[HIV/HCV coinfection at an university hospital in Recife, Brazil].

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and risks factors associated with coinfection in HIV-positive individuals.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 343 HIV patients attended at a university hospital in Recife, Northeastern Brazil, from March to December 2003. A standardized questionnaire about risk factors was administered.

Platelet function and the von Willebrand factor antigen in the hepatosplenic form of schistosomiasis mansoni.

Forty-five individuals with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni were studied with the aim of measuring levels of von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag), detecting abnormalities in platelet morphology and aggregation, and identifying changes to surface antigens. Haemograms, platelet aggregation tests, flow cytometry investigations of CD41/CD42b antibody and vWF:Ag assays were performed. Mean platelet counts were low (77,522/mm3) and 82.