ACCREDIT: Validation of clinical score for progression of COVID-19 while hospitalized.

Unlabelled: COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, but it remains challenging to predict its prognosis.

Objective: To develop and validate an instrument to predict COVID-19 progression for critically ill hospitalized patients in a Brazilian population.

Methodology: Observational study with retrospective follow-up.

Effect of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program on quality of life of patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: results from the PEACH randomized clinical trial.

To investigate the effect of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC). PEACH study was a single-center, superiority randomized clinical trial of exercise training versus no exercise (control). The sample comprised Chagas disease patients with CCC, left ventricular ejection fraction < 45%, without or with HF symptoms (CCC stages B2 or C, respectively).

Development of a mobile application to represent food intake in inpatients: dietary data systematization.

Background: Nutritional risk situations related to decreased food intake in the hospital environment hinder nutritional care and increase malnutrition in hospitalized patients and are often associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study is to develop and test the reliability and data similarity of a mobile application as a virtual instrument to assess the acceptability and quality of hospital diets for inpatients.

Methods: This intra- and interobserver development and reliability study investigated an in-hospital food intake monitoring application based on a validated instrument for patients with infectious diseases who were treated at the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INI/FIOCRUZ).

Validation of the NAT Chagas IVD Kit for the Detection and Quantification of in Blood Samples of Patients with Chagas Disease.

In the absence of validated biomarkers to control the cure of Chagas disease, PCR-based diagnosis is being used as the main tool for an early indication of therapeutic failure. However, since it is considered a technique of complex reproducibility, mainly due to difficulties in establishing accurate controls to guarantee the quality of the reaction, the use of PCR for Chagas disease diagnosis is restricted to specialized centers. In an effort to disseminate the molecular diagnosis of Chagas disease and its applications, new diagnostic kits based on qPCR have been made available in the market in recent years.

Relationship between Dietary Fatty Acid Intake with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Liver Fibrosis in People with HIV.

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between food intake of lipids with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and/or liver fibrosis in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). In this cross-sectional study, transient elastography was used to detect the presence of NAFLD and/or liver fibrosis. The dietary intake of fats and fatty acids (FA) were assessed by two 24 h dietary recalls (24-HDR) ( = 451).

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and associated factors among patients with chronic Chagas disease.

The increase in life expectancy and the migration of individuals with Chagas disease (ChD) from rural to urban centers exposes them to the development of chronic-degenerative abnormalities that may increase the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of MetS and its components in individuals with chronic ChD. This is a cross-sectional study with 361 patients of both sexes, aging >18 years, followed at a national reference center (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

Discussing the Score of Cardioembolic Ischemic Stroke in Chagas Disease.

Chagas disease is an important infection in Latin America but it is also reported in non-endemic countries all over the world. Around 30% of infected patients develop chronic Chagas cardiopathy, which is responsible for most poor outcomes, mainly heart failure, arrhythmias and thromboembolic events. Of all thromboembolic events, stroke is the most feared, due to the high probability of evolution to death or disability.

Accuracy of Determine TB-LAM Ag to detect TB in HIV infected patients associated with diagnostic methods used in Brazilian public health units.

Background: Determine TB-LAM Ag (LAM) is a point of care test developed to diagnose tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LAM in people living with HIV using Brazilian public health network algorithm for TB diagnosis.

Methods And Findings: A cross-sectional study design was used to enroll 199 adult patients in two sites in Rio de Janeiro and two in São Paulo.

Daily 800 mg versus 600 mg Efavirenz for HIV Patients Treating Tuberculosis with a Rifampicin-Based Regimen: An Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Pharmacokinetics studies recommend increasing efavirenz dosage in tuberculosis/HIV patients using rifampicin. We aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of 600 versus 800 mg of efavirenz in tuberculosis/HIV patients using rifampicin.

Design: We conducted an open label, multicentre, randomized trial from 2006 to 2012.

Exploring the parasite load and molecular diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi in patients with chronic Chagas disease from different regions of Brazil.

Chagas disease is still a major public health issue in many Latin American countries. One of the current major challenges is to find an association between Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units (DTUs) and clinical manifestations of the disease. In this study, we used a multilocus conventional PCR and quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) approaches to perform the molecular typing and parasite load quantification directly from blood specimens of 65 chronic Chagas disease patients.

Quality of life and associated factors in patients with chronic Chagas disease.

Objectives: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of patients with Chagas disease (CD) and the association between QoL domains and several clinical, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics of this population.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study conducted from March 2014 to March 2017 including a total of 361 outpatients followed at Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Disease, Brazil. QoL was assessed using the Portuguese shorter version of the original WHO Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).

Seroprevalence of antibodies against the three serotypes of poliovirus and IPV vaccine response in adult solid organ transplant candidates.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of protective antibody titers to polioviruses in adults candidates for solid organ transplant (SOT), and to assess the immunogenic response to inactivated polio vaccine in this population.

Methods: The study included SOT candidates referred to Immunization Reference Centre of Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases from March 2013 to January 2016. It was conducted in 2 phases.

