Official information systems for cryptococcal meningitis, state of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil.

The study aimed to compare the epidemiological profile of crytococcal meningitis in different information systems, thus assessing to what extent the profile available in the Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Information System for Notifiable Diseases) reflected cryptococcal meningitis occurrences in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, between 2002 and 2004. That database was compared to a new database comprised of cryptococcal meningitis cases from this System, from the Assessoria de Meningite da Secretaria de Saúde do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (State Department of Health Meningitis Advisory Committee), and from the Instituto Estadual de Infectologia São Sebastião (State Institute of Infectious Diseases) laboratory records. The System detected 65.

Cryptococcal meningitis in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, 1994-2004.

The objective of this article was to evaluate the epidemiology of cryptococcal meningitis in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, from 1994 to 2004. Six hundred and ninety-six cases of cryptococcal meningitis were reported, with a mean incidence of 0.45 per 100,000 inhabitants.

[The effect of chronic diseases on functional status of the elderly living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil].

The main focus of this study was the effect of chronic disease (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and arthropathy) on the functional status (activities of daily living - ADL, instrumental activities of daily living - IADL) among the elderly, controlling for age, gender, living arrangements, education, and comorbidity. The analysis was based on information provided by the SABE Project, from the city of São Paulo, Brazil, including individuals 60 years of age and over (n = 1,769), from January 2000 to March 2001. A multinomial logistic regression model was used.

Histoplasmosis in a Brazilian center: clinical forms and laboratory tests.

Histoplasmosis, caused by the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, is endemic in many regions of the Americas, Asia and Africa. It has a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, from asymptomatic infection to severe disseminated disease. A retrospective study was carried out to describe the clinical forms and assess the clinical significance of the laboratory diagnostic tests of patients with histoplasmosis during the period of July 1987 to December 2003 at Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas/ FIOCRUZ, RJ, Brazil.

Protothecosis.

Protothecosis is an infection caused by achlorophyllic algae of the genus Prototheca which rarely affects humans. Some 100 cases have been described in the medical literature, the majority caused by the species P. wickerhamii.