Publications by authors named "Paulo R A Ferreira"

After initiating combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop Hodgkin/non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). This retrospective cohort study evaluated the incidence, clinical features and prognosis of IRIS-associated lymphomas in Brazilian patients. Incidence in 2000-2019 was 9.

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COVID-19's severity has been associated with a possible imbalance in the cross-regulation of cytokines and vascular mediators. Since the beginning of the pandemic, kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) have been identified as patients of high vulnerability to more severe diseases. Thus, aiming to describe the patterns of cytokines and vascular mediators and to trace patients' differences according to their KTR status, this prospective study enrolled 67 COVID-19 patients (20 KTRs) and 29 non-COVID-19 controls before vaccination.

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Extrapulmonary tuberculosis associated with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is extremely rare. A likely association between ITP and pulmonary and lymph node tuberculosis was reported in a 29-year-old male patient. His platelet count decreased to 4,000/µL.

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Background: Untreated HIV infection can lead to profound immunosuppression and increase susceptibility of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) to aspergillosis.

Objectives: Reporting the burden and natural history of aspergillosis documented in PLHA admitted in five medical centres in Brazil.

Patients And Methods: Clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data were collected in all sequential cases of proven or probable aspergillosis documented in PLHA hospitalised in five medical centres between 2012 and 2020.

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Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection occurs as a coinfection with hepatitis B and increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, decompensated cirrhosis, and mortality compared to hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection. Reliable estimates of the prevalence of HDV infection and disease burden are essential to formulate strategies to find coinfected individuals more effectively and efficiently. The global prevalence of HBV infections was estimated to be 262,240,000 in 2021.

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Background: The neurological manifestations in COVID-19 adversely impact acute illness and post-disease quality of life. Limited data exist regarding the association of neurological symptoms and comorbid individuals.

Objective: To assess neurological symptoms in hospitalized patients with acute COVID-19 and multicomorbidities.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Most patients were male, with a median age of 42, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma was the most common type diagnosed, especially diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
  • * Key survival factors included ECOG performance status, lymphoma subtype, disease stage, and lymphocyte counts, while treatments like Rituximab didn't show significant benefits for patients with HIV-related lymphomas.
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A machine learning approach is a useful tool for risk-stratifying patients with respiratory symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is still evolving. We aimed to verify the predictive capacity of a gradient boosting decision trees (XGboost) algorithm to select the most important predictors including clinical and demographic parameters in patients who sought medical support due to respiratory signs and symptoms (RAPID RISK COVID-19). A total of 7336 patients were enrolled in the study, including 6596 patients that did not require hospitalization and 740 that required hospitalization.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the effectiveness of retreatment for hepatitis C in patients who did not respond to previous direct antiviral agents (DAA), highlighting Brazil's adherence to updated health guidelines.
  • The survey gathered clinical and epidemiological data from institutions nationwide, focusing on those previously treated with interferon-free regimens.
  • Results showed a 94.6% sustained virological response rate in patients retreated, indicating that the available retreatment options in Brazil are both effective and safe, supporting efforts to eliminate hepatitis C.
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Article Synopsis
  • * From 2016 to 2018, an outbreak in 22 European countries reported 4,475 cases, with a significant number among men who have sex with men (MSM), which later spread to cities like São Paulo in Brazil.
  • * In a study of 51 hepatitis A cases in São Paulo, a high percentage were male and many identified as MSM; the majority of HAV strains were similar to those from the earlier European outbreaks, highlighting the need for increased vaccination efforts in high-risk groups.
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Background: We developed a personalized Monocyte-Derived Dendritic-cell Therapy (MDDCT) for HIV-infected individuals on suppressive antiretroviral treatment and evaluated HIV-specific T-cell responses.

Methods: PBMCs were obtained from 10 HIV individuals enrolled in trial NCT02961829. Monocytes were differentiated into DCs using IFN-α and GM-CSF.

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Several studies of patients with COVID-19 have evaluated biological markers for predicting outcomes, most of them retrospectively and with a wide scope of clinical severity. We followed a prospective cohort of patients admitted in hospital wards with moderate COVID-19 disease, including those with a history of kidney transplantation, and examined the ability of changes in routine hematologic laboratory parameters to predict and mirror the patients' clinical course regarding the severity of their condition (classified as critical vs. non-critical) and in-hospital mortality or hospital discharge.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of nosocomial infection and the impact of cross-transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among inpatients at a tertiary care teaching hospital.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving inpatients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between March 2020 and February 2021. Cases were identified on the basis of a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction result for SARS-CoV-2 and the review of electronic medical records.

