Feeding characteristics and growth among children with prenatal exposure to Zika virus with and without microcephaly in the microcephaly epidemic research group pediatric cohort.

Objective: To describe the feeding characteristics and growth of children with prenatal exposure to Zika virus (ZIKV) from birth to 48 months.

Design: Using data from the prospective Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pediatric Cohort (MERG-PC), children without microcephaly born to mothers with evidence of ZIKV infection during pregnancy (ZIKV-exposed children without microcephaly) and children with Zika-related microcephaly were compared using repeated cross-sectional analyses within the following age strata: birth; 1 to 12; 13 to 24; 25 to 36; and 37 to 48 months. The groups were compared in relation to prematurity, birth weight, breastfeeding, alternative feeding routes, dysphagia and anthropometric profiles based on the World Health Organization Anthro z-scores (weight-length/height, weight-age, length/height-age and BMI-age).

Previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19.

Background: BCG vaccination, originally used to prevent tuberculosis, is known to "train" the immune system to improve defence against viral respiratory infections. We investigated whether a previous BCG vaccination is associated with less severe clinical progression of COVID-19 METHODS: A case-control study comparing the proportion with a BCG vaccine scar (indicating previous vaccination) in cases and controls presenting with COVID-19 to health units in Brazil. Cases were subjects with severe COVID-19 (O2 saturation < 90%, severe respiratory effort, severe pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock).

Risk of adverse outcomes in offspring with RT-PCR confirmed prenatal Zika virus exposure: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 13 cohorts in the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium.

Background: Knowledge regarding the risks associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in pregnancy has relied on individual studies with relatively small sample sizes and variable risk estimates of adverse outcomes, or on surveillance or routinely collected data. Using data from the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium, this study aims, to estimate the risk of adverse outcomes among offspring of women with RT-PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection during pregnancy and to explore heterogeneity between studies.

Methods: We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis of the offspring of 1548 pregnant women from 13 studies, using one and two-stage meta-analyses to estimate the absolute risks.

Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in Children with Prenatal Exposure to Zika Virus.

Prenatal exposure to ZIKV can cause neurologic and auditory damage. The electrophysiological responses obtained by Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials (CAEP) may provide an objective method to investigate the function of cortical auditory pathways in children exposed to ZIKV. This case series analyzed the findings of CAEP in prenatal-period ZIKV-exposed children with and without microcephaly.

Characteristics of children of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pediatric Cohort who developed postnatal microcephaly.

The number of studies published on postnatal microcephaly in children with Congenital Zika Syndrome is small, clinical presentations vary and aspects of the evolution of these children remain unclarified. The present case series examined clinical characteristics and assessed the growth velocity of the head circumference, weight and height Z-scores in 23 children who developed postnatal microcephaly during follow-up in the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pediatric Cohort. To estimate the change in the head circumference, weight and height Z-scores over time and compare the mean difference between sexes, we used multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions with child-specific random effects.

Co-circulation of Chikungunya Virus during the 2015-2017 Zika Virus Outbreak in Pernambuco, Brazil: An Analysis of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pregnancy Cohort.

Co-circulation of arthropod-borne viruses, particularly those with shared mosquito vectors like Zika (ZIKV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV), is increasingly reported. An accurate differential diagnosis between ZIKV and CHIKV is of high clinical importance, especially in the context of pregnancy, but remains challenging due to limitations in the availability of specialized laboratory testing facilities. Using data collected from the prospective pregnancy cohort study of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group, which followed up pregnant persons with rash during the peak and decline of the 2015-2017 ZIKV epidemic in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, this study aims to describe the geographic and temporal distribution of ZIKV and CHIKV infections and to investigate the extent to which ZIKV and CHIKV infections may be clinically differentiable.

Prevalence of hepatitis A in the capitals of the States of North, Southeast and South regions of Brazil: decrease in prevalence and some consequences.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection has been considered one of the leading causes of acute hepatitis. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of HAV among children and adolescents in a population-based study in the capitals of the States of the North, Southeast and South of Brazil and identify predictive factors for the infection. A multi-stage sampling was used to select subjects aged between 5-9 and 10-19 years.

Clinical repercussions in pertussis infants post-Tdpa vaccination of pregnant woman: An immunization success?

Introduction: In 2014, there was an epidemic of pertussis in Brazil that caused the death of 129 infants. To control the disease amongst infants under 6 months of age, and especially those under 2 months, the Brazilian Ministry of Health introduced Tdap immunization for all pregnant women.

Methods: This study aimed to describe the morbidity and mortality variables of pertussis cases in 969 infants aged under 6 months, comparing the periods before and after the introduction of Tdap vaccine in pregnant women.

Effectiveness of four antiretroviral regimens for treating people living with HIV.

