Chikungunya virus as a trigger for different renal disorders: an exploratory study.

Introduction: Chikungunya virus was detected in cases of acute chikungunya fever in renal tissue. However, chikungunya virus-related kidney injury still lacks characterization, and it is unknown whether the kidneys are reservoirs for the virus. We sought to detect histopathological changes and viral antigens in renal tissue, and to evaluate kidney injury markers in different phases of chikungunya fever.

Epidemiological features and geographical expansion of sporotrichosis in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil.

Cases of sporotrichosis are emerging in several states of Brazil, especially in the southeast. Recently, sporotrichosis has been reported in the state of Pernambuco in the northeastern region. The goal of this study was to shed new light on sporotrichosis in terms of the geographic distribution of human cases and provide an overview of sporotrichosis associated with zoonotic transmission.

Long-Term Persistence of Serum-Specific Anti-Chikungunya IgM Antibody - A Case Series of Brazilian Patients.

The persistence of serum-specific anti-chikungunya IgM antibodies (CHIKV-IgM) can vary after chikungunya fever (CHIK) infection. However, the factors related to its production are not yet known. We described a case series drawn up from data collected from 57 patients between 12 and 36 months after the acute phase of CHIK infection in Northeastern Brazil.

TST conversions and systemic interferon-gamma increase after methotrexate introduction in psoriasis patients.

Background: Tuberculosis screening in psoriasis patients is complex due to the immunological alterations associated with psoriasis, the presence of comorbidities, and the effect of immunosuppressive treatment. However, it is not established whether the results of screening tests are affected by these factors in psoriasis patients.

Objectives: To determine whether there is a change in the results of the tuberculin skin test (TST) or the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) in psoriasis patients living in tuberculosis (TB)-endemic area after 12 weeks of methotrexate (MTX) treatment and to investigate the association of the test results with clinical and inflammatory markers.

HIV-related lymphomas in adults served in the public health network: An observational study.

Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have higher morbidity and mortality due to cancer, which is the third most common cause of death in this group, despite the high effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We describe the clinical and laboratory characteristics, initial staging and outcome of HIV-related lymphoma.We included 18 patients in the study, of whom 61.

KPC-PRODUCING Serratia marcescens IN A HOME-CARE PATIENT FROM RECIFE, BRAZIL.

In this brief communication we describe the occurrence of a KPC-producing Serratia marcescens isolate in a home-care patient from Recife, Brazil. The blaKPC, blaSPM, blaIMP, blaVIM, blaOXA, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM and blaGES genes were investigated by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. The isolate was positive for blaKPC-2 and blaTEM-1 and was resistant to aztreonam, cefepime, cefotaxime, imipenem, meropenem, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and cefazidime, and susceptible only to amikacin, tigecycline and gatifloxacin.

Pertussis may be the cause of prolonged cough in adolescents and adults in the interepidemic period.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of pertussis in adolescents and adults with cough lasting more than 14 days and less than 30 days.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study in interepidemic period of pertusis. Ten public health outpatient clinics in the city of Recife, Brazil, were randomly selected for the study.

Molecular findings from influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 detected in patients from a Brazilian equatorial region during the pandemic period.

After the World Health Organization officially declared the end of the first pandemic of the XXI century in August 2010, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus has been disseminated in the human population. In spite of its sustained circulation, very little on phylogenetic data or oseltamivir (OST) resistance is available for the virus in equatorial regions of South America. In order to shed more light on this topic, we analysed the haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 positive samples collected during the pandemic period in the Pernambuco (PE), a northeastern Brazilian state.

Abscess resulting from Mycobacterium kansasii in the left thigh of AIDS patient.

A case of abscess resulting from Mycobacterium kansasii, in the left thigh of a 53-year-old woman infected with the Human Immunodeficiency virus, is reported. Curiously, there was no pulmonary or systemic involvement as is usual with these Mycobacterium infections. The patient had CD4 T lymphocyte count of 257 cells/µL and a viral load of 60,154 copies.

Quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) for sputum smear diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis among people with HIV/AIDS.

Objective: To assess quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) for the sputum smear diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in patients living with HIV/AIDS with a clinical suspicion of PTB.

Method: This is a prospective study to assess the accuracy of a diagnostic test, conducted on 140 sputum specimens from 140 patients living with HIV/AIDS with a clinical suspicion of PTB, attended at two referral hospitals for people living with HIV/AIDS in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. A Löwenstein-Jensen medium culture and 7H9 broth were used as gold standard.

Chest radiographic findings in patients with HIV/AIDS and pulmonary tuberculosis.

The study describes the main chest radiographic changes in people living with HIV/AIDS and pulmonary tuberculosis, confirmed by sputum culture. This was a descriptive study involving a total of 42 sputum tests from 42 people living with HIV/AIDS and a clinical suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis. All patients attended two referral hospitals in Recife-PE, Brazil, between August 2009 and January 2012.

Hyperglycemia increases the complicated infection and mortality rates during induction therapy in adult acute leukemia patients.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hyperglycemia during induction therapy in adult patients with acute leukemia and its effect on complicated infections and mortality during the first 30 days of treatment.

