Implementation of Basic Patient Safety Protocols: a quality improvement project.

Objective: To analyze the effect of an improvement project on the implementation of Basic Patient Safety Protocols in Brazilian public hospitals.

Method: This is an intervention study aimed at comparing measurements before-and-after the implementation of an improvement project in 35 public hospitals across three Brazilian regions, between July 2021 and September 2023. The intervention consisted of a set of activities to support the implementation of six Basic Patient Safety Protocols, with semimonthly collection of indicators.

ANCA-associated vasculitis following Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Brazil: Is there a causal relationship? A case report.

This article presents a case of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis following the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a female patient 58 years old. After 5 days, she presented fatigue, paleness, arthralgia on hands, knees, ankles, foamy urine, and elevated blood pressure. Exams showed serum creatinine of 2.

Impact of Time-Zero Biopsy on the Outcome of Transplanted Kidneys.

Background: A low supply of donated organs led to the expansion of criteria for kidney transplantation (KT), and the impact on late glomerular function rates (eGFR) is still uncertain. This study aimed to correlate the histologic findings at time-zero biopsy (TzB) with the final eGFR, to identify criteria that could help achieve a more thorough preimplantation evaluation of the organ.

Methods: Records from 395 adult deceased KTs were reviewed.

Expression patterns of CD56+ and CD16+ cells in renal transplant biopsies with acute rejection: Associations with microcirculation injuries and graft survival.

Background: The study investigated whether immunohistochemical features of interstitial and glomerular CD56 and CD16 infiltrates - NK cells markers - could be associated with microcirculation injury scores - peritubular capillaritis (ptc) and glomerulitis (g) - and graft survival.

Methods: The research analyzed the immunohistochemical pattern of CD56 and CD16 in interstitial and glomerular compartments of biopsies for-cause biopsies from 59 recipients diagnosed with acute rejection (mean = 135.5 days post-transplant).

Compartment-specific expression of natural killer cell markers in renal transplantation: immune profile in acute rejection.

Natural killer (NK) cells have been implicated in graft dysfunction. Here, we formulated hypothesis that distinct patterns of expression NK cells markers correlated with acute rejection in kidney transplantation. Therefore, we studied the pattern of NK cell markers CD56, CD57, and CD16 in different compartments of biopsies obtained from recipients diagnosed with acute graft rejection, with or without donor-specific antibodies (DSA).

The role of renin-angiotensin system in the chronic allograft nephropathy: an immunohistochemical study.

Background: Evidences suggest a role of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the development of chronic allograft injury.

Methods: We correlated intrarenal angiotensin-converting enzyme, angiotensin II (Angio II) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) expression in 58 biopsies-proven chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) with tissue injury and allograft survival.

Results: The biopsies with CAN were graded according to Banff classification as I (22 cases), II (17) and III (19); 27 biopsies also showed a mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate in scarred areas.

Mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate and microcirculation injury in acute rejection: role in renal allograft survival.

This study aimed at investigating associations between monocytes/macrophages (Mo) infiltration and three important criteria associated with acute antibody-mediated rejection: C4d staining, microcirculation injury, and graft survival time. By quantitative analysis, Mo were counted in peritubular capillaries and in the interstitial compartment (peritubular/interstitial Mo), and they were also identified in glomeruli (glomerular Mo). The study included 47 patients who received renal allograft between 1991 and 2009.

Is systemic lupus erithematosus a new risk factor for atherosclerosis?

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of cardiovascular events (CVE) secondary to atherosclerosis in lupus patients and correlate them to the traditional risk factors, disease duration and drug therapy used.

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out based on data obtained from patients charts. Patients included were those who had a lupus diagnosis confirmed at least two years before inclusion in the study and had been followed since 1992.