Resumo: A COVID-19 tem representado um desafio global aos sistemas de saúde, expandindo em velocidade crescente de óbitos, de pacientes críticos com pneumonia e necessidade de suporte respiratório. Métodos alternativos para controlar a propagação da doença, como o isolamento social, medidas extremas de quarentena e o rastreio dos contactantes dos casos têm sido utilizados no mundo. Contudo, essas medidas podem não ser totalmente eficazes para combater a escalada da COVID-19 em compasso às preparações nacionais necessárias às novas demandas de cuidado. Ampla gama de tecnologias digitais pode ser usada para aprimorar essas estratégias de saúde pública, e a pandemia gerou um frenesi relacionado à telessaúde. No Brasil, esse campo tem crescido acentuadamente nos últimos anos. Todavia, a despeito da intensa proliferação de normativas, ainda inexistia, até a epidemia, um marco regulatório plenamente consolidado no país. O surgimento da COVID-19 marca um momento profícuo de expansão das aplicações e usos da telessaúde, como forma de melhorar a resposta do sistema de saúde à crise em curso. O artigo discute a contribuição da telessaúde para o enfrentamento da COVID-19 e as iniciativas recentes desencadeadas no país, como oportunidades para a consolidação da telemedicina e de aperfeiçoamento do Sistema Único de Saúde. Concluiu-se que a telessaúde oferece capacidades para triagem, cuidado e tratamento remotos, auxilia o monitoramento, vigilância, detecção e prevenção, e para a mitigação dos impactos aos cuidados de saúde indiretamente relacionados a COVID-19. As iniciativas desencadeadas nesse processo podem reconfigurar o espaço futuro da telemedicina na prática dos serviços no território.

Este artigo é uma síntese de alguns dos principais resultados das discussões realizadas ao longo de 18 meses entre pesquisadores de diversas instituições, afiliadas à Abrasco, e procura contribuir para a formulação de uma metodologia que permita: a) compreender quais são e como se inter-relacionam os fatores que influenciam a eficiência, a efetividade e a eqüidade no desempenho do SUS; b) melhorar a formulação de políticas e c) monitorar as desigualdades no acesso e na qualidade dos serviços recebidos pelos diferentes grupos sociais no Brasil. A metodologia desenvolvida nutre-se de elementos utilizados nas propostas de avaliação de desempenho dos sistemas de saúde canadense, australiano, inglês e a da OPS e tem o formato de um painel de controle (dashboard), onde podem ser visualizadas simultaneamente diferentes dimensões da avaliação. O artigo descreve a experiência na adaptação e desenvolvimento da metodologia e fornece sugestões no sentido de aplicá-la para melhorar a formulação da política de saúde no Brasil.

BackgroundLatent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a reservoir for new TB cases. Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) reduces the risk of active TB by as much as 90%, but LTBI screening has limitations. Unlike tuberculin skin testing (TST), interferon-gamma release assays are not affected by BCG vaccination, and have been reported to be cost-effective in low-burden countries. The goal of this study was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis from the health system perspective, comparing three strategies for LTBI diagnosis in TB contacts: tuberculin skin testing (TST), QuantiFERON®-TB Gold-in-Tube (QFT-GIT) and TST confirmed by QFT-GIT if positive (TST/QFT-GIT) in Brazil, a middle-income, high-burden country with universal BCG coverage.Methodology/Principal FindingsCosts for LTBI diagnosis and treatment of a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 adult immunocompetent close contacts were considered. The effectiveness measure employed was the number of averted TB cases in two years. Health system costs were US$ 105,096 for TST, US$ 121,054 for QFT-GIT and US$ 101,948 for TST/QFT-GIT; these strategies averted 6.56, 6.63 and 4.59 TB cases, respectively. The most cost-effective strategy was TST (US$ 16,021/averted case). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was US$ 227,977/averted TB case for QFT-GIT. TST/QFT-GIT was dominated.ConclusionsUnlike previous studies, TST was the most cost-effective strategy for averting new TB cases in the short term. QFT-GIT would be more cost-effective if its costs could be reduced to US$ 26.95, considering a TST specificity of 59% and US$ 18 considering a more realistic TST specificity of 80%. Nevertheless, with TST, 207.4 additional people per 1,000 will be prescribed IPT compared with QFT.

