Diagnosis of tuberculosis: a consensus statement from the Brazilian Thoracic Association.

Early, accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis is one of the major pillars of the control of the disease. The purpose of this consensus statement is to provide health professionals with the most current, useful evidence for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in Brazil. To that end, the Tuberculosis Committee of the Brazilian Thoracic Association brought together 14 members of the Association with recognized expertise in tuberculosis in Brazil to compose the statement.

Prevalence of Frailty and Evaluation of Associated Variables Among COPD Patients.

Rationale: Frailty in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients has been associated with a higher rate of incidents, longer duration of hospitalization, poorer quality of life, and higher mortality.

Objective: To measure the prevalence of frailty among COPD patients and to evaluate associated variables.

Methods: A cross-sectional study.

Factors related to the use of hookah among medical students.

Objective: This study evaluated the factors related to the use of hookah among medical students, the level of knowledge about the involved harms, and their relationship with the use and intention to stop using it.

Methods: Students of the 1st and 6th year of medical school were evaluated. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association between the outcome (use of hookah in the last 30 days) and demographic, subjective psychosocial data and level of knowledge about the harms of hookah use.

The Fraction Exhaled Nitric Oxide as a Biomarker of Asthma Control.

Introduction And Objective: The main goal of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain clinical control of the disease. The exhaled fraction nitric oxide (FeNO) level is a biomarker of T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) inflammation of the airways. Our objective was to determine whether the FeNO level can be used to discriminate between patients with controlled, partially controlled, and uncontrolled asthma.

Tuberculosis treatment.

Tuberculosis treatment remains a challenge due to the need to consider, when approaching it, the context of individual and collective health. In addition, social and economic issues have been shown to be variables that need to be considered when it comes to treatment effectiveness. We conducted a critical review of the national and international literature on the treatment of tuberculosis in recent years with the aims of presenting health care workers with recommendations based on the situation in Brazil and better informing decision-making regarding tuberculosis patients so as to minimize morbidity and interrupt disease transmission.

Evaluation of the impact that the changes in tuberculosis treatment implemented in Brazil in 2009 have had on disease control in the country.

Objective: To analyze the impact that the 2009 changes in tuberculosis treatment in Brazil had on the rates of cure, tuberculosis recurrence, mortality, treatment abandonment, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Methods: An ordinary least squares regression model was used in order to perform an interrupted time series analysis of secondary data collected from the Brazilian Tuberculosis Case Registry Database for the period between January of 2003 and December of 2014.

Results: The 2009 changes in tuberculosis treatment in Brazil were found to have no association with reductions in the total number of cases (β = 2.

Clinical treatment outcomes of tuberculosis treated with the basic regimen recommended by the Brazilian National Ministry of Health using fixed-dose combination tablets in the greater metropolitan area of Goiânia, Brazil.

Objective: To describe the rates of cure, treatment failure, and treatment abandonment obtained with the basic regimen recommended by the Brazilian National Ministry of Health (rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for two months, followed by isoniazid and rifampin for four months) involving the use of fixed-dose combination tablets (self-administered treatment), as well as to describe adverse events and their potential impact on treatment outcomes.

Methods: This was a descriptive study based on prospective data obtained from the medical records of tuberculosis patients (> 18 years of age) treated with the basic regimen at either of two primary health care facilities in the greater metropolitan area of Goiânia, Brazil.

Results: The study sample comprised 40 tuberculosis patients.

Effect of seasonality on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms in a Brazilian city with a tropical climate.

Objective: To evaluate the effect that seasonality has on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms in a Brazilian city with a tropical climate.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, in which data related to subjects who sought outpatient treatment at a primary health care clinic in the city of Goiânia, Brazil, were correlated with daily meteorological data. Over a one-year period, all the patients who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed on 44 distinct, randomly selected days (11 days per season).