Ageing with Chagas disease: an overview of an urban Brazilian cohort in Rio de Janeiro.

Background: Chagas disease control programmes have decreased the prevalence of Chagas disease in Latin America. Together with migration to urban areas and increase in life expectancy, a new scenario for Chagas disease has emerged in Brazil with most patients currently elderly individuals living in urban areas. However, acute Chagas disease cases still occur due to vector transmission by sylvatic vectors and oral transmission by contaminated food.

Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes and Factors Associated with Each of Them in a Cohort Followed Up between 2010 and 2014.

Tuberculosis treatment has undergone recent changes in Brazil. . To assess whether favorable outcomes on tuberculosis therapy improved in recent years.

External validation of SAPS 3 and MPM-III scores in 48,816 patients from 72 Brazilian ICUs.

Background: The performance of severity-of-illness scores varies in different scenarios and must be validated prior of being used in a specific settings and geographic regions. Moreover, models' calibration may deteriorate overtime and performance of such instruments should be reassessed regularly. Therefore, we aimed at to validate the SAPS 3 in a large contemporary cohort of patients admitted to Brazilian ICUs.

Dietary counseling adherence during tuberculosis treatment: A longitudinal study.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of dietary counseling to overcome malnutrition for patients with tuberculosis, with or without HIV, however the response to nutritional treatment depends on patient's adherence to nutritional counseling.

Objective: Identify the degree of adherence to dietary counseling and predictors of adherence among patients undergoing tuberculosis treatment.

Design: Observational prospective follow-up study conducted in adults treating for tuberculosis with or without HIV.

Effects of Organizational Characteristics on Outcomes and Resource Use in Patients With Cancer Admitted to Intensive Care Units.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of organizational characteristics and processes of care on hospital mortality and resource use in patients with cancer admitted to intensive care units (ICUs).

Patients And Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 9,946 patients with cancer (solid, n = 8,956; hematologic, n = 990) admitted to 70 ICUs (51 located in general hospitals and 19 in cancer centers) during 2013. We retrieved patients' clinical and outcome data from an electronic ICU quality registry.

Accuracy of a rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for diagnosis of group B Streptococcus colonization in a cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women.

Objective: There are limited data regarding Xpert performance to detect Group B Streptococcus (GBS) in HIV-infected pregnant women. We evaluated the accuracy of a rapid real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in a cohort of HIV-infected women.

Methods: At 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, a pair of combined rectovaginal swabs were collected for two GBS assays in a cohort of sequentially included HIV-infected women in Rio de Janeiro: (1) culture; and (2) real-time PCR assay [GeneXpert GBS (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA)].

Performance of Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis of the Amniotic Fluid of Pregnant Women for Diagnosis of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Congenital infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii can cause serious damage that can be diagnosed in utero or at birth, although most infants are asymptomatic at birth. Prenatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis considerably improves the prognosis and outcome for infected infants. For this reason, an assay for the quick, sensitive, and safe diagnosis of fetal toxoplasmosis is desirable.

Organizational characteristics, outcomes, and resource use in 78 Brazilian intensive care units: the ORCHESTRA study.

Purpose: Detailed information on organization and process of care in intensive care units (ICU) in emerging countries is scarce. Here, we investigated the impact of organizational factors on the outcomes and resource use in a large sample of Brazilian ICUs.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 59,693 patients (medical admissions, 67 %) admitted to 78 ICUs during 2013.

FIRST REPORT OF ACUTE CHAGAS DISEASE BY VECTOR TRANSMISSION IN RIO DE JANEIRO STATE, BRAZIL.

Chagas disease (CD) is an endemic anthropozoonosis from Latin America of which the main means of transmission is the contact of skin lesions or mucosa with the feces of triatomine bugs infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. In this article, we describe the first acute CD case acquired by vector transmission in the Rio de Janeiro State and confirmed by parasitological, serological and PCR tests. The patient presented acute cardiomyopathy and pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade.

Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion Weighted MR Imaging at 3.0 T: Assessment of Steatohepatitis and Fibrosis Compared with Liver Biopsy in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Objective: To evaluate the capability of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to assess steatohepatitis and fibrosis determined by histopathology in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: Fifty-nine type 2 diabetic patients (49 women, 10 men; mean age, 54 ± 9 years) were submitted to liver biopsy for the evaluation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and underwent DWI on a 3.0T MR system using 10 b values.

Pharmacologic prevention and treatment of delirium in intensive care patients: A systematic review.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine if pharmacologic approaches are effective in prevention and treatment of delirium in critically ill patients.

Materials And Methods: We performed a systematic search to identify publications (from January 1980 to September 2014) that evaluated the pharmacologic interventions to treat or prevent delirium in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Results: From 2646 citations, 15 studies on prevention (6729 patients) and 7 studies on treatment (1784 patients) were selected and analyzed.

Antiphospholipid antibodies in critically ill patients with cancer: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and the prognostic impact of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in critically ill cancer patients.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study in adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit for more than 48 hours at a cancer center. Clinical and laboratory data including coagulation parameters were obtained.