Nurses' perception on violence against children and adolescents by their companion in pediatric ward.

Objectives: to know the nurses' perception on violence against children by their companion in pediatric ward; describe the nurses' actions in this situation; analyze these actions in light of government policies; and know the organization and communication of the multidisciplinary team to face this phenomenon.

Method: a descriptive qualitative research conducted through semi-structured interviews with nurses. Thematic analysis identified three categories: "A perception of violence"; "Actions and interventions performed by nurses"; and "Multidisciplinary team organization and communication".

[Epidemiologic surveillance and evaluation of meningitis hospital care].

Objective: To analyze the clinical-epidemiological profile and in-hospital death predictors of infectious meningitis patients admitted to a public hospital.

Methods: There were studied 694 cases of meningitis notified and investigated by a public hospital's epidemiology service from 1986 to 2002, using the National Information System of Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) as part of the local routine of epidemiologic surveillance. Statistics analysis included multivariate logistic regression.