The prevalence of back pain among pregnant women is high, with varying characteristics. The degree of disability is usually moderate and the presence of urinary infection and higher disability scores were associated with greater intensity of low back pain.

Anemia is an inevitable complication of hemodialysis, and the primary cause is erythropoietin deficiency. After diagnosis, treatment begins with an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA). However, some patients remain anemic even after receiving this medication. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with resistance to recombinant human erythropoietin therapy with epoetin alfa (αEPO). We performed a prospective, longitudinal study of hemodialysis patients receiving treatment with αEPO at our reference hospital from July 2015 to June 2016. Clinical data was collected, and the response to αEPO treatment was evaluated using the erythropoietin resistance index (ERI). The ERI was defined as the weekly weight-adjusted αEPO dose (U/kg per week)/hemoglobin level (g/dL). A longitudinal linear regression model was fitted with random effects to verify the relationships between clinical and laboratory data and ERI. We enrolled 99 patients (average age, 45.7 (±17.6) years; male, 51.5%; 86.8% with hypertension). The ERI showed a significant positive association with serum ferritin and C-reactive protein, percentage interdialytic weight gain, and continuous usage of angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) hypertension medication. The ERI was negatively associated with serum iron and albumin, age, urea reduction ratio, and body mass index. Our findings indicate that resistance to αEPO was related to a low serum iron reserve, an inflammatory state, poor nutritional status, and continuous usage of ARBs.

Introduction:Leprosy is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae, manifested by dermatological and neurological signs and symptoms. Objective: To investigate neural changes and the degree of physical disability in the eyes, hands and feet before and after treatment, as well as sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients affected by leprosy. Method: A longitudinal epidemiological study comprising 155 patients with leprosy, from a spontaneous demand, diagnosed between March 2010 and February 2011, and treated with multidrug therapy (MDT) between March 2010 and July 2012 in a program for leprosy eradication in São Luis (MA), Brazil. Results: Before treatment, 46.5% of patients were considered as borderline, 51.6% had some alteration in the eyes and 52.3% in the feet, and the radial nerve (18.7%) was the most affected. There was a statistically significant difference between the changes in the radial nerve at the beginning of and after treatment. Conclusions: The analysis points to late diagnosis, as some patients have had abnormal neural and physical disabilities before treatment.

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar a utilização dos serviços ofertados pelo Núcleo Estadual de Telessaúde do Maranhão como ferramenta para apoiar a Educação Permanente em Saúde (EPS) para os profissionais de saúde da atenção básica. Métodos Esta pesquisa descritiva com abordagem quantitativa utilizou dados da Plataforma Nacional de Telessaúde referentes aos anos de 2015 e 2016. Para avaliar a utilização das teleconsultorias nos municípios e unidades de saúde maranhenses, foram calculadas a taxa de utilização mensal do sistema e a média mensal de solicitações por município e unidade básica de saúde. As teleconsultorias foram descritas quanto ao profissional solicitante, assuntos mais solicitados, satisfação e resolutividade das respostas. As atividades de teleducação foram classificadas pelo número de pontos e participantes conectados. Resultados No período de janeiro de 2015 a dezembro de 2016 foram realizadas 13 976 teleconsultorias oriundas de 47 municípios, a maioria de pequeno porte (até 40 mil habitantes) e com baixo índice de desenvolvimento humano municipal (de 0,512 a 0,768). A média de utilização geral das teleconsultorias e a taxa de utilização mensal por município e unidade de saúde foram superiores às encontradas na literatura. Os enfermeiros e os agentes comunitários de saúde foram os profissionais mais ativos. Dos profissionais que fizeram a avaliação do serviço (opcional), mais de 80% informaram ter suas dúvidas atendidas. Conclusões Os indicadores de utilização do Núcleo de Telessaúde do Maranhão são mais positivos do que os de outros serviços de telessaúde no Brasil e em outros países. Isso demonstra que o serviço é sustentável, com potencial para apoiar a atenção básica e ser utilizado como ferramenta de EPS.

Background Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been used for over five decades for treating hip osteoarthritis. THA is a surgical procedure associated with prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS). The aim of this study was to analyze whether a protocol developed for fast-track THA could decrease the time taken to reach functional recovery after surgery and the hospital LOS. Blood transfusion and critical care requirements and the complication rate were evaluated as secondary endpoints. Methods Ninety-eight patients underwent THA at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão (São Luís, Brazil). The control group included 51 patients who underwent THA through the conventional method. The fast-track surgery (FTS) group included 47 patients who underwent THA through the FTS approach. The inclusion criteria were that the subjects needed to present hip osteoarthritis and at least one clinical indication for THA, and that their risk classification was in ASA category I or II. The following factors were evaluated: age, sex, diagnosis, laterality, type of arthroplasty, blood transfusion, critical care requirement, complications, LOS, and need for re-hospitalization for any reason. For spinal anesthesia, an opioid-free protocol was used. Comparison of categorical variables between the groups was performed using the chi-square test, Shapiro-Wilk test, Student t test, and Poisson regression approach. Results The FTS and control groups were similar in age and sex distribution (p > 0.05). The majority of the patients in the control group required both blood transfusion and use of the critical care unit, thus differing from the patients who underwent FTS (p < 0.001). The mean hospital LOS in the FTS group was 2.3 ± 0.8 days, compared with 6.4 ± 1.5 days in the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusion Use of FTS was associated with decreased LOS, compared with conventional THA. Trial registration https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-369025/v1.

Pain is recognized as one of the main symptoms in knee osteoarthritis and is the main reason why patients seek medical attention. Scoparia dulcis has been popularly used to relieve discomfort caused by various painful conditions. The objective of the study is to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of the crude extract of S. dulcis, in an experimental model of osteoarthritis. The experiment was performed with Wistar rats divided into 4 groups with 5 animals each: healthy, saline, crude extract, and meloxicam groups. Knee osteoarthritis was induced by intra-articular injection of sodium mono-iodoacetate. First, clinical parameters of pain were assessed at days 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 after induction. Second, the potential cyclooxygenase inhibition was evaluated, and the cytokines of the synovial fluid were quantified. An in silico test and Molecular Docking tests were performed. A histopathological evaluation was made on articular cartilage with safranin O staining. The results showed that a 15-day treatment with crude extract reduced edema, spontaneous pain, peripheral nociceptive activity, and proinflammatory cytokines in the synovial fluid. The highest inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 in the crude extract occurred at 50 µg/mL. The crude extract of S. dulcis presents therapeutic potential for the treatment of osteoarthritis due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive action.

Introduction: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients at the time of diagnosis. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 155 leprosy patients who participated in a program that aimed to eliminate leprosy from São Luis, State of Maranhão. Results: Patients who were 31-45 years of age, were older than 60 years of age or had a partner were more likely to have a disability. Patients with partners were 1.14 times more likely (p = 0.025) to have disabilities of the hands. The frequency of disabilities in the feet among the patients with different clinical forms of leprosy was statistically signifi cant. Conclusions: The identifi cation of risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients is important for diagnosing the disease because this approach enables physicians to plan and prioritize actions for the treatment and monitoring of patients.

Conception and design of the study; acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the article; final approval of the version to be published.