The authors conclude that the majority of athletes presented poor sleep quality before the competition. This information should be taken into consideration whenever possible when scheduling rest, training and competition times.

Ependymomas are glial tumors derived from ependymal cells lining the ventricles and the central canal of the spinal cord. It may occur outside the ventricular structures, representing the extraventicular form, or without any relationship of ventricular system, called ectopic ependymona. Less than fifteen cases of ectopic ependymomas were reported and less than five were anaplastic. We report a rare case of pure cortical ectopic anaplastic ependymoma.

In the last few years, the development of national and international games for the physically challenged has encouraged greater participation of athletes with physical disabilities. This resulted in an increase in intensity and frequency of the training routines and competitions and higher levels of trauma-orthopedic lesions. The aim of this descriptive-comparative study is to analyze statistically the incidence of trauma-orthopedic lesions of 82 physically challenged athletes selected in a non intentional and no probalistic way. These athletes belong to various sports categories, as follows: swimming = 37, table tennis = 19, athletics = 19, power lifting = 7. Sixty are males, 24, females, they range in age from 15 to 51 and they all took part in the 2002 World Championship. Applying the medical records of the Brazilian Paraolimpic Committee medical department filled in at those events (the technique of observing the athlete clinical-sports files and medical examinations), the result showed a recurrence of lesions in athletes in the following sports: athletics (MMII = 64.9%, backbone 19.3% and MMSS = 15.8%; power lifting (backbone = 54.5%, MMSS = 36.4% and MMII = 9.1%); swimming (MMSS = 44.4%, backbone = 38.9% and MMII = 16.7%) and table tennis (MMSS = 56%, Backbone = 36% and MMII = 8%). Such results lead to the conclusion that the performing of sports of the physically challenged athletes, and also the intensity of the training routing to try to beat their previous marks and results, cause these kinds of lesion. In addition, it is important to reinforce the preventive measures to the athletes.

Most research on sport injuries in disabled athletes uses a cross-disability (physical and sensorial) design and merges different sport modalities in the same study. This procedure creates difficulties in interpreting the results, since different disabilities and modalities may cause different injury conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the sports injuries frequency in visually impaired athletes, to identify the site of the injury, its mechanism, and the main injuries that occur to these athletes as well as to verify if the visual class relates to the sports injury frequency. The subjects were male and female visually impaired athletes, members of the Brazilian team of athletics, soccer 5, goalball, judo, and swimming, who played in international competitions between 2004 and 2008. Data was collected using the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and the Brazilian Confederation of Sports for the Blind medical form, which included the following information: name, age, modality, competition, visual classification (B1, B2, B3), injury type, location of injury, and diagnosis. A total of 131 athletes participated in this study: 42 female, 89 male amongst which 61 were B1, 46 B2, and 24 B3. From this total, 102 athletes reported 288 sports injuries; 2.82 injuries per athlete. Female athletes presented more injuries than male athletes; however, this difference did not show statistical significance. Regarding visual classification, B1 athletes got more injuries than B2 athletes, and these more than B3 athletes; statistically significant difference was found only between B1 and B3 group. As one group, athletes presented similar values between accident and overuse injuries. Concerning body segment, lower limbs showed more injuries, followed by upper limbs, spine, head, and trunk. Twenty-one diagnoses were reported, being tendinopathies, contractures, and contusions the most frequent.

Context: Visually impaired athletes sustain overuse injuries in the lower limbs, but the pattern of injuries may vary according to the sport. The characteristics of sports injuries in visually impaired swimmers are unknown.Objective: To determine the characteristics and epidemiologic measures (prevalence, clinical incidence, and incidence rate) of sports injuries in visually impaired elite national swimmers and to assess differences among visual classes and between sexes.Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty-eight elite, visually impaired swimmers (19 males, 9 females) from the Brazilian Paralympic Team participated in this study. Twelve were visual class S11 (blind swimmers), 12 were S12 (low-vision swimmers), and 4 were S13 (low-vision swimmers).Intervention(s): A standardized report form was used to collect data during 5 competitions. This was endorsed by 2 Brazilian sports governing bodies.Main Outcome Measures: The characteristics, prevalence, clinical incidence, and incidence rate of injuries were calculated.Results: Eighteen athletes reported 41 sports injuries, with a prevalence of 64%, clinical incidence of 1.5 injuries per athlete, and an incidence rate of 0.3 injuries per athlete per competition. Overuse injuries (80%) were more frequent than traumatic injuries (20%). The clinical incidence and prevalence varied according to sex and visual class, but no statistical differences were observed (P . .05). The highest proportion of injuries was in the trunk (46.34%), followed by the upper limbs (34.15%). The shoulders (29.27%) were most affected, followed by the thoracic (21.95%) and lumbar spine (17.07%). Spasm (36.59%) was the most frequent diagnosis, followed by tendinopathy (26.83%).Conclusions: Visually impaired swimmers had a relatively high proportion of overuse injuries, predominantly associated with muscle spasm in the spine and tendinopathy in the shoulders. No differences were apparent in injury prevalence and clinical incidence among visual classes or between sexes.Key Words: epidemiology, disability sport, musculoskeletal injuries Key PointsVisually impaired swimmers experienced a relatively high proportion of overuse injuries during competition. Injuries were predominantly associated with muscle spasm in the spine and tendinopathy in the shoulders. No differences were observed in injury prevalence or clinical incidence among visual classes or between sexes.