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Introduction: Acute viral hepatitis is a disease of great clinical importance. This study proposes actions to better characterise cases of acute hepatitis in Brazil and to provide relevant information to institutionalised health policies within the Unified Health System. Available data on acute hepatitis in Brazil need to be re-evaluated regarding the different hepatotropic agent (hepatitis A to E virus) frequencies, as well as other agents that can cause similar clinical conditions, such as Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2(HSV1, HSV2), Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Human Herpes Virus 6 and 7 (HHV6, HHV7), arbovirus (yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, Zika), parvovirus B19, adenovirus, parechovirus, enterovirus, HIV, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis and syphilis, in addition to autoimmune hepatitis.

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Background: COVID-19 is a multisystemic disorder that frequently causes acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the precise clinical and biochemical variables associated with AKI progression in patients with severe COVID-19 remain unclear.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 278 hospitalized patients who were admitted to the ward and intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19 between March 2020 and June 2020, at the University Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate ocular clinical findings in patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection, of various levels of disease severity, who required mechanical ventilation and admission to intensive care units or specialized wards. Longitudinal, observational study conducted from March 2020 to June 2020. Color fundus and red-free photography were performed in both eyes following pupillary dilation.

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It has been speculated that some drugs can be used against SARS-CoV-2. As for antiretrovirals, the follow-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak may help to understand the potential protective effect of PrEP against SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to identify associations between oral PrEP use and COVID-19-related symptoms self-reporting.

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In a hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV-positive Brazilian cohort, evaluate the safety and efficacy of HCV DAAs, the frequency of resistance substitutions in the HCV NS5A and NS5B genes and identify predictors of treatment failure.Retrospective multicenter study of HCV/HIV patients treated with sofosbuvir (SOF)-based regimens at 10 reference centers in Brazil.Clinical and virological data were collected.

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Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has decreased AIDS incidence and mortality, rendering comorbidities, such as hepatitis B more relevant for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since antiretroviral drugs may also inhibit hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, analyzing the impact of ART on management of hepatitis B in this population is important.

Objective: To assess HBV viremia among HIV/HBV coinfected individuals on ART and its associated factors.

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Introduction And Aim: Hepatitis C is a key challenge to public health in Brazil. The objective of this paper was to describe the Brazilian strategy for hepatitis C to meet the 2030 elimination goal proposed by World Health Organization (WHO).

Methods: A mathematical modeling approach was used to estimate the current HCV-infected Brazilian population, and to evaluate the relative costs of two different scenarios to address HCV disease burden in Brazil: (1) if no further changes are made to the HCV treatment program in Brazil; (2) where the WHO targets for 2030 elimination are met through diagnosis and treatment efforts peaking before 2024.

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Background: Histoplasmosis is highly endemic in the American continent. This condition is associated with a high mortality, particularly in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Diagnosis of histoplasmosis is usually late in South America, as antigen detection is rarely available.

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Background: Infection by hepatitis C virus is one of the leading causes of chronic hepatitis C and cause severe burden for patients, families and the health care system.

Objective: The aims of this research were to assess the severity of liver fibrosis, comorbidities and complications of hepatitis C virus; to examine health-related quality of life (HRQoL), productivity loss and resource use and costs in a sample of Brazilian chronic hepatitis C, genotype 1, patients.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter study performed in genotype-1 chronic hepatitis C patients to assess disease burden in the Brazilian public health care system between November 2014 and March 2015.

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Introduction And Aim: Approximately 650,000 people in Brazil have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of ombitasvir (OBV)/paritaprevir (PTV)/ritonavir (r) plus dasabuvir (DSV) with/without ribavirin (RBV) in an openlabel multicenter phase 3b trial in treatment-naive or interferon (IFN) treatment-experienced Brazilian patients with advanced hepatic fibrosis (METAVIR F3/4) and HCV genotype (GT) 1 infection.

Material And Methods: All patients received coformulated OBV/PTV/r daily + DSV twice daily (3-DAA).

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