Hemodialysis services: are public policies turned to guaranteeing the access?

The increasing incidence of chronic renal failure in Brazil and the consequential expansion of hemodialysis as a choice for treatment in final stage have to be taken into account to guarantee access to those in need. The ecological study conducted in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in 2012, using data from the Brazilian Health Informatics Department (DATASUS) and from the analysis of medical records in 12 clinics, identified and mapped patients on hemodialysis, the distance they travelled and the estimated number of patients. The prevalence of hemodialysis patients in Mato Grosso do Sul State, about 55 per 100,000 inhabitants, is similar to the national average.

The use of 2% chlorhexidine gel and toothbrushing for oral hygiene of patients receiving mechanical ventilation: effects on ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of oral chlorhexidine hygiene with toothbrushing on the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia in a mixed population of critically ill patients under prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Methods: Prospective, randomized, and placebo-controlled pilot study. Patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation, had been admitted less than 24 hours prior, and were anticipated to require mechanical ventilation for more than 72 hours were included in the study.

[Characterization of tuberculosis among HIV/AIDS patients at a referral center in Mato Grosso do Sul].

Tuberculosis was investigated regarding its clinical presentation, treatment outcome and sociodemographic profile among HIV patients attended at a referral center in Mato Grosso do Sul, in 2003-2005. Sixty-six medical files on patients over 14 years of age and data from the Brazilian National Information System for Notifiable Diseases relating to tuberculosis and from the Mortality Information System were analyzed. Most of the patients were male, white, of low schooling level and from urban areas.