model B) in a total of 559 consecutive patients included in the Brazilian TAVR registry.

Self-Collected Oral Fluid and Nasal Swabs Demonstrate Comparable Sensitivity to Clinician Collected Nasopharyngeal Swabs for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Detection.

We compared self-collected oral fluid swab specimens with and without clinician supervision, clinician-supervised self-collected anterior nasal swab specimens, and clinician-collected nasopharyngeal swab specimens for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Supervised oral fluid and nasal swab specimens performed similarly to clinician-collected nasopharyngeal swab specimens. No sample type could detect SARS-CoV-2 infections amongst all positive participants.

Recent progress in gellan gum hydrogels provided by functionalization strategies.

Gellan gum, a microbial exopolysaccharide fermentation product of Pseudomonas elodea, is a natural biomaterial that has shown promise for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Although this exopolysaccharide possesses many advantages, such as interesting physicochemical properties and non-cytotoxicity, the mechanical properties and processability of gellan gum are not totally satisfactory in different tissue engineering contexts, i.e.

Brazilian consensus on guidelines for diagnosis and treatment for restless legs syndrome.

The Consensus on restless legs syndrome is an effort of neurologists from several Brazilian states, which tirelessly reviewed the literature of recent years in search of evidence, both in regard to diagnosis and treatment, according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine.

EuroSCORE models in a cohort of patients with valvular heart disease and a high prevalence of rheumatic fever submitted to surgical procedures.

Objectives: Epidemiological differences can be found between Brazilian and European valvular heart disease patients. The prevalence of heart valve diseases due to rheumatic disease is significantly higher in the Brazilian compared with the European population. Therefore, they could have different risks during and after cardiac surgery.

Footedness across ages: distinction between mobilization and stabilization tasks.

Foot preference was assessed in 5- to 20-year-old participants separately for mobilization and stabilization task categories through observation of performance. Results revealed different laterality profiles of pedal preference between task categories. Interindividual consistency and strong preference for the right foot in mobilization tasks contrasted to large interindividual variability and weak pedal preference in stabilization tasks.

[Brazilian guidelines for the treatment of narcolepsy].

This manuscript contains the conclusion of the consensus meeting of the Brazilian Sleep Association with Brazilian sleep specialists on the treatment of narcolepsy based on the review of medical literature from 1980 to 2010. The manuscript objectives were to reinforce the use of agents evaluated in randomized placebo-controlled trials and to issue consensus opinions on the use of other available medications as well as to inform about safety and adverse effects of these medications. Management of narcolepsy relies on several classes of drugs, namely, stimulants for excessive sleepiness, antidepressants for cataplexy and hypnotics for disturbed nocturnal sleep.

[Brazilian guidelines for the diagnosis of narcolepsy].

This manuscript contains the conclusion of the consensus meeting on the diagnosis of narcolepsy based on the review of Medline publications between 1980-2010. Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder with age at onset between the first and second decade of life. Essential narcolepsy symptoms are cataplexy and excessive sleepiness.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of substituted pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidines as a novel class of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis agents.

Novel pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidines were efficiently synthesized and evaluated for antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H(37)Rv. This new structural class of compounds showed high activity against the bacilli. The activity depends on the substituents present in N-3 and C-8 of the pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidine core.

Association between prostate cancer and schistosomiasis in young patients: a case report and literature review.

This case report refers to a 47-year old patient with prostate cancer associated with schistosomiasis mansoni, who was submitted to radical prostatectomy. This is the third report published in the literature with respect to this association, and up to the present time it is still not known whether a cause and effect relationship exists between the two pathologies. The association between schistosomiasis and cancer has been well-documented in bladder cancer; however, there are no data yet proving the association of this disease with prostatic neoplasia.

Clinical and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile and CSF criteria for the diagnosis of spinal cord schistosomiasis.

Objectives: To describe the clinical and CSF findings among patients with presumptive neuroschistosomiasis (NS) and to suggest a classification for the CSF diagnosis of presumptive NS.

Method: The charts of all patients whose CSF exam was performed at the CSF Lab, Jos Silveira Foundation, Salvador, Brazil, from 1988 to 2002 were reviewed. Those with clinically suspected NS whose indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA) and or hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies test (HAI) were positive to S.

[Comparative study between magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the diagnosis of the pancreatic and biliary obstruction].

Background: The endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography were methods used for diagnosis of the diseases in the biliary and pancreatic ducts.

Aim: Compare the diagnostic concordance among, analyzing sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy.

Patients/methods: There were 41 patients in the studied group, divided in two groups: I--without biliary or pancreatic tract obstruction, and II--with obstruction.

Assessment of DNA damage in lymphocytes of workers exposed to X-radiation using the micronucleus test and the comet assay.

The mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of genotoxic agents on exposed people have constituted an increasing concern. Therefore, the objective of this work was to assess DNA damage in lymphocytes of workers exposed to X-radiation using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus test and the comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis), and to compare these two techniques in the monitoring of exposed populations. The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus test and the comet assay were employed in the monitoring of 22 workers occupationally exposed to X-radiation in a hospital in southern Brazil.