Despite several studies designed to evaluate the efficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is still doubt about the effects of these drugs, especially in patients with severe forms of the disease. This randomized, open-label, controlled, phase III trial assessed the efficacy of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for five days in combination with standard care compared to standard care alone in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19. Chloroquine 450 mg BID on day 1 and 450 mg once daily from days 2 to 5 or hydroxychloroquine 400 mg BID on day 1 and 400 mg once daily from days 2 to 5 were administered in the intervention group. Patients were enrolled from April 16 to August 06, 2020, in 6 hospitals in southern Brazil. The primary outcome was the clinical status measured on day 14 after randomization with a 9-point ordinal scale. The main secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality; invasive mechanical ventilation use; the incidence of acute renal dysfunction in 28 days; and the clinical status of patients on days 5, 7, 10 and 28. All patients with a positive RT-PCR result for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were analyzed (modified intention to treat (mITT) population). Arrythmias and cardiovascular complications were assessed as safety outcomes. A total of 105 patients were enrolled and followed for 28 days. The trial was stopped before reaching the planned sample size due to harmful effects. Patients in the intervention group had a worse clinical outcome on the 14th day (odds ratio (OR) 2.45 [1.17 to 4.93], p = 0.016) and on the 28th day (OR 2.47 [1.15 to 5.30], p = 0.020). Moreover, the intervention group had higher incidences of invasive mechanical ventilation use (risk ratio (RR) 2.15 [1.05 to 4.40], p = 0.030) and severe renal dysfunction (KDIGO stage 3) (RR 2.24 [1.01 to 4.99], p = 0.042) until the 28th day of follow-up. No significant arrythmia was noted. In patients with severe COVID-19, the use of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine added to standard treatment resulted in a significant worsening of clinical status, an increased risk of renal dysfunction and an increased need for invasive mechanical ventilation.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04420247. Registered 09 June 2020—Retrospectively registered, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04420247.

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RESUMO Este estudo teve como objetivo conhecer o perfil dos fisioterapeutas paranaenses no ano de 2015, suas características sociodemográficas, tendências na formação e mercado de trabalho, em uma pesquisa quantitativa de caráter transversal. A amostra foi composta por 377 fisioterapeutas, dos 11272 inscritos no Conselho Profissional no ano de 2015, que responderam a um questionário estruturado disponível on-line. Os resultados mostraram que os fisioterapeutas do Paraná constituem-se predominantemente por jovens de 21 a 40 anos (81,7%), do sexo feminino (77,7%), e se concentram na macrorregião de Curitiba (53,6%). A maioria graduou-se nos últimos dez anos (59,9%) e possui pós-graduação lato sensu (73,7%), porém poucos possuem mestrado ou doutorado. A maioria (82,8%) trabalha exclusivamente com a profissão, em um único emprego (53,3%), em instituição privada (59,2%), como autônomos (55,7%), com carga horária de mais de oito horas diárias (35,5%). Com relação a área de atuação, 68,7% trabalham em mais de uma área, sendo Traumato-ortopedia a que apresenta o maior número de profissionais atuantes (59,9%), seguida da Neurofuncional (41,1%) e da Respiratória (38,7%). A maioria dos profissionais tem renda mensal entre o piso e quatro mil reais (42,9%). Assim, foi possível traçar o perfil do fisioterapeuta do Paraná em 2015, vislumbrando a identidade da profissão no estado e a projeção de tendências futuras, o que possibilitará às instituições de ensino superior e às entidades representativas da categoria a criação de estratégias futuras para formação e a regulação do mercado de trabalho.

Resumo A Escala Visual Analógica (EVA), o Questionário de Incapacidade de Roland Morris (RMDQ) e Questionário de Qualidade de Vida SF-36, amplamente utilizados, tiveram seu conteúdo conectado à CIF por regras propostas em 2002 e 2005. Em 2016 foram refinadas e ainda não foram aplicadas. Aplicar as regras de conexão de conteúdo refinadas para os instrumentos EVA, RMDQ e SF-36. Dois profissionais de saúde identificaram os conceitos significativos e vincularam às categorias mais específicas da CIF, um terceiro arbitrou divergências. O grau de concordância foi dado pelo coeficiente kappa. Houve alto grau de concordância (Kappa=0,93 p<0,001). O conceito principal da EVA foi conectado à categoria b280, os 24 conceitos principais do RMDQ, à categoria b28013 e os 27 adicionais a outras categorias. O SF-36 teve 36 conceitos principais e 30 adicionais identificados, do total, 17 não foram definíveis pela CIF. Dos conceitos conectados dos 3 instrumentos 39 referem-se à Funções do Corpo, 57 à Atividades e Participação e 4 à Fatores Ambientais. O refinamento das regras propiciou mais clareza no processo de identificar, relacionar o conteúdo dos instrumentos à CIF e expor os resultado e aumentou o número de conceitos identificados e categorias contempladas pelos instrumentos.

