Training profile of intensive care nurses in Brazil: cross-sectional study.

Objectives: to describe the training profile of Brazilian intensive care nurses.

Methods: a cross-sectional study carried out in two stages: a structured, self-administered questionnaire; mapping of the national supply of lato sensu postgraduate courses. Data was collected on the sociodemographic profile, training process and characterization of the courses.

Reduction of hospital length of stay through the implementation of SAFER patient flow bundle and Red2Green days tool: a pre-post study.

Background: In 2018, the National Health System released the 'Guide to reducing long hospital stays' to stimulate improvement and decrease length of stay (LOS) in England hospitals. The SAFER patient flow bundle and Red2Green tool were described as strategies to be implemented in inpatient wards to reduce discharge delays.

Objective: To verify if implementing the SAFER patient flow bundle and Red2Green days tool is associated with LOS reduction in the internal medicine unit (IMU) wards of a university hospital in Brazil.

Compartmentalized Regulation of Pulmonary and Systemic Inflammation in Critical COVID-19 Patients.

Critical COVID-19 has been associated with altered patterns of cytokines. Distinct inflammatory processes in systemic and pulmonary sites have been reported, but studies comparing these two sites are still scarce. We aimed to evaluate the profile of pulmonary and systemic cytokines and chemokines in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Morphofunctional analysis of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in human rheumatoid arthritis and mouse collagen-induced arthritis.

Background: Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play a prominent role in rheumatoid synovitis and degradation of the extracellular matrix through the production of inflammatory cytokines and metalloproteinases (MMPs). Since animal models are frequently used for elucidating the disease mechanism and therapeutic development, it is relevant to study the ultrastructural characteristics and functional responses in human and mouse FLS. The objective of the study was to analyze ultrastructural characteristics, Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) production and the activation of intracellular pathways in Fibroblast like synoviocytes (FLS) cultures obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and from mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).

Dysfunctional phenotype of systemic and pulmonary regulatory T cells associate with lethal COVID-19 cases.

Severe cases of COVID-19 present hyperinflammatory condition that can be fatal. Little is known about the role of regulatory responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, we evaluated the phenotype of regulatory T cells in the blood (peripheral blood mononuclear cell) and the lungs (broncho-alveolar) of adult patients with severe COVID-19 under invasive mechanical ventilation.

Emergency medicine in Brazil: historical perspective, current status, and future challenges.

Background: Emergency medicine (EM) in Brazil has achieved critical steps toward its development in the last decades including its official recognition as a specialty in 2016. In this article, we worked in collaboration with the Brazilian Association of Emergency Medicine (ABRAMEDE) to describe three main aspects of EM in Brazil: (1) brief historical perspective; (2) current status; and (3) future challenges.

Main Text: In Brazil, the first EM residency program was created in 1996.

Performance of High Mobility Protein Group 1 and Interleukin-6 as Predictors of Outcomes Resulting from Variceal Bleeding in Patients with Advanced Chronic Liver Disease.

Variceal bleeding is a serious complication in cirrhotic patients and is related to increased expression of inflammatory mediators that accentuate circulatory dysfunction. The study aims to evaluate the performance of high mobility protein group 1 (HMG1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as predictors of acute kidney injury (AKI), infection and death in these patients. Fifty patients who were diagnosed with advanced chronic liver disease with variceal bleeding were included.

Lung Ultrasound Can Predict the Clinical Course and Severity of COVID-19 Disease.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compromises the lung in large numbers of people. The development of minimally invasive methods to determine the severity of pulmonary extension is desired. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of sequential lung ultrasound and to test the prognostic usefulness of this exam in a group of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.

Evaluation of the Biomarkers HMGB1 and IL-6 as Predictors of Mortality in Cirrhotic Patients with Acute Kidney Injury.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) affects from 20% to 50% of cirrhotic patients, and the one-month mortality rate is 60%. The main cause of AKI is bacterial infection, which worsens circulatory dysfunction through the release of HMGB1 and IL-6.

