Investigation of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies and leptospiruria in cats attended to a veterinary teaching hospital in southern Brazil.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis that affects both humans and animals worldwide. Currently, it is known that cats may be susceptible to infection. This study aims to investigate the presence of anti-Leptospira spp.

Does preappointment gabapentin affect neurological examination findings? A prospective, randomized and blinded study in healthy cats.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a preappointment oral dose of gabapentin on the neurological examination of cats.

Methods: A prospective, randomized and blinded clinical trial was conducted in 35 client-owned healthy cats. Cats were scheduled for two appointments and randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a 100 mg gabapentin capsule prior to the second veterinary visit.

Impact of dentists and equipment in the performing dental imaging examinations: a longitudinal analysis.

In this study, we aimed to identify factors associated with performing dental imaging examinations in public health services. Brazilian data at the municipal level (n = 5,564) in two time periods, P0 (2005-2007) and P1 (2014-2016), were collated from health information systems. The increase in the municipal rates of intraoral and extraoral radiographic imaging procedures was the outcome.

Evaluation of the effects of gabapentin on the physiologic and echocardiographic variables of healthy cats: a prospective, randomized and blinded study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate, using echocardiography, the effects of oral administration of a single dose of gabapentin on the physiologic variables (heart rate [HR], respiratory rate [RR] and systolic blood pressure [SBP]) and systolic and diastolic cardiac function of healthy cats.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized and blinded study with 40 healthy cats aged between 6 months and 2 years. The cats' health status was assessed on the first appointment (T1) when they underwent a physical examination, complete blood count, biochemical profile, assessment of physiologic variables and echocardiogram.

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in dental biofilms: Supragingival and subgingival findings from inpatients in a COVID-19 intensive care unit.

Background: Saliva, salivary glands, gingival crevicular fluid, and supragingival biofilms may harbor SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This observational study aimed to investigate the presence and load of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in supragingival, and subgingival biofilms obtained from intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Methods: A convenience sample, composed of 52 COVID-19+ participants (48.

[Congenital anomalies from the perspective of social determinants of health].

The objective of this study was to analyze factors associated with cases of congenital anomalies from the perspective of social determinants of health in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This is a case-control study with all the pairs of mothers and liveborn infants from 2012 to 2015 in the state, based on the total number of liveborn infants with congenital anomalies (5,250) and a random sample of 21,000 without congenital anomalies, according to data on the live birth certificates. The statistical analyses included chi-square tests and logistic regression models with SPSS.

Evaluation of music therapy to reduce stress in hospitalized cats.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the use of two different types of music - cat-specific music and classical music - compared with no music, to reduce stress in cats during hospitalization.

Methods: Thirty-five hospitalized cats were randomly divided into three groups and each group received a different stimulus - cat-specific music, classical music or no music (control) - throughout their hospitalization. Respiratory rate, salivary cortisol and social interaction were documented.

Dental biofilm of symptomatic COVID-19 patients harbours SARS-CoV-2.

Aims: SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been recovered from different sites in the human body, including the mouth. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the dental biofilm of symptomatic patients who tested positive in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal (NASO/ORO) samples.

Materials & Methods: An observational clinical study of individuals with flu-like symptoms was conducted between July and September 2020.

A telemedicine strategy to reduce waiting lists and time to specialist care: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: The demand for specialty care is rising worldwide. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, more than 150,000 people were waiting for specialist consultations in 2013. A telemedicine programme (RegulaSUS) developed referral protocols, audited waitlisted cases, authorised/prioritised referrals by risk and discuss deferred cases primary-care physician.

Factors associated with a positive childbirth experience in Brazilian women: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Having a positive childbirth experience is an increasingly valued outcome. Few studies evaluated the women's satisfaction with childbirth through face-to-face interviews out of the health service environment. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with a higher level of satisfaction with the childbirth experience among Brazilian women.

[Self-reported prevalence of hypertension and associated factors in quilombola communities in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil].

The study sought to identify the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and possible associated factors in adults residing in quilombola communities in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). A transversal population-based study, carried out in 2011, included 589 adult households in quilombola communities in the State of RS, by sampling proportional to the size. The outcome was obtained by the question: "Has a doctor ever told you that you have hypertension?" Poisson regression with robust variance and hierarchical input variables were used.

Performance of the Gail and Tyrer-Cuzick breast cancer risk assessment models in women screened in a primary care setting with the FHS-7 questionnaire.

Breast cancer (BC) risk assessment models base their estimations on different aspects of a woman's personal and familial history. The Gail and Tyrer-Cuzick models are the most commonly used, and BC risks assigned by them vary considerably especially concerning familial history. In this study, our aim was to compare the Gail and Tyrer-Cuzick models after initial screening for familial history of cancer in primary care using the FHS-7 questionnaire.