Methods: An analysis was performed in a retrospective cohort of 280 adult patients aged 18 to 60 years with previously untreated acute leukemia who received induction chemotherapy from January 2000 to December 2009 at the Hemocentro de Pernambuco (HEMOPE), Brazil. Hyperglycemia was defined as the finding of at least one fasting glucose measurement > 100 mg/dL observed one week prior to induction therapy until 30 days after.

Detection of human Papillomavirus in biopsies of patients with cervical cancer, and its association with prognosis.

Objective: To assess the detection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical biopsies, and its association with clinical response and survival of patients with cervical cancer.

Method: The presence of HPV was determined by polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR) of material from 183 paraffin blocks containing biopsies of patients with cervical cancer. Directives of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) were used for the clinical staging of all cases.

Primary and acquired pyrazinamide resistance in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis treated at a referral hospital in the city of Recife, Brazil.

Objective: To determine primary and acquired resistance to pyrazinamide in Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated in sputum samples from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Methods: This was a prospective, descriptive study conducted between April and November of 2011 at a referral hospital for tuberculosis in the city of Recife, Brazil. Cultures, drug sensitivity tests, and tests of pyrazinamidase activity were conducted in a private laboratory in Recife.

Antimicrobial resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from skin and soft tissue infections of outpatients from a university hospital in Recife -PE, Brazil.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus has a notable ability to acquire resistance to antibiotics, and methicillin resistance represents a growing public health problem. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has also become important outside the hospital environment, particularly in the United States.

Diagnosing visceral leishmaniasis and HIV/AIDS co-infection: a case series study in Pernambuco, Brazil.

HIV/AIDS-associated visceral leishmaniasis may display the characteristics of an aggressive disease or without specific symptoms at all, thus making diagnosis difficult. The present study describes the results of diagnostic tests applied to a series of suspected VL cases in HIV-infected/AIDS patients admitted in referral hospitals in Pernambuco, Brazil. From a total of 14 eligible patients with cytopenias and/or fever of an unknown etiology, and indication of bone marrow aspirate, 10 patients were selected for inclusion in the study.

Investigation of Propionibacterium acnes in progressive macular hypomelanosis using real-time PCR and culture.

Background: Progressive macular hypomelanosis (PMH) is a dermatosis of unknown etiology. It has been concluded that it involves the presence of Propionibacterium acnes, a saprophyte of the pilosebaceous follicles. In our study, we investigated the presence of P.

The use of lymecycline and benzoyl peroxide for the treatment of progressive macular hypomelanosis: a prospective study.

Progressive macular hypomelanosis is a dermatosis of uncertain etiology. The participation of Propionibacterium acnes has been suggested in view of the response achieved following therapy with drugs that are active against this bacterium. This report describes a series of thirteen patients with progressive macular hypomelanosis who were treated with an association of lymecycline and benzoyl peroxide over a three-month period.

A quantitative analysis of Propionibacterium acnes in lesional and non-lesional skin of patients with progressive macular hypomelanosis by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Little is known about the etiology of progressive macular hypomelanosis, although it has been suggested that Propionibacterium acnes plays an important role. While microbiological culture is commonly employed to identify Propionibacterium acnes, new identification methods have been under investigation, amongst them polymerase chain reaction. To determine the cut-off point for the number of genome copies of Propionibacterium acnes in the lesional skin of patients with progressive macular hypomelanosis as a positive marker, employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and anaerobic culture, considered gold standard.

[Application of the diagnostic criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus to patients with multibacillary leprosy].

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs or systems. There is no pathognomonic clinical or laboratory test sensitive and specific enough for a specific diagnosis. The criteria proposed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), as modified in 1997, are used for the diagnosis.

[NRAMP1 gene polymorphisms in individuals with leprosy reactions attended at two reference centers in Recife, northeastern Brazil].

Introduction: To investigate susceptibility to leprosy reactions, three polymorphisms of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP1) gene were determined in 201 individuals who were attended at two reference centers in Recife, between 2007 and 2008. Of these, 100 were paucibacillary and 101 were multibacillary.

Methods: The 274C/T, D543N and 1729+55del4 polymorphisms of the NRAMP1 gene were determined using the technique of restriction fragment polymorphism on DNA extracted from peripheral blood.

[Toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis in patients with AIDS and neurotoxoplasmosis].

Purpose: Neurotoxoplasmosis is the most common central nervous system disorder in patients with AIDS. The occurrence of ocular toxoplasmosis in neurotoxoplasmosis is not well studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of typical or probable toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis in patients with AIDS and neurotoxoplasmosis.

[Ophthalmological evaluation of patients with AIDS and neurotoxoplasmosis].

Introduction: To describe fundoscopic findings among patients with AIDS and active-phase neurotoxoplasmosis.

Methods: A prospective study of case series type was developed, including 70 patients of both sexes and ages ranging from 20 to 63 years who were admitted to the wards of three public hospitals in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, from January to October 2008, with diagnoses of AIDS and neurotoxoplasmosis determined according to the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1992). The patients were characterized by a first episode of neurotoxoplasmosis (65; 92.