Objectives: To evaluate HMGB1 and IL-6 as biomarkers of morbidity/mortality.

Clinical Aspects and Prognosis Evaluation of Cirrhotic Patients Hospitalized with Acute Kidney Injury.

Background: Acute kidney injury occurs in approximately 20% of hospitalized cirrhotic patients. Mortality is estimated at 60% within a month and 65% within a year.

Aims: To evaluate survival in 30 days and in 3 months of cirrhotic patients hospitalized with acute kidney injury, identifying factors associated with mortality.

Role of interleukin-3 as a prognostic marker in septic patients.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of IL-3 to predict the outcome of septic patients.

Methods: Prospective cohort study with adult patients in an intensive care unit with sepsis or septic shock diagnosed within the previous 48 hours. Circulating IL-3 levels were measured upon inclusion (day 1) and on days 3 and 7.

Leptin as an obesity marker in rheumatoid arthritis.

The determination of excess of body fat mass provides a more suitable determinant of obesity in rheumatoid arthritis patients; however, body mass index (BMI) may not be accurate for the quantification of adiposity. To identify a marker of excess adiposity in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using different methods for fat mass evaluation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in adult female patients with RA.

Omega-3 fatty acids, inflammatory status and biochemical markers of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a pilot study.

Background: Studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids reduce the concentrations of eicosanoids, cytokines, chemokines, C-reactive protein (CRP) and other inflammatory mediators.

Objective: To investigate the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on circulating levels of inflammatory mediators and biochemical markers in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Experimental clinical study (clinical trial: NCT02524795); 49 women with SLE (ACR1982/1997) were randomized: 22 to the omega-3 group (daily intake of 1080mg EPA+200mg DHA, for 12 weeks) and 27 to the control group.

Which is the best cutoff of body mass index to identify obesity in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis? A study using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition.

Introduction: Standard anthropometric measures used to diagnose obesity in the general population may not have the same performance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine cutoff points for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) for detecting obesity in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing these standard anthropometric measures to a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-based obesity criterion.

Patients And Method: Adult female patients with more than six months of diagnosis of RA underwent clinical evaluation, with anthropometric measures and body composition with DXA.

IL33 in rheumatoid arthritis: potential contribution to pathogenesis.

A better understanding of the inflammatory mechanisms of rheumatoid arthritis and the development of biological therapy revolutionized its treatment, enabling an interference in the synovitis - structural damage - functional disability cycle. Interleukin 33 was recently described as a new member of the interleukin-1 family, whose common feature is its pro-inflammatory activity. Its involvement in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, including autoimmune diseases, raises the interest in the possible relationship with rheumatoid arthritis.

Which is the best cutoff of body mass index to identify obesity in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis? A study using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition.

Introduction: Standard anthropometric measures used to diagnose obesity in the general population may not have the same performance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine cutoff points for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) for detecting obesity in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by comparing these standard anthropometric measures to a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-based obesity criterion.

Patients And Method: Adult female patients with more than six months of diagnosis of RA underwent clinical evaluation, with anthropometric measures and body composition with DXA.

Mast cells are crucial in the resistance against Toxoplasma gondii oral infection.

During oral infection, mucosal immunity assumes a predominant role. Here, we addressed the role of mast cells (MCs), which are mainly located in mucosa during oral infection with Toxoplasma gondii, using MC-deficient (W/W(v) ) mice. We show that in the absence of MCs the resistance of W/W(v) mice to oral infection was considerably reduced.

Systemic inflammatory response secondary to abdominal compartment syndrome: stage for multiple organ failure.

Background: The abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of postinjury multiple organ failure. The ACS is defined as intra-abdominal hypertension causing adverse physiologic response. This study was designed to determine the effects of IAH on the production of interleukin-1b (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), and the effects on remote organ injury.