Brazil currently accounts for the majority of dengue cases reported in the Americas, with co-circulation of DENV 1, 2 and 3. Striking variation in the epidemiological pattern of infection within cities has been observed. Therefore, investigation of dengue transmission in small areas is important to formulate control strategies. A population-based household survey was performed in three diverse socio-economic and environmental areas of Recife, a large urban center of Brazil, between 2005 and 2006. Dengue serostatus and individual- and household-level risk factors for infection were collected in residents aged between 5 and 64 years. A total of 2,833 individuals were examined, and their residences were geo-referenced. Anti-dengue IgG antibodies were measured using commercial ELISA. The dengue seroprevalence and the force of infection were estimated in each area. Individual and household variables associated with seropositivity were assessed by multilevel models for each area. A spatial analysis was conducted to identify risk gradients of dengue seropositivity using generalized additive models (GAM). The dengue seroprevalence was 91.1%, 87.4% 74.3%, respectively, in the deprived, intermediate and high socioeconomic areas, inversely related to their socio-economic status. In the deprived area, 59% of children had already been exposed to dengue virus by the age of 5 years and the estimated force of infection was three times higher than that in the privileged area. The risk of infection increased with age in the three areas. Working or studying outside the home area was a risk factor for seropositivity in the deprived area (OR=2.26; 95% CI: 1.18-4.30). Number of persons per room was a risk factor for seropositivity in the intermediate (OR=3.00; 95% CI: 3.21-7.37) and privileged areas (OR=1.81; 95% CI: 1.07-3.04). Living in a house, as opposed to an apartment, was a risk factor for seropositivity in the privileged area (OR=3.62; 95% CI: 2.43-5.41). The main difference between the privileged and other areas could be attributed to the much larger proportion of apartment dwellers. Intensive vector control, surveillance and community education should be considered in deprived urban areas where a high proportion of children are infected by an early age.

Vascular calcification is commonly seen in elderly people, though it can also appear in middle-aged subjects affected by premature vascular aging. The aim of this work is to test the involvement of microvesicles (MVs) produced by senescent endothelial cells (EC) and from plasma of elderly people in vascular calcification. The present work shows that MVs produced by senescent cultured ECs, plus those found in the plasma of elderly subjects, promote calcification in vascular smooth muscle cells. Only MVs from senescent ECs, and from elderly subjects' plasma, induced calcification. This ability correlated with these types of MVs' carriage of: a) increased quantities of annexins (which might act as nucleation sites for calcification), b) increased quantities of bone-morphogenic protein, and c) larger Ca contents. The MVs of senescent, cultured ECs, and those present in the plasma of elderly subjects, promote vascular calcification. The present results provide mechanistic insights into the observed increase in vascular calcification-related diseases in the elderly, and in younger patients with premature vascular aging, paving the way towards novel therapeutic strategies.

Standard prenatal ultrasound fails to show congenital heart disease in most fetuses.

No abstract

BackgroundTo identify markers for earlier diagnosis of severe pneumonia, we assess the correlation between serum cytokine profile of children with different pneumonia severity.MethodsIn 25 hospitalized children, 7 with mild pneumonia and 18 with severe pneumonia, the serum concentration of 11 cytokines in three sampling times were dosed. Statistical analysis included parametric and non-parametric tests, Pearson correlation and ROC curve for cut-off definition of cytokines.ResultsAt admission, IL-6 serum levels were high in mild or severe pneumonia, and was associated to vomiting (P = 0.019) in both groups; and also to dyspnea (P = 0.012) and white blood cell count (P = 0.045) in patients with severe pneumonia. IL-10 levels were also high in patients with pneumonia and were associated to lymphocytosis (P = 0.025). The ROC curve of the IL-6:IL-10 serum levels ratio discriminated severe pneumonia cases at admission, and persistence of infection in the third day of antibiotic therapy, with positive predictive values of 93% and 89%, respectively.ConclusionsThe balance between IL-6 and IL-10 serum levels showed to be a more discriminative marker for severity definition and evaluation of recovery in patients with pneumonia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-016-0324-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The incidence of SPC in VLBW infants is much higher than previously reported. We postulate that SPC are bronchopulmonary communications that enlarge and/or proliferate in response to a given stimulus. These communications are associated with increased time on positive pressure ventilation and length of stay in the hospital. SPC may lead to pulmonary edema and should be searched for in VLBW infants with a more complicated course. Echocardiographic examination with color Doppler performed in premature infants to evaluate left to right shunts should include careful search for systemic to pulmonary collaterals.echocardiography, systemic to pulmonary collaterals, aortopulmonary collaterals, prematurity, pulmonary edema.

This study compares the current, prenatal detection rate for critical congenital heart disease in Southern Nevada with the previously reported rate, after developing and expanding a comprehensive, community-wide fetal cardiology program. For the current-period analysis, we inquired our database and electronic health records for patients born in Clark County, Nevada, with critical congenital heart disease between May 2012 and April 2014, and we compared the results with the previous period between May 2003 and April 2006. The major components of the community-wide program include fetal congenital heart disease screening via general obstetric ultrasound studies performed in obstetrician's offices, radiology imaging centers, or maternal-fetal medicine specialty practices; subsequent referral for comprehensive fetal echocardiography performed in maternal-fetal medicine offices under the on-site supervision by fetal cardiologists; and recurring community educational programs teaching the 5-axial plane, fetal echocardiographic screening protocol to general obstetric sonographers and instructing perinatal sonographers in advanced imaging topics. For the current period, the prenatal detection rate for critical congenital heart disease in Southern Nevada was 71 versus 36% for the previous period (p < 0.001). The temporal improvement in prenatal detection of critical congenital heart disease may be related to our expanded decentralized, community-wide fetal cardiology program, and our experiences may be applicable to other metropolitan areas.

Desenvolver modelos de avaliação de satisfação que permitam comparar sistemas de saúde de diversos países é um esforço recente no Brasil. Esse tipo de avaliação representa importante ferramenta para desenvolver estratégias de gestão para o setor. Objetivo: identificar fatores e avaliar diferenças regionais do grau de satisfação dos usuários do sistema de saúde brasileiro, analisando os resultados da Pesquisa Mundial de Saúde (PMS) e Pesquisa Mundial de Saúde com foco na Atenção Básica (PMS-AB). Foi realizado estudo avaliativo de corte transversal, onde as amostras foram selecionadas de forma aleatória. Foram incluídas pessoas maiores de 18 anos que utilizaram o sistema de saúde em períodos anteriores às coletas de dados. Enquadraram-se nos critérios de inclusão 3.932 usuários da PMS e 591 da PMS-AB. Aplicou-se modelo logístico multivariado, tendo como variável dependente a satisfação e, como variáveis independentes, sexo, idade, escolaridade, forma de pagamento de serviço, situação conjugal, autopercepção de saúde, doença de longa duração, diagnóstico de depressão, tristeza, número de moradores por domicílio, tipo de construção, estratos geográficos e indicador de bens. Os resultados revelaram que ser jovem, usuário exclusivo do SUS, ter baixa escolaridade e autopercepção de saúde ruim gerou mais chances de insatisfação dos usuários com o sistema de saúde brasileiro. Os moradores da Região Sul do país estão mais satisfeitos com o atendimento em saúde, enquanto para pernambucanos as chances de satisfação são menores quando se avalia a qualidade dos serviços de saúde. Os moradores desse estado apresentaram maior insatisfação na resolução de seus problemas de saúde quando precisaram de internação.