Usefulness of prolactin levels in predicting the etiology of hyperprolactinemia in a cohort of 770 patients.

Objective: Determining the etiology of hyperprolactinemia is fundamental for selecting the most appropriate treatment strategy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of prolactin levels in predicting the etiology of nonphysiological hyperprolactinemia.

Subjects And Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed medical records of patients with nonphysiological hyperprolactinemia seen at two neuroendocrine reference centers located in Recife, Brazil, from January 2000 to December 2019.

Changes in body composition of burn patients during the phases of response to trauma.

Objective: To assess the changes in body composition of burn patients through electrical bioimpedance in the phases of response to trauma.

Methods: a longitudinal observational study, carried out from October 2019 to March 2020. Sociodemographic, clinical, epidemiological, anthropometric and body composition data were collected.

Subclinical Ventricular Dysfunction in Long-Term Acromegaly Assessed by Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography.

Introduction: Symptomatic heart disease may be present in patients with advanced-stage acromegaly. However, earlier assessment of subclinical ventricular systolic dysfunction can be accomplished through speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) for the study of myocardial strain. The few such studies in this population to date have produced conflicting results.

Health Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (ST&I/H): an update for debate.

The text presents an updated proposal for a Health Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in Brazil, following the huge political turmoil in the country since 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. The proposal is presented in five sections: Scientific Research; Productive Innovation; Health Technology Assessment and Incorporation; Intellectual Property in Health; New challenges posed by the Pandemic. The authors take part in the Advisory Committee in Science, Technology and Innovation of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health.

Quantifying convergence on health-related indicators of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

The extended scope and complexity of the United Nations 2030 agenda entail important challenges for the operationalization of the health-related sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators. Divergences in concepts, agendas and implementation strategies among institutions have fostered the parallel development of alternative and concurrent indicators. We aim to determine the convergences and divergences between five key institutions: the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), the Pan American Health Organization, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Changes in Left Ventricular Mechanics After Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine echocardiographic parameters of left ventricle (LV) mechanics in obese patients before and after sleeve gastrectomy (SG).

Design And Methods: Twenty-five obese individuals submitted to laparoscopic SG were enrolled in this study. Echocardiography was performed before and after the procedure, and left ventricle mechanics were evaluated by speckle tracking imaging.

Nutritional status and evaluation of the perioperative fasting time among patients submitted to elective and emergency surgeries at a reference hospital.

Objective: to evaluate the clinical, surgical, and nutritional profile of surgical patients admitted to a reference hospital in Recife city, Pernambuco state, Brazil.

Methods: a cross-sectional study carried out in the wards of the General Surgery Service of Hospital da Restauração Governador Paulo Guerra, from June to September 2018. We included adult and elderly patients (both genders) who were submitted to thoracoabdominal procedures and elective or emergency abdominal surgeries, and in which the assessment of nutritional status could be performed within 72 hours of hospital admission.

Bariatric surgery and the coronary artery calcium score.

Objective: to investigate the impact of bariatric surgery on the coronary artery calcium score (CACS), and to establish predictors of progression of this score in patients with obesity.

Methods: prospective study that evaluated 18 obese patients before and after bariatric surgery. All patients were submitted to computed tomography scans and blood tests (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, A1C, insulin, serum calcium, C-peptide and C-Reactive Protein) in order to determine CACS and Framingham risk score (FRS).

Consumption of ultraprocessed foods, nutritional status, and dyslipidemia in schoolchildren: a cohort study.

This study evaluates the relation between consumption of ultraprocessed foods, nutritional status, and dyslipidemia in schoolchildren from Recife/PE, Brazil. This is a cohort study conducted in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013, with 238 students recruited from the public school system of the city of Recife, Northeast Brazil. Demographic data, stage of sexual maturation, socioeconomic, lifestyle, anthropometric, and lipid profiles were collected.

Adiposity, inflammation and fat-soluble vitamins in adolescents.

Objective: Evaluate the association between inflammatory process, adiposity, and vitamins A, D, and E in adolescents, according to gender.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with adolescents aged 12-19 years old of both genders attending public schools in Recife. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socioeconomic level, lifestyle, and food intake of adolescents.

Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1α-Mutated Hepatocellular Adenomas: An Atypical Presentation.

