Contextual Hospital Conditions and the Risk of Nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Matched Case-Control Study with Density Sampling in a Large Portuguese Hospital.

Knowledge of the role of hospital conditions in SARS-CoV-2 transmission should inform strategies for the prevention of nosocomial spread of this pathogen and of similarly transmitted viruses. This study aimed to identify risk factors for nosocomial acquisition of SARS-CoV-2. We ran a nested case-control study with incidence density sampling among adult patients hospitalized for >7 days (August-December 2020).

Surgical site infection surveillance in knee and hip arthroplasty: optimizing an algorithm to detect high-risk patients based on electronic health records.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is an important cause of disease burden and healthcare costs. Fully manual surveillance is time-consuming and prone to subjectivity and inter-individual variability, which can be partly overcome by semi-automated surveillance. Algorithms used in orthopaedic SSI semi-automated surveillance have reported high sensitivity and important workload reduction.

Motor repertoire in 3- to 5- month-old infants with prenatal exposure to syphilis and toxoplasmosis.

Aim: To characterize the motor repertoire of 3- to 5-month-old infants who were prenatally exposed to the infectious agents of syphilis and toxoplasmosis.

Methods: Exploratory observational study that evaluated 15 exposed infants (34.4 ± 3.

Outbreak of KPC-producing at a Portuguese university hospital: Epidemiological characterization and containment measures.

Background: KPC-producing (KPC-Kp) is a public health problem with important clinical and epidemiological implications. We describe an outbreak of KPC-Kp at vascular surgery and neurosurgery wards in a central hospital in Porto, Portugal.

Methods: A case of KPC-Kp was considered to be a patient positive for KPC-Kp with strong epidemiological plausibility of having acquired this microorganism in the affected wards and/or with genetic relationship ≥92% between KPC-Kp isolates.

Sequence Processing in Music Predicts Reading Skills in Young Readers: A Longitudinal Study.

Musical abilities, both in the pitch and temporal dimension, have been shown to be positively associated with phonological awareness and reading abilities in both children and adults. There is increasing evidence that the relationship between music and language relies primarily on the temporal dimension, including both meter and rhythm. It remains unclear to what extent skill level in these temporal aspects of music may uniquely contribute to the prediction of reading outcomes.

Appropriateness of Empirical Prescriptions of Ceftriaxone and Identification of Opportunities for Stewardship Interventions: A Single-Centre Cross-Sectional Study.

Third-generation cephalosporins are widely used due to the convenient spectrum of activity, safety, and posology. However, they are associated with the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms, which makes them important targets for antimicrobial stewardship interventions. We aimed to assess the appropriateness of empirical prescriptions of ceftriaxone in a tertiary hospital.

Opioids and constipation therapy in the last week of life: Their impact on patients, caregivers, and the location of death.

The use of opioids to control pain at the end of life may cause constipation, a symptom that can negatively influence the well-being of patients and caregivers. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of constipation on symptomatic control and patients' overall quality of life at this stage. A particular focus was placed on opioids.

Cardiac Behavior and Heart Rate Variability in Elderly Hypertensive Individuals during Aerobic Exercise: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study.

High blood pressure is an important public health problem due to its high prevalence, the difficulty to control it, and its high contribution to morbidity. A series of changes may be linked to the aging process, compromising cardiac conduction, and reducing cardiovascular baroreceptor function. Advancing age promotes a decline in heart rate variability and this decrease can increase the probability of cardiovascular disease.

Age, motor dysfunction and neuropsychiatric symptoms impact quality of life in multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: to investigate the impact of age, motor dysfunction and neuropsychiatric symptoms on the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis in comparison to healthy peers.

Methods: a total of 141 participants were tested in a single session. The assessments were composed by general questionnaires applied in both groups and by specific instruments restricted to multiple sclerosis.

Natural cururu toad (Rhinella sp.) poisoning in a free-ranging lesser grison (Galictis cuja): Outcomes in a new susceptible predator with a novel peptide description.

Cururu toad (Rhinella marina group) is widely distributed in Brazil. Lesser grison (Galitic cuja) is a South American mustelid. This is the first report of natural poisoning in a free-ranging lesser grison by Rhinella toad parotoid gland secretion (PGS).

Community-based conservation with formal protection provides large collateral benefits to Amazonian migratory waterbirds.

Populations of migratory waterbirds are facing dramatic declines worldwide due to illegal hunting, habitat loss and climate change. Conservation strategies to reverse these trends are imperative, especially in tropical developing countries, which almost invariably allocate insufficient levels of investment for environmental protection. Here, we compared the effectiveness of sustainable-use Protected Areas (PAs) and Community-based Conservation (CBC) arrangements for the conservation of migratory waterbirds that breed on seasonal riverine sandy beaches in Brazilian Amazonia.

Insights Into the Ecological Role of spp. in an Ant-plant Symbiosis.

In the myrmecophytic mutualistic relationship between a ants and plants both species receive protection and exchange nutrients. The presence of microorganisms in this symbiotic system has been reported, and the symbiotic role of some fungi involved in the myrmecophytic interactions has been described. In this work we focus on bacteria within this mutualism, conducting isolations and screening for antimicrobial activities, genome sequencing, and biochemical characterization.

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Producing Infection: A Case Series.

Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing (PVL-SA) is associated with relapsing multifocal skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), necrotizing pneumonia (NP) and severe musculoskeletal infections. Epidemiology is underknown and underdiagnosis is likely. Recent travel abroad, case clustering and relapsing disease are often reported.

Unlicensed and off-label prescription of drugs to children in primary health care: A systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate unlicensed and off-label prescription and use of drugs to children in primary health care.

Methods: This is a systematic review that was written based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). The studies were extracted from the databases: LILACS, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Scopus.

Challenges to the consolidation of pharmacovigilance practices in Brazil: limitations of the hospital pharmacist.

Aims: The aim of this study was to present the needs of hospital pharmacists in pharmacovigilance practices.

Methods: This study has a cross-sectional design and was carried out with hospital pharmacists in Brazil. The sample was obtained by voluntary recruitment.

Does the endotracheal tube insertion depth predicted by formulas in children have a good concordance with the ideal position observed by X-ray?

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the different formulas for estimating the insertion depth of an endotracheal tube in children.

Methods: This was an observational and cross-sectional study that included children between 29 days and 2 years of age who were hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit and mechanically ventilated. The formulas based on height [(height/10) + 5], the inner diameter of the tube (endotracheal tube × 3), and weight (weight + 6) were evaluated to determine which of them showed better concordance with the ideal insertion depth of the endotracheal tube as evaluated by X-ray.

Ectopic dioctophymosis in a dog - Clinical, diagnostic and pathological challenges of a silent disease.

A 9-month old, female, stray dog was rescued and conducted to a university veterinary hospital. Moderate anemia was observed and abdominal ultrasound revealed pancreatitis. Right kidney was not visualized due to intestinal gas.