INTRODUÇÃO: Atualmente o desempenho esportivo tem se desenvolvido de forma rápida e concreta, exigindo, dessa forma, uma eficiente evolução das diferentes áreas das ciências do esporte, oferecendo o suporte cientifico necessário à continuidade desse fenômeno. OBJETIVO: O estudo em questão teve como objetivo desenvolver uma equação matemática preditora de idade óssea de jovens atletas, com base em variáveis antropométricas. MÉTODOS: Para se alcançar o resultado final foram medidas dobras cutâneas, perímetros corporais e diâmetros ósseos, idade cronológica e idade óssea. O tratamento estatístico utilizou a correlação entre as variáveis, a regressão linear múltipla com modelagem backward. RESULTADO: Se obteve como resultado final um modelo de equação que explica 75,4% da variação da idade óssea com r = 0,868 e R² = 0,754, utilizando idade cronológica, estatura, dobra tricipital, perímetro corrigido de braço e diâmetros de fêmur e úmero. CONCLUSÃO: Concluiu-se a partir dos resultados, que esse tipo de modelo revela valores aproximados aos observados através da radiografia de mão e punho, tornando-se importante na observação do estágio maturacional através de testes de fácil aplicabilidade por profissionais da área esportiva.

There is an association between upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and an increased incidence of perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAEs), which is a major risk for morbidity during pediatric anesthesia. The aim of the present study was to compare the risk of PRAEs among different airway devices during anesthesia in children with a URTI. A systematic review according to the Cochrane Handbook and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted. Only randomized clinical trials evaluating anesthesia in children with a URTI and who were submitted to any of the airway devices were included. From 1030 studies identified, 5 randomized clinical trials were included in the final analysis. There were no statistical differences between laryngeal mask airway (LMA®) and endotracheal tube (ETT) regarding breath holding or apnea (risk ratio [RR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-1.65), laryngospasm (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.18-2.95), and arterial oxygen desaturation (RR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.16-1.17). The quality of evidence was low for the first outcome and very low for the 2 other outcomes, respectively. The LMA use produced a significant reduction of cough (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.96, low quality of evidence) compared with ETT. The ideal airway management in children with a URTI remains obscure given that there are few data of perioperative respiratory complications during anesthesia. This systematic review demonstrates that LMA use during anesthesia in children with URTI did not result in decrease of the most feared PRAEs. However, LMA was better than ETT in reducing cough. Further research is needed to define the risks more clearly because cough and laryngospasm have similar triggers, and both bronchospasm and laryngospasm trigger cough.

Body composition is a physiological variable associated with physical activity and, in some cases, is related to athletic performance. Our objectives were to describe the body composition of participants in three distinct Paralympic sports and to compare the values of body density and estimated body fat obtained from the Paralympic athletes on the National Team by air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and by the anthropometric method (skinfolds (SFs)). The sample consisted of 70 volunteers of both genders. The body composition of the volunteers was evaluated using the ADP in a Bod Pod(®) and seven SFs. There were no significant differences between the values obtained by ADP and SF for body fat percentage (p = .58) and body density (p = .49). Analysis by Bland-Altman plots showed mean differences of 0.56 ± 4.94 (-9.12-10.23) and -0.0017 ± 0.0113 (-0.024-0.020) for body fat percentage and body density, respectively. In conclusion, body composition analyses of Paralympic athletes by the ADP and SF methods show similar results, and ADP should be used as the first option when available. When the use of ADP is not possible, estimating body density and fat percentage by SF is a viable alternative for Paralympic athletes when future comparisons will use the same analysis method.