The aim of this study was to compare 4 different ARV regimens in a clinical cohort in Brazil, with regard to the virologic and immunologic responses, clinical failure and reasons for changing. To compare the virologic response and clinical failure between groups we used the Cox and Kaplan Meier proportional hazard models. To analyze the immunologic outcome, we used multilevel GLLAMM and mixed effect linear regression models.

Dolutegravir: Virologic response and tolerability of initial antiretroviral regimens for adults living with HIV.

The integrase inhibitor dolutegravir was included in initial antiretroviral therapy in Brazil in January 2017. Studies have demonstrated that the efficacy and safety of antiretrovirals have improved with the introduction of new classes of antiretrovirals, such as integrase inhibitors. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of individuals with a virologic response by week 24 of antiretroviral treatment and to describe the adverse events of the regimen containing dolutegravir.

Association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in Brazil, January to May, 2016: preliminary report of a case-control study.

Background: The microcephaly epidemic, which started in Brazil in 2015, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO in 2016. We report the preliminary results of a case-control study investigating the association between microcephaly and Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

Methods: We did this case-control study in eight public hospitals in Recife, Brazil.

Risk factors for subclinical atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients under and over 40 years: a case-control study.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of death in people with AIDS. Factors contributing to atherosclerosis include traditional risk factors, antiretrovirals and inflammatory factors related to HIV infection. This study set out to compare risk factors associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in individuals under and over 40 years of age.

Comparison between the Framingham and prospective cardiovascular of Münster scores for risk assessment of coronary heart disease in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Background: The Framingham score is used in most studies on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients to estimate the risk for coronary heart disease; however, it may have some limitations for detecting risk among these individuals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement between the Framingham and Prospective Cardiovascular of Münster (PROCAM) scores among HIV-positive individuals and to investigate the factors associated with disagreement between the two scores.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a population of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients attending the outpatient's clinics of two reference centers for HIV/AIDS in Pernambuco, Brazil.

[Clinical and microbiological profile of women with bacterial vaginosis].

Purpose: to study the clinical and microbiological profile of women with bacterial vaginosis participating in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, which compared the vaginal use of preparations from red pepper tree and metronidazole for the treatment of genital discharge.

Methods: the study was conducted on a series of 277 women with bacterial vaginosis concomitantly diagnosed by the criteria of Amsel and Nugent, selected from a total of 462 recruited patients using the information obtained before intervention. Data were analyzed with the Epi-Info 3.

Risk factors in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil: a case-control study.

Background: Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated lipodystrophy has been reported for more than a decade, there is still considerable uncertainty regarding the mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis.

Methods: A case-control study was performed that aimed to identify the risk factors for lipodystrophy in HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Results: Between July and November, 2007, a total of 332 patients were enrolled in the study: 182 cases and 150 controls.

Risk factors for healthcare-associated infection in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: Identify risk factors for first-onset healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Medical-surgical PICU in a hospital for patients in the public healthcare system.

Is it better to be rich in a poor area or poor in a rich area? A multilevel analysis of a case-control study of social determinants of tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis is known to have socio-economic determinants at individual and at area levels, but it is not known whether they are independent, whether they interact and their relative contributions to the burden of tuberculosis.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Recife, Brazil, to investigate individual and area social determinants of tuberculosis, to explore the relationship between determinants at the two levels and to calculate their relative contribution to the burden of tuberculosis. It included 1452 cases of tuberculosis diagnosed by the tuberculosis services and 5808 controls selected at random from questionnaires completed for the demographic census.

Multilevel analysis of hepatitis A infection in children and adolescents: a household survey in the Northeast and Central-west regions of Brazil.

Background: The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis A among children and adolescents from the Northeast and Midwest regions and the Federal District of Brazil and to identify individual-, household- and area-levels factors associated with hepatitis A infection.

Methods: This population-based survey was conducted in 2004-2005 and covered individuals aged between 5 and 19 years. A stratified multistage cluster sampling technique with probability proportional to size was used to select 1937 individuals aged between 5 and 19 years living in the Federal capital and in the State capitals of 12 states in the study regions.

Smoking increases the risk of relapse after successful tuberculosis treatment.

Background: Recent tobacco smoking has been identified as a risk factor for developing tuberculosis, and two studies which have investigated its association with relapse of tuberculosis after completion of treatment had conflicting results (and did not control for confounding). The objective of this study was to investigate risk factors for tuberculosis relapse, with emphasis on smoking.

Methods: A cohort of newly diagnosed TB cases was followed up from their discharge after completion of treatment (in 2001-2003) until October 2006 and relapses of tuberculosis ascertained during that period.

Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection/AIDS and the risk of developing hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

A cross-sectional study with internal comparison groups was conducted to describe sociodemographic characteristics, as well as verify the association between the type of antiretroviral treatment used and hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, with special attention to the use of HIV protease inhibitors. The data was obtained through an interview questionnaire, as well as blood and urine samples that were collected for the laboratory exams. A total of 418 patients were interviewed.