Associations between COVID-19 and Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Activity in Brazil.

Glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) was suggested as a risk factor for severe disease in patients with COVID-19. We evaluated clinical outcomes and glucose-6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity during and after illness in patients with COVID-19. This prospective cohort study included adult participants (≥ 18 years old) who had clinical and/or radiological COVID-19 findings or positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results.

Clinical and Acoustic Alterations of Swallowing in Children Exposed to Zika Virus during Pregnancy in a Cohort in Amazonas, Brazil: A Case Series Study.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is a swallowing disorder that involves difficulty in safely passing the food bolus from the oral cavity to the stomach. OD is a common problem in children with congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZS). In this case series, we describe the clinical and acoustic alterations of swallowing in children exposed to the Zika virus during pregnancy in a cohort from Amazonas, Brazil.

Photobiomodulation Therapy to Treat Snakebites Caused by Bothrops atrox: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Bothrops venom acts almost immediately at the bite site and causes tissue damage.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and explore the safety and efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in reducing the local manifestations of B atrox envenomations.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted at Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado, in Manaus, Brazil.

Design and optimization of an improved qPCR assay for the detection of Histoplasma capsulatum.

Background: This study aimed at improving a real-time polymerase-chain-reaction (qPCR) assay for the detection of Histoplasma capsulatum, a fungal pathogen that can cause severe respiratory infections in humans, in clinical and soil samples.

Methods: Primer and probes were in-silico designed, in-silico and in-vitro evaluated including clinical biopsy materials and finally subjected to a real-world application with collected soil samples.

Results: Applying the qPCR assay with liver and lung biopsies from 71 patients each, including 59 patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as with Sabouraud (SAB) agar culture as the diagnostic reference standard, diagnostic accuracy of the qPCR assay of 100% (5/5) sensitivity and 96% (63/66) specificity for liver samples and 100% (4/4) sensitivity and 94% (63/67) specificity for the lung samples was recorded.

The severity of acute kidney injury correlates with plasma venom levels in Bothrops atrox envenomings.

The Brazilian Amazon has high rates of snakebite envenomings (SBEs), with ∼90% caused by Bothrops atrox. Envenomings by this species can trigger local and systemic effects, such as acute kidney injury (AKI). Our aim was to identify predictors of AKI in Bothrops SBEs in patients from Manaus, Western Brazilian Amazon.

Acute micro-outbreak of Chagas disease in the southeastern Amazon: a report of five cases.

Background: Chagas disease is gaining importance in the Brazilian Amazon region as a differential diagnosis of febrile syndrome. The most recent microoutbreak occurred in Ipixuna, in Amazonas state.

Methods: An epidemiological survey was conducted using parasitological and serological tests, and electrocardiographic analysis.

Osteochondral Segond Fracture Associated with Fibular Head Avulsion Fracture - "Arcuate Sign".

A deviated osteochondral fracture of the anterolateral tibia associated with fibular head avulsion in a 50-year-old patient is reported. In general, avulsion fracture of the iliotibial tract is associated with injuries in the cruciate ligament, in the meniscus and in lateral knee structures, as in the case herein reported.

Non-lactational Infectious Mastitis in the Americas: A Systematic Review.

Non-lactational infectious mastitis (NLIM) is an inflammatory breast disease with broad clinical presentation. Inadequate treatment can lead to chronic infections that cause breast deformities. NLIM information is limited, especially in the Americas.

Adjunct N-Acetylcysteine Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With HIV-Associated Tuberculosis Dampens the Oxidative Stress in Peripheral Blood: Results From the RIPENACTB Study Trial.

Tuberculosis (TB) still causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This disease is hallmarked by persistent oxidative stress and systemic inflammation. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a glutathione (GSH) precursor, has been shown in experimental models to limit infection and disease both by suppression of the host oxidative response and through direct antimicrobial activity.

An Ultra-Sensitive Technique: Using -mtCOX1 qPCR to Detect Early Recurrences of in Patients in the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: Early recurrence of is a challenge for malaria control in the field, particularly because this species is associated with lower parasitemia, which hinders diagnosis and monitoring through blood smear testing. Early recurrences, defined as the persistence of parasites in the peripheral blood despite adequate drug dosages, may arise from resistance to chloroquine. The objective of the study was to estimate early recurrence of in the Brazilian Amazon by using a highly-sensitive detection method, in this case, PCR.

Management of Bone Failure in Fracture of the Distal Region of the Femur Using the Masquelet Technique with Fibula Graft Associated with Iliac-Crest Graft: Report of Two Cases.

Two cases of bone failure after fracture of the distal region of the femur treated with the Masquelet technique are presented. The first case involves acute bone loss, and the second, pseudarthrosis. The proper management of these lesions led to consolidation and a good functional result.

Evaluation of the Treatment of Patients Subjected to Osteogenesis Induced by Tibia Bone Distraction.

 To evaluate the management of tibial fractures resulting in bone loss (traumatic or infection-related) and the complications occurring during treatment with external fixator and immediately after apparatus removal.  Forty patients were selected from 2010 to 2017. The mean age of the patients was 33.