Hepatocellular adenomas (HCAs) are rare benign monoclonal hepatic tumors that commonly occur in females (3-4 per 100,000 women) due to the use of oral contraceptives, its primary risk factor. Recently, HCAs have been classified into 4 distinct subtypes according to genotypic and phenotypic characteristics and clinical features: inflammatory HCA (40-50%), which are hypervascular with marked peliosis and a tendency to bleed; hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF1A)-mutated HCA (H-HCA, 30-40%) that are diffusely steatotic and rarely undergo malignant transformation; β-catenin activated HCA (10-15%), which frequently undergo malignant transformation and may seem hepatocellular carcinoma on imaging; and unclassified HCA (10-25%). In this study, we report the case of a 23-year-old female oral contraceptive user with H-HCA.

The Role of Isotretinoin Therapy for Cushing's Disease: Results of a Prospective Study.

Objective. This prospective open trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid) in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Methods.

[The Brazilian National Health Conference: challenges for the country].

This article was published in the context of the upcoming 15th Brazilian National Health Conference and addresses the country's health challenges based on the history of previous conferences. The authors analyze the evolution of health as a public policy agenda, highlighting the role of such institutions as the Brazilian Center for Health Studies (CEBES), the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (Abrasco), and the National Health Council in advocating and establishing the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS). The article also focuses on expectations concerning the 15th National Health Conference within a political and economic scenario that raises questions and challenges both for the future of health policy, exemplified by SUS, and the current capacity to mobilize stakeholders.

NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND PERIOPERATIVE FASTING TIME VERSUS COMPLICATIONS AND HOSPITAL STAY OF SURGICAL PATIENTS.

Introduction: many factors can have a negative influence over surgical results, such as a compromised nutritional status and the extension of the perioperative fasting time.

Objective: to evaluate the influence of the nutritional status and the perioperative fasting time over the occurrence of surgical complications and over hospital stay, in patients who have undergone surgery of the gastrointestinal tract and/or abdominal wall, and who were subjected to a nutritional care protocol.

Methods: cohort study, conducted with 84 patients, from June to November 2014.

Second Attempt of Cabergoline Withdrawal in Patients with Prolactinomas after a Failed First Attempt: Is it Worthwhile?

Successful discontinuation of cabergoline (CAB) treatment has been reported in 31-75% of prolactinomas patients treated for at least 2 years. In contrast, it is not well established whether CAB therapy can be successfully withdrawn after a failed first attempt. This prospective open trial was designed to address this topic and to try to identify possible predictor factors.

Altered coronary artery calcium scores before bariatric surgery.

Introduction: Obesity is an important cause of cardiovascular disease, especially coronary artery disease. Severely obese patients are particularly prone to this risk. The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease and provides incremental information beyond traditional risk factors.

Can we predict long-term remission after somatostatin analog withdrawal in patients with acromegaly? Results from a multicenter prospective trial.

Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) represent the mainstay of therapy in acromegaly. One of the potential disadvantages is the expected need to maintain therapy indefinitely in previously non-irradiated patients. The aim of this multicenter prospective open trial was to evaluate the likelihood of successful discontinuation of SSA therapy in well-controlled acromegalic patients who fulfilled very strict criteria: two or more years of treatment with the long-acting SSA octreotide LAR (OCT-LAR), a stable dose and injections interval every 4 weeks or longer for the previous year, GH levels <2.

Spontaneous remission of hypercortisolism presumed due to asymptomatic tumor apoplexy in ACTH-producing pituitary macroadenoma.

Cushing's disease (CD) is usually caused by secretion of ACTH by a pituitary corticotroph microadenoma. Nevertheless, 7%-20% of patients present with ACTH-secreting macroadenomas. Our aim is to report a 36-year-old female patient with CD due to solid-cystic ACTH-macroadenoma followed up during 34 months.

Drug prescription errors in a Brazilian hospital.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of clinically significant prescription errors in a Brazilian university hospital compared with their occurrence in 2003 and 2007.

Methods: Variables and group of variables, such as readability, compliance with legal and institutional procedures of prescription, and prescription errors analysis were analyzed.

Results: When the prevalence rates of clinically significant prescription errors were calculated, a statistically significant decrease was shown [year of 2003 (29.