This study describes the professional risk of acquiring HIV infection while caring for AIDS patients at a teaching hospital in Brazil. Since 1985 we have tested health care professionals (HCP) for HIV-1 antibody after accidents with blood and body fluids from AIDS patients. The blood samples were tested twice using an ELISA FDA approved test and, if positive, we performed Western blot. Two hundred and forty seven health care professionals reported 338 accidents (50% were percutaneous and 22% were mucous membrane exposures to blood). A further 404 HCPs reported no occupational exposure but wanted to be tested. From 247 HCPs with at least one accident, we analyzed 115 with more than 6 months of follow up. None were HIV antibody positive. Nobody received zidovudine as a prophylaxis. Of the 404 HCPs with no accident, 6 (1.5%) were positive and had confirmed risk factors for HIV. Our results support other studies that report a low occupational risk (about 0.4%) of acquiring HIV infection.
A study to determine the prevalence and predisposition of dog breeds to develop diskospondylitis (DS) was carried out on a population of 5,497 animals submitted to computed tomography or digital radiography of the spine between 2009 and 2018. Variables such as breed, gender, age, vertebral segment and total number of vertebrae affected were collected and submitted to the prevalence tests, chi-square and odds ratio. A total of 181 dogs presented DS, a prevalence of 3.4%. Of these, 65% were males with a probability 1.6x greater than females (CI 1.17-2.17). Dogs more than 10 years old have a 1.5x higher probability (CI 1.10-2.05), while those between 2-5 years the probability decreases 51% (CI 0.34-0.77). Large dogs (>30 kg; 45%) showed a 3.8x greater chance to develop DS (CI 2.56-5.33) than small dogs (<15 kg; 28%), although the small dogs showed a 34% lower probability (CI 0.24-0.47). The Labrador Retriever breed was 3.7x more likely to develop DS than all the other breeds studied ) and the French Bulldog, among the small breeds, was 2.8x more susceptible (CI 1.51-5.06). In conclusion older dogs, large dogs, especially Labrador Retrievers, are more likely to develop DS. The French bulldog should be studied further.
Corticosteroids are drugs widely used in veterinary neurology due to their recognized anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and analgesic effects. However, their use in high doses and for long term may result in undesirable side effects. This study describes the prevalence of dogs with neurologic diseases referred to a veterinary neurology service with previous prescriptions for corticosteroids. In this retrospective study 284 medical records of dogs were evaluated in the period between August 2017 and April 2019. Of these, 194 (68%) dogs had already received medical care from a clinician and 100 (52%) had previously been prescribed corticosteroids. After diagnosis at the reference service, the corticosteroid dose was suspended in 28% of the cases, adjusted in 41% and maintained in 31%. Dogs receiving immunosuppressive doses were the most affected and in 71% and 21% of the cases, their medication was adjusted or suspended, respectively. In conclusion, the therapy for neurological diseases is still strongly associated with the indiscriminate use of corticosteroids, without the dosage correlated to the desired effect.
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