Background. Parkinson’s disease affects approximately 1% of the worldwide population older than 60 years. This number is estimated to double by 2030, increasing the global burden of the disease. Patients with Parkinson’s disease are hospitalized 1.5 times more frequently and for longer periods than those without the disease, increasing health-related costs. Objective. To compare the characteristics and outcome of patients with and without Parkinson’s disease admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Methods. Historical cohort study of ICU admissions in a Brazilian city over 18 years. All patients with Parkinson’s disease identified were matched for age, sex, year, and place of hospitalization with patients without the disease randomly selected from the same database. Results. The study included 231 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD group) and 462 controls without the disease (NPD group). Compared with patients in the NPD group, those in the PD group were more frequently admitted with lower level of consciousness and increased APACHE II severity score but required less frequently vasoactive drugs. In total, 42.4% of the patients in the PD group were admitted to the ICUs due to sepsis or trauma. Although these patients had longer hospital stay, the mortality rates were comparable between groups. Parkinson’s disease was not associated with mortality, even when controlled for associated factors of disease severity. Conclusion. Although patients with Parkinson’s disease were admitted with higher severity scores and remained in the ICU for a longer time, their mortality rate was not higher than that in patients without the disease.

O conhecimento do perfil dos terapeutas ocupacionais, tendências na formação e mercado de trabalho permitem o vislumbre da identidade da profissão e a projeção de tendências futuras. Objetivo: Traçar o perfil profissional e sociodemográfico de terapeutas ocupacionais do Paraná em 2015. Método: Pesquisa quantitativa, observacional, de caráter transversal, realizada por meio de questionário respondido por amostra representativa de 188 dos 680 profissionais inscritos no Conselho Profissional. Resultados: O conjunto de profissionais do Paraná inscritos é constituído predominantemente por mulheres jovens e se concentra na capital do estado. A maioria graduou-se nos últimos 10 anos, possui pós-graduação latu sensu, porém poucos possuem mestrado ou doutorado. A maioria trabalha exclusivamente na profissão, num único emprego, em instituição pública, com carga horária de 6 horas diárias. As principais áreas de atuação são Saúde Mental, Saúde Funcional, Contextos Sociais e Contextos Hospitalares . A renda mensal varia entre o piso e 4 mil reais. Conclusão: Nos últimos 15 anos houve aumento expressivo no número de profissionais e na qualificação deles. O perfil profissional demonstrou que a profissão está em fase de amadurecimento e consolidação no mercado de trabalho.

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has substantial physical, psychological, social and economic impacts, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Considering its high incidence, the aim of this study was to identify epidemiological and clinical characteristics that predict mortality in patients hospitalized for TBI in intensive care units (ICUs). Methods A retrospective cohort study was carried out with patients over 18 years old with TBI admitted to an ICU of a Brazilian trauma referral hospital between January 2012 and August 2019. TBI was compared with other traumas in terms of clinical characteristics of ICU admission and outcome. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to estimate the odds ratio for mortality. Results Of the 4816 patients included, 1114 had TBI, with a predominance of males (85.1%). Compared with patients with other traumas, patients with TBI had a lower mean age (45.3 ± 19.1 versus 57.1 ± 24.1 years, p < 0.001), higher median APACHE II (19 versus 15, p < 0.001) and SOFA (6 versus 3, p < 0.001) scores, lower median Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (10 versus 15, p < 0.001), higher median length of stay (7 days versus 4 days, p < 0.001) and higher mortality (27.6% versus 13.3%, p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the predictors of mortality were older age (OR: 1.008 [1.002–1.015], p = 0.016), higher APACHE II score (OR: 1.180 [1.155–1.204], p < 0.001), lower GCS score for the first 24 h (OR: 0.730 [0.700–0.760], p < 0.001), greater number of brain injuries and presence of associated chest trauma (OR: 1.727 [1.192–2.501], p < 0.001). Conclusion Patients admitted to the ICU for TBI were younger and had worse prognostic scores, longer hospital stays and higher mortality than those admitted to the ICU for other traumas. The independent predictors of mortality were older age, high APACHE II score, low GCS score, number of brain injuries and association with chest trauma.

Background The gold-standard method for establishing a microbiological diagnosis of COVID-19 is reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of a set of clinical-radiological criteria for COVID-19 screening in patients with severe acute respiratory failure (SARF) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as the reference standard. Methods Diagnostic accuracy study including a historical cohort of 1009 patients consecutively admitted to ICUs across six hospitals in Curitiba (Brazil) from March to September, 2020. The sample was stratified into groups by the strength of suspicion for COVID-19 (strong versus weak) using parameters based on three clinical and radiological (chest computed tomography) criteria. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by RT-PCR (referent). Results With respect to RT-PCR, the proposed criteria had 98.5% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 97.5–99.5%) sensitivity, 70% (95% CI 65.8–74.2%) specificity, 85.5% (95% CI 83.4–87.7%) accuracy, PPV of 79.7% (95% CI 76.6–82.7%) and NPV of 97.6% (95% CI 95.9–99.2%). Similar performance was observed when evaluated in the subgroups of patients admitted with mild/moderate respiratory disfunction, and severe respiratory disfunction. Conclusion The proposed set of clinical-radiological criteria were accurate in identifying patients with strong versus weak suspicion for COVID-19 and had high sensitivity and considerable specificity with respect to RT-PCR. These criteria may be useful for screening COVID-19 in patients presenting with SARF.