Analysis of the immunological biomarker profile during acute Zika virus infection reveals the overexpression of CXCL10, a chemokine linked to neuronal damage.

Background: Infection with Zika virus (ZIKV) manifests in a broad spectrum of disease ranging from mild illness to severe neurological complications and little is known about Zika immunopathogenesis.

Objectives: To define the immunologic biomarkers that correlate with acute ZIKV infection.

Methods: We characterized the levels of circulating cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors in 54 infected patients of both genders at five different time points after symptom onset using microbeads multiplex immunoassay; comparison to 100 age-matched controls was performed for statistical analysis and data mining.

Atrial fibrillation in a patient with Zika virus infection.

Background: Zika virus is an emerging arbovirus of the family Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus that until 2007 was restricted to a few cases of mild illness in Africa and Asia.

Case Presentation: We report a case of atrial fibrillation disclosed during an acute Zika virus infection in a 49-year-old man. Different biological samples were analyzed for the molecular diagnosis of Zika by real-time PCR, however only the saliva specimen was positive.

Intra-focal reduction and percutaneous fixation of neck fractures of the fifth metacarpal: description of surgical technique.

Objective: to demonstrate a surgical technique for treating neck fractures of the fifth metacarpal, by means of reduction through intra-focal manipulation and percutaneous fixation using Kirschner wires, with the aims of making it easier to achieve and maintain the reduction during the operation and enabling reduction of these fractures even if a fibrous callus has formed.

Methods: a series of ten patients with neck fractures of the fifth metacarpal presenting palmar angles greater than 30° underwent the surgical technique described, as examples, and their results were evaluated through postoperative radiographs and clinical examinations.

Results: all the patients achieved reductions that were close to anatomical and evolved to consolidation of the fracture in the position obtained.

Injury of the knee ligaments associated with ipsilateral femoral shaft fractures.

Objective: With the objective of identifying the incidence of ipsilateral knee ligament injury, thirty-six patients with femoral shaft fractures were evaluated.

Methods: During the osteosynthesis procedure to repair the femur while under anesthesia, all patients underwent a physical examination and X-ray examination.

Results: The most common mechanism of injury observed was motorcycle accidents.

Posterior cruciate ligament injury: characteristics and associations of most frequent injuries.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and combinations of PCL injuries and their correlations with the mechanism, the occurrence of evident dislocation and associated fracture.

Method: A retrospective study of 85 lesions of PCL operated between 2003 and 2010. Diagnosis by physical examination and dynamic radiography, compared with surgical findings.

Simultaneous bilateral rupture of the patellar ligament in chronic renal patient. A case report.

The authors report a case of simultaneous bilateral rupture of the patellar ligament resulting of low-energy trauma in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Treatment of chronic patellar ligament lesion with autograft and v-y quadricepsplasty.

Objective: Review of the literature concerning the subject and to compare the results of the technique we have been using with the ones reported on the literature.

Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional and observational study. We evaluated the records of patients treated surgically at the Hospital from Hospital Maria Amelia Lins January 1997 to January 2011.

FLOATING ELBOW IN CHILDREN: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF 31 CASES ATTENDED IN A REFERENCE CENTER FOR PEDIATRIC TRAUMA.

Objective: To conduct a descriptive analysis on 31 cases of children with floating elbow who were attended at our clinic between 1994 and 2009, and to review the literature relating to this topic.

Methods: Data were obtained through examining the medical records. The following variables were used: age, gender, side, mechanism, type of fracture, classification, treatment and complications.

1,454 mandibular fractures: a 3-year study in a hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the mandibular fractures which presented over a 3-year period at an emergency hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Methods: The data collected included age, sex, aetiology, date of trauma, associated maxillofacial trauma, anatomic site of fracture, and treatment. The analysis involved descriptive statistics and the Pearson's chi-square, Bonferroni, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whiney tests, and analysis of variance.

Facial fractures in the elderly: a retrospective study in a hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Background: An increasing incidence of maxillofacial trauma in the elderly has been noted, as a consequence of increased longevity, resulting in a higher percentage of elderly people in the population.

Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken to assess facial fractures in elderly presenting during the period 2000 to 2002 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The data collected included age, gender, etiology, date of trauma, maxillofacial trauma, anatomic site of fracture, and treatment.

Factors associated with return to work following a hand injury: a qualitative/quantitative approach.

Objectives: To describe workers who returned to work after a hand injury and to analyze the factors associated with this outcome three years after discharge from rehabilitation.

Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was carried out with triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative analysis used a database with sociodemographic, functional and clinical information on 35 individuals who were classified into two groups (return/no return to work).

Facial fractures in children and adolescents: a retrospective study of 3 years in a hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to review the etiology, incidence and treatment of selected oral and maxillofacial fractures in children in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during a period of 3 years.

Materials And Methods: The data collected for this study included age, gender, etiology, date of trauma, associated maxillofacial trauma, anatomic site of fracture and treatment. The analysis involved descriptive statistics and chi-squared test, Bonferroni test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whiney tests and analysis of variance.