The impact of vaccination on the length of stay of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil.

Background: The length of hospital stays for severe COVID-19 cases significantly impacts the overall burden on the health system. Current COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective at reducing severe cases. However, the influence of vaccination status on the progression of COVID-19 after hospitalization is not well understood.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a highly vulnerable population of Brazil: a household cohort study.

Background: Household transmission studies seek to understand the transmission dynamics of a pathogen by estimating the risk of infection from household contacts and community exposures. We estimated within/extra-household SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and associated factors in a household cohort study in one of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro city.

Methods: Individuals ≥1 years-old with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in the past 30 days (index cases) and household members aged ≥1 year were enrolled and followed at 14 and 28 days (study period November/2020-December/2021).

Temporal trends in the contribution of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors to cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging in a large city in Brazil.

Background: Most cardiovascular (CV) events stem from modifiable risk factors, but it remains uncertain whether their impact on mortality has decreased in recent years as a result of treatment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We evaluated the temporal trends in the population attributable fraction (PAF) of modifiable risk factors to CV mortality in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for suspected coronary artery disease in a large city in Brazil.

Methods: The cohort comprised 25,127 patients without established CV disease undergoing MPI in a referral center in Curitiba, Brazil, from 2010 to 2018.

Differential Type-I Interferon Response in Buffy Coat Transcriptome of Individuals Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Gamma and Delta Variants.

The innate immune system is the first line of defense against pathogens such as the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The type I-interferon (IFN) response activation during the initial steps of infection is essential to prevent viral replication and tissue damage. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can inhibit this activation, and individuals with a dysregulated IFN-I response are more likely to develop severe disease.

Mechanical ventilation and death in pregnant patients admitted for COVID-19: a prognostic analysis from the Brazilian COVID-19 registry score.

Background: The assessment of clinical prognosis of pregnant COVID-19 patients at hospital presentation is challenging, due to physiological adaptations during pregnancy. Our aim was to assess the performance of the ABC-SPH score to predict in-hospital mortality and mechanical ventilation support in pregnant patients with COVID-19, to assess the frequency of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and characteristics of pregnant women who died.

Methods: This multicenter cohort included consecutive pregnant patients with COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals, from April/2020 to March/2022.

Quantifying protocols for safe school activities.

By the peak of COVID-19 restrictions on April 8, 2020, up to 1.5 billion students across 188 countries were affected by the suspension of physical attendance in schools. Schools were among the first services to reopen as vaccination campaigns advanced.

Prevalence and predictors of anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology in a highly vulnerable population of Rio de Janeiro: A population-based serosurvey.

Background: COVID-19 serosurveys allow for the monitoring of the level of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and support data-driven decisions. We estimated the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a large complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: A population-based panel study was conducted in Complexo de Manguinhos (16 ) with a probabilistic sampling of participants aged ≥1 year who were randomly selected from a census of individuals registered in primary health care clinics that serve the area.

CD10 and ICOS expression by multiparametric flow cytometry in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma is immunologically defined by the expression of CD10 and the follicular helper T cell (T(FH)) markers such as CXCL13, programmed death-1 (PD-1) and inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS). This T(FH) profile has been mainly reported by immunohistochemistry. Here, using multiparametric flow cytometry, the relevance of ICOS and PD-1 to angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma diagnosis was evaluated in lymph node (n=15) as well as in peripheral blood (n=13) among a series of 28 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma cases, in addition to the CD10 expression (available in 26 lymph node and 15 peripheral blood specimens).

Identification of circulating CD10 positive T cells in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

In most cases of lymphomas with blood dissemination, the careful cytological analysis of peripheral blood smears provides a rapid orientation to diagnosis, even if the final subtyping is achieved by histology and eventually other techniques. Here, we evaluated if the analysis of blood smears may suggest the blood dissemination of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) and if CD10 expression on neoplastic T cells, as recently reported on AITL, may contribute to the diagnosis. In all, 11 lymph nodes and six peripheral blood samples from 12 patients with AITL were studied using four-colour flow cytometry associated to histological, cytological and molecular data.

Oxidants and antioxidants in long-term haemodialysis patients.

Survival for decades is now possible in end-stage renal disease patients (ESRD) treated with haemodialysis (HD). Long-term survivors may present dialysis-related pathology (DRP). Alterations in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress are recognized as important risk factors that could be prevented or reduced by optimal therapy.

Effects of clodronate on immobilization bone loss.

Clodronate can be used in animals to prevent the effects of immobilization on bone. For this reason we have studied the effects of this agent on immobilisation bone loss in man. We administered clodronate by mouth to 14 paraplegic patients (400 mg/d, n = 7; 1600 mg/day, n = 7), and compared its effect with a placebo (n = 7).

Effects of disodium dichloromethylene diphosphonate on bone loss in paraplegic patients.

21 paraplegic patients with recent traumatic spinal cord injury were orally administered 400 (n = 7) or 1,600 (n = 7) mg/d of disodium dichloromethylene diphosphonate (Cl2MDP) and compared with a placebo group (n = 7) to test the preventive effects of the drug on acute bone loss and osteoclastic resorption. Cl2MDP therapy was initiated at a mean of 17.6 d after the onset of paraplegia.