The prevalence and age distribution of AF were similar to studies in high-income countries. The proportion of patients who reported the use of anticoagulants was alarmingly low. Our findings point out the necessity to formulate effective treatment strategies for AF in Brazilian primary care settings.

In this large sample of primary care patients with ChD, there was a high prevalence of electrocardiographic abnormalities. Pacemaker rhythm, RBBB, especially in association with LAH, and second and third atrioventricular block were strongly related to ChD.

BackgroundKnowledge of the normal limits of the electrocardiogram (ECG) is mandatory for establishing which patients have abnormal ECGs. No studies have assessed the reference standards for a Latin American population. Our aim was to establish the normal ranges of the ECG for pediatric and adult Brazilian primary care patients.MethodsThis retrospective observational study assessed all the consecutive 12-lead digital electrocardiograms of primary care patients at least 1 year old in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, recorded between 2010 and 2015. ECGs were excluded if there were technical problems, selected abnormalities were present or patients with selected self-declared comorbidities or on drug therapy. Only the first ECG from patients with multiple ECGs was accepted. The University of Glasgow ECG analysis program was used to automatically interpret the ECGs. For each variable, the 1st, 2nd, 50th, 98th and 99th percentiles were determined and results were compared to selected studies.ResultsA total of 1,493,905 ECGs were recorded. 1,007,891 were excluded and 486.014 were analyzed. This large study provided normal values for heart rate, P, QRS and T frontal axis, P and QRS overall duration, PR and QT overall intervals and QTc corrected by Hodges, Bazett, Fridericia and Framingham formulae. Overall, the results were similar to those from other studies performed in different populations but there were differences in extreme ages and specific measurements.ConclusionsThis study has provided reference values for Latinos of both sexes older than 1 year. Our results are comparable to studies performed in different populations.

Objective: To describe mortality by suicide among physicians in the state of Sã o Paulo, Brazil, between 2000 and2009. Methods: Secondary analysis of government mortality data. The variable of interest was ''underlying cause of death'', specifically deaths classified by the ICD-10 as intentional self-harm (X60 to X84). Results: The analyses examined 2,297 declarations of death, among which suicide accounted for 50 cases, i.e., 1.7% of all causes of death. Women comprised 13.2% of the total sample and represented 24% of the death-by-suicide group, indicating an overrepresentation of women in the latter (p = 0.02). Deaths by suicide occurred on average 20 years earlier than deaths by other causes (46.8614.2 years and 68.1615.8 years, respectively; p = 0.001). There was a significant association between single and/or divorced status and suicide (p o 0.001). The average mortality rate during the study period was 4.2 deaths per 100,000 physicians registered with the Regional Board of Medicine of the State of São Paulo. Conclusion: Deaths by suicide occurred 20 years earlier than deaths by other causes. Medical institutions should develop strategies for the prevention and early detection of mental disorders and occupational stressors that elevate the risk of suicide among physicians.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) therapy on bone healing around osseointegrated implants in the rabbit by means of descriptive histologic and histomorphometric analyses. Eighteen rabbits received one implant each in the right tibia proximal metaphysis. After the bone-healing period of 3 months, 6 randomly selected animals were sacrificed (Group CTL-12) before the immunosuppression therapy initiation to obtain a standard of implant integration. Another six randomly selected animals were submitted to a daily subcutaneous (sc) injection of 10 mg/kg CsA (Group CsA) whereas the six remaining animals received daily sc injections of saline solution (Group CTL-24). Groups CTL-24 and CsA were sacrificed after another 12 weeks. Bone-to-implant contact (BIC), and bone area fraction occupancy (BAFO) within the implant threads were measured. Bone density (BD) and descriptive histological analyses were also accomplished. Rabbits under CsA therapy presented statistically lower percentage of BIC (33.28 ± 6.19) compared to the animals of CLT-24 (55.6 ± 17.73). No differences were found between CsA and CTL-12 (38.7 ± 7.87). Significant decreased percentage of BAFO between the implant threads in the CsA (48.43 ± 9.48) group compared to the CTL-24 (72.26 ± 11.72) was observed. No differences were found between CsA and CTL-12 (61.99 ± 13.94) groups. BD analysis showed significant lower BD in the CsA (48.56 ± 9.32) group compared to the CTL-12 (68.74 ± 10.89) and CTL-24 (77.96 ± 4.96) groups. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that CsA therapy negatively affect the bone healing around osseointegrated implants due to the significant lower values for BIC, BAFO, and BD.

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Purpose Describe sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and establish their history in the Brazilian public health system. Methods Retrospective observational study was conducted using the database from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DataSUS). Patients with at least one claim of HCC between July/2011 and June/2016 were included. A record linkage methodology was performed to obtain longitudinal data across different databases. Demographic and clinical data were evaluated, including the time elapsed between diagnosis of HCC risk-factors and the cancer development. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 28,822 HCC cases were identified between July/2011 and June/2016. Mean age was 59.7 years (SD = 14.7), and most patients were men (55.9%). The highest relative number of HCC cases was detected in the south of Brazil (> 20 cases/100,000 inhabitants). About 86.5% of the patients had diagnosis of HCC without previous liver diseases. Only 8% had diagnosis of chronic viral hepatitis and 3.5% cirrhosis. About 76% were diagnosed at an advanced stage, and only 11% of the patients had early stage HCC. Approximately 58% of patients with previous underlying liver diseases were diagnosed at early stages, compared with only 24% of patients without prior record of underlying diseases. Conclusion The diagnosis of HCC in the Brazilian public health is usually made in patients with no previous diagnosis of liver disease and in advanced stages, when no curative treatment is available and survival rates are low. Public health policies are key for the screening and monitoring liver disease and, consequently, HCC.