Pedagogical training profile of basic health sciences faculty in biomedical and related fields at Brazilian public and private higher education institutions.

Historically, Brazilian higher education teachers' pedagogical training has not been a concern. Even today, a graduate degree is the main requirement to be a faculty member. However, a set of competencies is necessary to teach: pedagogical competency, political competency, and knowledge of specific content.

Race attitudes in cultural context: The view from two Brazilian states.

The development of implicit and explicit racial attitudes were investigated in 542 White, Pardo, and Black Brazilian children and adolescents (aged 6 to 14) from 2 different regional contexts that vary dramatically in their racial diversity, Bahia (BA) and Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Results revealed the pervasive presence of race biases favoring higher status groups across multiple measures of implicit and explicit attitude. Contextual differences were also apparent, particularly in measures of group identification: Children from the more diverse context (BA), including Black children, identified themselves more strongly with lighter skin tones, particularly with Whites.

Practice of exclusive breastfeeding and its associated factors in a suburban area in Angola: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding for six months is one of the measures with highest impact on prevention of child deaths. The determinants of breastfeeding practices are complex and differ between populations. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in a suburban area in Angola.

Malnutrition and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study with children under 2 years in a suburban area in Angola.

Background: The prevalence of child malnutrition in Angola is still very high, and little is known about its associated factors. The aim of this study was to identify these factors in children under 2 years in a suburban area of the country's capital city.

Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in 2010.

Odds Ratio or Prevalence Ratio? An Overview of Reported Statistical Methods and Appropriateness of Interpretations in Cross-sectional Studies with Dichotomous Outcomes in Veterinary Medicine.

One of the most commonly observational study designs employed in veterinary is the cross-sectional study with binary outcomes. To measure an association with exposure, the use of prevalence ratios (PR) or odds ratios (OR) are possible. In human epidemiology, much has been discussed about the use of the OR exclusively for case-control studies and some authors reported that there is no good justification for fitting logistic regression when the prevalence of the disease is high, in which OR overestimate the PR.

Prediction of chronic critical illness in a general intensive care unit.

Objective: To assess the incidence, costs, and mortality associated with chronic critical illness (CCI), and to identify clinical predictors of CCI in a general intensive care unit.

Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study. All patients receiving supportive treatment for over 20 days were considered chronically critically ill and eligible for the study.

[Quality of prenatal care: traditional primary care and Family Health Strategy units in a city in southern Brazil].

Prenatal care in traditional primary care units (UBS) and Family Health Strategy units (ESF) was evaluated by a cross-sectional study from July 2009 to February 2010 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Seven hundred and ninety-five postpartum women who had received prenatal care in either of the two types of units were interviewed. Four quality levels were used: level 1 (Kessner index modified by Takeda); level 2, which adds clinical obstetric procedures to level 1; level 3, which adds laboratory tests to level 1; and level 4, which includes all the above parameters.

Trends in hospitalizations for primary care sensitive conditions following the implementation of Family Health Teams in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Objectives: How to provide effective and efficient care to the burgeoning and aging populations of the major cities of low- and middle-income countries constitutes one of the principle public health issues of our times. We evaluated the Family Health Strategy, the Brazilian national health system's public approach to primary health care, in the major city of Belo Horizonte, describing trends and factors associated with hospitalizations for primary care sensitive conditions following the implementation of 506 family health teams, most of which were established in 2002.

Methods: We conducted an ecological study covering 2003 to 2006, using mixed models to investigate time trends in public system hospitalizations as well as their association with social vulnerability and primary care team characteristics.

[Comparison of simple and multiple imputation methods using a risk model for surgical mortality as example].

Introduction: It is common for studies in health to face problems with missing data. Through imputation, complete data sets are built artificially and can be analyzed by traditional statistical analysis. The objective of this paper is to compare three types of imputation based on real data.

[Is there an association between cancer mortality and agrotoxics use? A contribution to the debate].

The chronic use of agrotoxics in rural regions of Rio Grande do Sul State (RS) has been tentatively associated to a possible increase in the incidence of cancer in rural areas. A time-trend ecological study was performed in the micro region of Ijuí County (MI), in RS and Brazil, with data of the 1979 to 2003 period. Data was collected from the Mortality Information System, Brazilian Ministry of Health (DATASUS), to evaluate the cancer mortality rate, standardized by gender and age - corrected mortality ratios.

[Multiple imputations for missing data: a simulation with epidemiological data].

In situations with missing data, statistical analyses are usually limited to subjects with complete data. However, such estimates may be biased. The method of 'filling in' missing data is called imputation.