Performance evaluation of hospitals that provide care in the public health system, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE To analyze if size, administrative level, legal status, type of unit and educational activity influence the hospital network performance in providing services to the Brazilian Unified Health System. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated data from the Hospital Information System and the Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde (National Registry of Health Facilities), 2012, in Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. We calculated performance indicators, such as: the ratio of hospital employees per bed; mean amount paid for admission; bed occupancy rate; average length of stay; bed turnover index and hospital mortality rate.

Off label pharmacological therapy in patients with short bowel syndrome.

Background: Short bowel syndrome is a disabling disease requiring long-term nutritional support and ancillary drugs. Aiming to analyze the most commonly prescribed drugs, a retrospective analysis was conducted is an outpatient cohort.

Patients And Methods: Stable patients (N= 37, 59.

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: a rare and aggressive disease.

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is an uncommon tumor, with approximately 300 cases having been reported thus far. The purpose of this study was to describe a case of a 60 year-old man with a 10 month history of progressive dysphagia and thoracic pain, the investigations of which led to a diagnosis of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus. The patient underwent a transhiatal esophagectomy with subcarinal lymphadenectomy, and isoperistaltic gastric tube replacement of the esophagus.

A novel approach for the treatment of pelvic abscess: transrectal endoscopic drainage facilitated by transanal endoscopic microsurgery access.

Background: Postoperative pelvic abscesses in patients submitted to colorectal surgery are challenging. The surgical approach may be too risky, and image-guided drainage often is difficult due to the complex anatomy of the pelvis. This article describes novel access for drainage of a pelvic collection using a minimally invasive natural orifice approach.

Prevention of neoplastic port site implants in laparoscopy: an experimental study.

Enthusiasm about the application of videolaparoscopy to oncologic diseases has been limited by the growing number of port site implants. Adult Wistar rats were submitted to 6-7 mm Hg carbonic gas pneumoperitoneum. Rats were randomly divided into two groups: group I rats with tumor (200,000 viable cells of Walker tumor) and group 11 rats with no tumor.