Healthcare-associated infections on the intensive care unit in 21 Brazilian hospitals during the early months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: An ecological study.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis and may have affected healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention strategies. We evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HAI incidence in Brazilian intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: In this ecological study, we compared adult patients admitted to the ICU from April through June 2020 (pandemic period) with the same period in 2019 (prepandemic period) in 21 Brazilian hospitals.

Evolution to permanent or transient conditions in children with positive neonatal TSH screening tests in Sergipe, Brazil.

Objectives: To assess the evolution to permanent or transient conditions in children with positive neonatal TSH tests in Sergipe, Brazil, from 2004 to 2010.

Subjects And Methods: Out of 193,794 screened newborns, 713 presented a neonatal TSH level higher than the local cutoff (5.2 µU/mL).

Prevalence of discordant immunologic and virologic responses in patients with AIDS under antiretroviral therapy in a specialized care center in Brazil.

Some patients under antiretroviral therapy (ART) do not reach immune recovery when the viral load becomes undetectable. This is called discordant immunologic and virologic responses. Its prevalence varies between 8% and 24%.

Factors associated with paradoxical immune response to antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected patients: a case control study.

Background: A paradoxical immunologic response (PIR) to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), defined as viral suppression without CD4 cell-count improvement, has been reported in the literature as 8 to 42%, around 15% in most instances. The present study aims to determine, in a cohort of HIV infected patients in Brazil, what factors were independently associated with such a discordant response to HAART.

Methods: A case-control study (1:4) matched by gender was conducted among 934 HIV infected patients on HAART in Brazil.

The role of integrated home-based care in patient adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

Non-adherence is one of the primary obstacles to successful antiretroviral therapy in HIV+ patients worldwide. In Brazil, the Domiciliary Therapeutic Assistance is a multidisciplinary and integrated home-based assistance program provided for HIV+ patients confined in their homes due to physical deficiency. This study investigated ADT's ability to monitor and promote appropriate adherence to ARV therapy.

Single step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of the Leishmania (Viannia) subgenus.

In Brazil, the main etiologic agent of Leishmaniasis that frequently presents with mucosal involvement belongs to the Viannia subgenus. The therapeutic conduct in this disease depends on the parasitological diagnosis, and classical methods are restricted in identifying the agent. In this paper we describe a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which uses primers designed from mini-exons repetitive sequences.

Interaction between ants and fruits of Guapira opposita (Nyctaginaceae) in a Brazilian sandy plain rainforest: ant effects on seeds and seedlings.

This study examines the dispersal system of Guapira opposita in a tropical sandy rainforest in southeast Brazil. Guapira trees produce small fruits with a high protein content (28.4%) and low lipid content (0.