Outcomes of latent rheumatic heart disease: External validation of a simplified score in patients with and without secondary prophylaxis.

Background: Secondary antibiotic prophylaxis reduces progression of latent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) but not all children benefit. Improved risk stratification could refine recommendations following positive screening. We aimed to evaluate the performance of a previously developed echocardiographic risk score to predict mid-term outcomes among children with latent RHD.

Incidence and Predictors of Progression to Chagas Cardiomyopathy: Long-Term Follow-Up of -Seropositive Individuals.

Background: There are few contemporary cohorts of -seropositive individuals, and the basic clinical epidemiology of Chagas disease is poorly understood. Herein, we report the incidence of cardiomyopathy and death associated with seropositivity.

Methods: Participants were selected in blood banks at 2 Brazilian centers.

Cytokine gene functional polymorphisms and phenotypic expression as predictors of evolution from latent to clinical rheumatic heart disease.

Introduction: Inflammation associated with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is influenced by gene polymorphisms and inflammatory cytokines. There are currently no immunologic and genetic markers to discriminate latent versus clinical patients, critical to predict disease evolution. Employing machine-learning, we searched for predictors that could discriminate latent versus clinical RHD, and eventually identify latent patients that may progress to clinical disease.

Health Education about Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Community-Based Cluster Randomized Trial: Rheumatic Heart Disease Educational Strategies.

Introduction: The burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is still high in Brazil. Lack of population awareness about the disease limits the efficacy of prevention programs. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of education on RHD in schools, comparing the conventional expository teaching method with tablet-based worked examples.

Heart rate variability as predictor of mortality in sepsis: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Sepsis is a serious medical condition with increasing prevalence and high mortality. The role of the autonomic nervous system in pathophysiology of sepsis has been increasingly researched. The objective of this study is to evaluate the Heart rate variability (HRV) as a predictor of mortality in septic patients.

Factors associated with compliance to AHA/ACC performance measures in a myocardial infarction system of care in Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate compliance with American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) performance measures for adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to investigate the factors associated with compliance, in an AMI System of Care in Brazil.

Design: Observational longitudinal study.

Setting: A high-complexity University Hospital, part of the AMI System of Care implemented in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2010.

A single FTO gene variant rs9939609 is associated with body weight evolution in a multiethnic extremely obese population that underwent bariatric surgery.

Objectives: The rs9939609 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is involved in obesity. Few studies have been conducted on patients who underwent bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of FTO SNPs on body weight, body composition, and weight regain during a 60-mo follow-up period after bariatric surgery.