The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil.

Objective: To assess the profile of allergist/immunologist (A/I) physicians in Brazil, the workplace, the access to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional practice.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an survey. All adhering members of the Brazilian Association of Allergy and Immunology (ASBAI) received a tool by email.

Association between Asthma and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanisms and Impact on Asthma Control-A Literature Review.

The study aimed to analyze the scientific production on the association between asthma and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in adults, the mechanisms that explain this association, and its impact on asthma control. A literature review of scientific articles indexed in the MEDLINE/PUBMED, BVS, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases was carried out, considering publications from January 2009 to December 2019, using the following descriptors: "asthma", "type 2 diabetes", "adult," and "association". Of 962 articles found, 18 were included because they met the eligibility criteria.

Severe asthma and eligibility for biologics in a Brazilian cohort.

Objective: This study aims to describe the eligibility for biologic therapies for severe asthma (SA) in a cohort of patients attending the Program for Control of Asthma (ProAR) in Bahia, Brazil.

Methods: Data from SA patients (≥18 years old) attending the ProAR, that were included in a case-control study conducted from 2013 to 2015, were used to reassess patients according to a modified ERS/ATS 2014 SA criteria. Patients were then classified according to the eligibility for SA biological therapy based on current prescription labels.

Eosinophilic asthma, according to a blood eosinophil criterion, is associated with disease severity and lack of control among underprivileged urban Brazilians.

Background: Asthma is a syndrome with multiple phenotypes. Peripheral blood eosinophil counts might be the ideal biomarker to identify subjects with eosinophilic asthma. It is available, inexpensive, and it is associated with eosinophilia in sputum.

Analysis of factors associated with excess weight in school children.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren aged 10 to 16 years and its association with dietary and behavioral factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional study that evaluated 505 adolescents using a structured questionnaire and anthropometric data. The data was analyzed through the T Test for independent samples and Mann-Whitney Test to compare means and medians, respectively, and Chi Test for proportions.

Analyses of Budget Impact Considering the Use of the Picture Archiving and Communication System.

Objective: To analyze the budget impact of using the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) in comparison to the screen/film system.

Methods: The budget impact analysis was conducted on the basis of registry data from the Clinics Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The budget impacts were compared between the PACS, with high- and low-cost PACS architectures, and the screen/film system by considering reference and alternative scenarios over the course of 5 years.

Profile analysis of patients with HIV/AIDS hospitalized after the introduction of antiretroviral therapy.

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996, there have been worldwide shifts in the causes of hospitalization for patients with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of HIV/AIDS patient hospitalizations between 1997 and 2012. This cross-sectional study used a hospital database that centralizes records of admissions in 31 hospitals, both public and private, across 26 municipalities in the interior of São Paulo.

Rituximab, fludarabine, and cyclophosphamide versus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of the lymphoid system, in which the most common therapy is fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide (FC). The addition of rituximab to FC has been used, a combination known as FCR.

Objectives: To perform a systematic review with meta-analysis of clinical trials between 2000 and 2012 comparing FC and FCR in patients with CLL.

[Evaluation and incorporation of health technologies: process and methodology adopted by a high-complexity care university].

The demographic and epidemiological transitions tend to increase the role of hospitals in medical care. Within such organizations, effective, safe, and cost-effective health technologies ensure better quality of care and increase users' survival, thus emphasizing the importance of evaluation of such hospital-based technologies. This article aims to present a model for the evaluation and incorporation of technology in a teaching hospital that provides high-complexity care.

[Factors associated with the demand for health services from a gender-relational perspective].

Male culture values involve risk behaviors to health, since the way men perceive and experience their masculinity is one of the most influential shapers of falling sick and dying. The scope of this study was to identify the factors associated with the demand for health services and differences between the sexes by selecting users of health services. The dependent variables were sex of the user (cultural indicator) and failure to seek out health services.

Factors associated with community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalised children and adolescents aged 6 months to 13 years old.

Unlabelled: According to the World Health Organisation, community-acquired pneumonia is the main cause of paediatric death, accounting for 20 % of deaths in children younger than 5 years old, and 90 % of these deaths occur in non-industrialised countries. This study has as objective to evaluate the influence of socio-economic, environmental and breastfeeding factors on the occurrence of pneumonia. An unmatched case-control study was conducted in children aged 6 months to 13 years old at a children's hospital in Brazil.

Prevalence of rotavirus in acute diarrhea and its association with clinical signs and symptoms.

Rotaviruses are the main etiological agents of acute infectious diarrhea in children. Thus, the objective of this study is to contribute to the information about the rotavirus variants circulating in Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 124 fecal samples collected from children up to the age of 5 years, with acute gastroenteritis.

TH1/TH2 balance in concomitant immediate and delayed-type hypersensitivity diseases.

In spite of the observation of mutual inhibitory properties of TH1 and TH2 CD4+ cells, a group of patients developed simultaneously immediate and delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions that are theoretically antagonistic. Patients presenting concomitant hypersensitivity reactions were evaluated for cytokine production. PBMC from 45 patients and 13 non-atopic individuals were cultured with mite allergen and mitogen and the supernatants obtained were evaluated for cytokine production by ELISA.

Patients with active infection with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis present a Th2 immune response characterized by high Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-5 production.

Paracoccidiodomycosis (PCM) is caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. In humans, the disease presents a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from localized mucocutaneous lesions to a widespread manifestation with involving the mononuclear phagocyte system. In attempt to better understand the regulation of immune response during the infection, this study analyzed the production of regulatory and inflammatory cytokines in 25 infected patients and 19 health controls.