BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the ability of commonly used insulin resistance indices to identify the metabolic syndrome.Methods183 people referred for outpatient care at the Metabolism Unit of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre were evaluated with anthropometric, blood pressure, lipid profile, and adiponectin measurements. Glucose tolerance status was determined by 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and glycosylated hemoglobin. Definition of metabolic syndrome was based on the Joint Interim Statement of different medical associations. Twenty-one indices of insulin resistance were estimated from published equations. The accuracy of these indices was determined by area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis. In addition, we determined an optimal cut point for each index and its performance as a diagnostic test.ResultsThe study population was comprised of 183 people (73.2% women; 78.7% white; age 52.6 ± 12.0 years, mean ± standard deviation), of whom 140 (76.5%) had metabolic syndrome. The reciprocal of the Gutt index provided the greatest AUC for identification of metabolic syndrome, but there were no statistical differences between Gutt and 11 AUC indices. Gutt presented 86.4% sensitivity and 76.7% specificity to identify metabolic syndrome.ConclusionsA number of commonly employed indices of insulin resistance are capable of identifying individuals with the metabolic syndrome.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13098-018-0365-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Objective Cryptococcus neoformans is a common opportunistic infection in adults with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome worldwide. However, limited data exist for HIV-infected patients in the post-HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) era in Brazil. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cryptococcosis in a cohort of patients attending a teaching tertiary care hospital in southern Brazil after the introduction of HAART in Brazil. Patients and Methods A retrospective study was conducted in tertiary care hospital in southern Brazil. Detailed data on risk factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis methods, treatment, and prognosis of patients with meningeal cryptococcosis were evaluated from January 2009 to December 2016. Results Seventy-nine cases of cryptococcal meningitis were identified. Most of the patients presented positive CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) cultures for Cryptococcus neoformans (96%). The prevalence of males and females with meningeal cryptococcosis was similar. The age of the patients ranged from 5 to 67 years. The median time of hospitalization was 28 days. The most common underlying disease was HIV (82%), followed by solid transplant (10%). Fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and altered mental status were the most common clinical manifestations. Initial opening intracranial pressures varied from 30 to 130 cm H2O. CNS imaging abnormalities include hydrocephalus and hypodensities. Widened Virchow–Robin spaces were described in only 2 patients (2.5%). Induction treatment of the majority of the patients consisted of amphotericin B and flucytosine (67%) followed by amphotericin B and fluconazole (19%). Multivariate analysis of Cox regression identified headache at presentation, mechanical ventilation, CSF glucose <20 mg/dL, and CSF cryptococcal antigen ≥1 : 1000 for independent risk factors for death. All-cause 30-day and 60-day mortalities were 19% and 24%, respectively. Conclusions Meningeal cryptococcosis mostly caused by C. neoformans continues to occur predominantly in HIV-infected adults despite HAART being widely distributed in Brazil. Cryptococcosis remains a significant opportunistic infection in solid organ transplant recipients. Despite adequate antifungal treatment and management of intracranial hypertension in a reference tertiary care hospital, mortality was high. Identification of risk factors and additional treatment modalities, especially for intracranial hypertension, are necessary to improve care for patients with cryptococcal meningitis.

BackgroundThe shapes of the plasma glucose concentration curve during the oral glucose tolerance test are related to different metabolic risk profiles and future risk of type 2 DM. We sought to further analyze the relationship between the specific shapes and hyperglycemic states, the metabolic syndrome and hormones involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and to isolate the effect of the shape by adjusting for the area under the glucose curve.MethodsOne hundred twenty one adult participants underwent a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test and were assigned to either the monophasic (n = 97) or the biphasic (n = 24) group based upon the rise and fall of their plasma glucose concentration. We evaluated anthropometric measures, blood pressure, lipid profile, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, glycated hemoglobin, insulin sensitivity, beta-cell function, C-peptide, glucagon, adiponectin and pancreatic polypeptide.ResultsSubjects with monophasic curves had higher fasting and 2-h plasma glucose levels, while presenting lower insulin sensitivity, beta-cell function, HDL cholesterol, adiponectin and pancreatic polypeptide levels. Prediabetes and metabolic syndrome had a higher prevalence in this group. Glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and glucagon were not significantly different between groups. After adjusting for the area under the glucose curve, only the differences in the 1-h and 2-h plasma glucose concentrations and HDL cholesterol levels between the monophasic and biphasic groups remained statistically significant.ConclusionsRates and intensity of metabolic dysfunction are higher in subjects with monophasic curves, who have lower insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function and a higher prevalence of prediabetes and metabolic syndrome. These differences, however, seem to be dependent on the area under the glucose curve.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12902-018-0286-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Encephalitis and meningitis due to BKPyV are unusual and emerging condition. Only a few cases of BKPyV encephalitis have been reported in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, with the majority of cases presenting with concurrent hemorrhagic cystitis and HIV-infected patients. The authors report two HIV-infected patients with the diagnosis of BKPyV encephalitis and discuss the main clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of this infection in patients with AIDS. Physicians should be aware to recognize the main clinical features and diagnose BKPyV central nervous infection in the setting of AIDS.

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Backgroundherpes zoster (HZ) is a common infection with potential complications requiring hospital care, especially for patients with multiple comorbities. However, there is little information on HZ from hospital registries.Methodswe searched for hospital-based records of B02 code (ICD-10) between March 2000 and January 2017 at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, a tertiary, university hospital in south Brazil. To avoid misclassifications, we considered clinical evaluation for the diagnosis of cutaneous HZ and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), ophthalmological evaluation for ophthalmic HZ and the combination of clinical, radiologic and cerebrospinal fluid analysis for HZ meningo-encephalitis (ME). We analyzed conditions associated with immune dysregulation, complications, length of hospital stay, and mortality. Chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier estimator were used for statistical analyses. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Resultsthere were 847 records for this period, of which 801 were confirmed according to our criteria and included in the analysis. Most patients were women (n = 448; 60%), with an average of 48.8 years, standard deviation of 22.2. There were more diagnoses in the inpatients group (74.4%), and fewer in the emergency room (22.4%) and outpatient (3.3%). The median length of hospital stay was 7 days (2-10, P25-P75) when HZ was the main reason for admission. Most patients presented cutaneous HZ (n = 743, 92.8%). There were fewer cases of PHN (6.1%), ophthalmic HZ (7.6%) and ME (4.1%). Seventy percent had some kind of immune dysregulation; more frequently AIDS (31%), use of immunosuppressive agents (18.7%) and malignant disease (16.2%). We followed the subjects for a median of 28.2 (2.8-77.5) months. During this period, there were 105 (13.1%) deaths. Five were related to HZ ME. The 30-day overall mortality rate was 1.5%. There was no statistical difference in cumulative survival (graph 1, P = 0.05) or incidence of complicated forms for patients with or without immune dysregulation.Conclusionour sample was characterized by a majority of inpatient diagnoses. The 30-day mortality rate was lower than reported in similar studies, but there was a relevant impact of complicated forms in mortality and sequelae.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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