Acidentes que ocorrem entre duas motocicletas têm sido esquecidos na imensidão dos acidentes de trânsito no Brasil, carecendo de serem melhor analisados. Este estudo buscou analisar epidemiologicamente os acidentes que ocorrem entre duas motocicletas, comparando com os outros tipos, a partir de dados do estado do Paraná. Foram capturadas informações do sítio eletrônico da Corporação de Bombeiros relativas ao período de um ano (julho/2010 a junho/2011), sobre o número e tipo de acidente, dia da semana, período do dia, número de vítimas, gênero, idade e gravidade das lesões. Ocorrências moto x moto representaram 3,4% do total de acidentes de trânsito registrados e 6,2% dos acidentes envolvendo motocicleta; as vítimas deste tipo de acidente corresponderam, respectivamente, a 4,4% do total de vitimados e a 8,5% daquelas em acidentes com motocicleta. Acidentes ocorridos aos sábado, sexo masculino e idade entre 20 a 29 anos foram mais frequentes neste tipo de eventos. Dentre as dez cidades mais populosas do estado, algumas se destacaram pelo alto índice destes acidentes, que parece guardar relação com o índice de motorização de motos das localidades. Assim, torna-se fundamental a constante avaliação destes índices e a implantação de medidas que visem proporcionar um trânsito mais seguro.

The National Commission for incorporation of Health Technologies (CONITEC),

University teaching hospitals usually provide tertiary care and are subject to early adoption of new technologies, which may compromise healthcare systems when uncritically adopted. Knowledge on the decision-making process -drug selection by drug selection committees or DTCs -is crucial to improve the quality of care. There are no models for studying the selection of drugs in Brazilian healthcare services. This study aims to discuss DTC structure and the processes regarding adoption of medicines in tertiary university hospitals in Brazil and to propose an analytical structure for providing direction for the future. State of the art content regarding drug selection processes and DTC procedures was reviewed in three databases. Information on the medicine selection process in a Brazilian gold standard teaching hospital was collected through observations and a review of existing procedures. A structured discussion on medicine selection and DTC procedures in tertiary hospitals ensued. This discussion resulted in findings that were organized in three dimensions, composing an analytical framework for the application in tertiary Brazilian hospitals (i) motivations for the adoption of drugs; (ii) necessary structural and organizational aspects for decision-making; and (iii) criteria and methods employed by the decision-making process. We believe that the suggested framework is compatible with tertiary Brazilian hospitals, because a gold standard in the country was able to conduct all its procedures in the light of WHO and international recommendations. We hope to contribute in producing knowledge which may hopefully be adopted in tertiary hospitals across Brazil.Timely and evidence-based adoption of medical technologies and medicines is critical for improving patient care [1][2][3]. Researchers, physicians and patient groups tend to welcome new technologies [4] that may pose risks to patients and might compromise the effectiveness of healthcare systems. Also, lack of evidence-based procedures and clear policies for handling conflict of interests may challenge the provision of equitable services and therapy to all in need [1][2][3][4][5].Possible advances of novel pharmaceuticals may be limited. A study in France perceived that only 17 of 984 (1.7%) medicines launched were real advances in pharmacotherapy studied during the period of 2001 to 2010 [6,7]. Unfortunately, the intense marketing practices to health professionals and the public by manufacturers generate undue expectations and induce demand for innovations if not critically balanced in technique-oriented healthcare facilities [8][9][10][11]. This is not in the best interest of physicians, patients or health authorities.Brazil is a middle-income country that in July 2013 had an estimated population size of 200.1 million inhabitants [12]. The Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude -SUS) was initiated in 1990 and adopts comprehensive universal care as a principle. Over the years, a trend to establish parallel subsystems (reimbursed private ...

Since the first recorded case of COVID-19 on February 26, 2020, Brazil has seen an exponential growth in the number of cases and deaths. The national testing approach has been insufficient to correctly use this tool in the support of containing the epidemic in the country. In this communication, we discuss efforts and challenges to scale-up COVID-19 testing at the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS). This communication presents the initial results of the research project created to investigate the political, industrial, technological, and regulatory aspects that may affect the diagnostic and testing capacity for COVID-19 in Brazil. The paper draws on the review of academic literature, media publication, and collection of public data on tests purchase and regulation. It enlists initiatives to enhance PCR testing, national production and development of technologies, as well as regulatory measures to fast-track new tests. Our analysis indicates some points of reflection. Firstly, the lack of a consistent national strategy to fight COVID-19 exarcebated supply problems of diagnostic components. If the country was eventually able to circumvent this situation, it still faces a more structural dependency on the importation of diagnostic components. Secondly, the discontinued funding and distribution of tests may have implied health policy fragmentation and the growing importance of local governments and non-state actors to fighting the epidemics within SUS. Finally, initiatives established since the second semester of 2020 have expanded the testing capacity at SUS. However, it has not been sufficient to control the progress of the epidemic in the country.

(18) Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET and PET-CT are highly accurate diagnostics tools for DTC recurrence in patients who present a negative whole-body scintigraphy and could impact the clinical and therapeutic management of DTC.