BackgroundDengue is an acute febrile illness caused by an arbovirus that is endemic in more than 100 countries. Early diagnosis and adequate management are critical to reduce mortality. This study aims to identify clinical and hematological features that could be useful to discriminate dengue from other febrile illnesses (OFI) up to the third day of disease.MethodsWe conducted a sectional diagnostic study with patients aged 12 years or older who reported fever lasting up to three days, without any evident focus of infection, attending an outpatient clinic in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between the years 2005 and 2008. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify symptoms, physical signs, and hematological features valid for dengue diagnosis. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to define the best cut-off and to compare the accuracy of generated models with the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for probable dengue.ResultsBased on serological tests and virus genome detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 69 patients were classified as dengue and 73 as non-dengue. Among clinical features, conjunctival redness and history of rash were independent predictors of dengue infection. A model including clinical and laboratory features (conjunctival redness and leukocyte counts) achieved a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 71% and showed greater accuracy than the WHO criteria for probable dengue.ConclusionsWe constructed a predictive model for early dengue diagnosis that was moderately accurate and performed better than the current WHO criteria for suspected dengue. Validation of this model in larger samples and in other sites should be attempted before it can be applied in endemic areas.

Substance use in this group of medical students is not widespread compared to rates reported for developed countries. Preventive efforts should focus on alcohol and cannabis use by medical students.

O artigo apresenta uma reflexão sobre a experiência de construção coletiva do mapa de risco em um hospital público, no município do Rio de Janeiro, fundamentada nos conceitos de biossegurança, qualidade total e vigilância em saúde do trabalhador. Partiu da etapa de sensibilização dos trabalhadores e gestores do hospital, da identificação dos riscos, da elaboração do mapa, até a discussão sobre as medidas preventivas e a apresentação dos resultados pelos trabalhadores em centro de estudos. A elaboração do mapa de risco serviu como um processo educativo, que possibilitou socializar conceitos da área de saúde do trabalhador, integrar os trabalhadores, sistematizar o processo de trabalho e refletir sobre a forma de organização do trabalho, gerando desdobramentos práticos sob o ponto de vista da intervenção no ambiente de trabalho.

BackgroundHeart disease progression occurs in 30% of patients with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Supplementation with selenium (Se) in animal model of T. cruzi infection produced promising results. There is evidence that patients with Chagas heart disease have lower Se levels than healthy individuals and patients with T. cruzi infection without of cardiac disease. The aim of this investigation is to estimate the effect of Se treatment on prevention of heart disease progression in patients with chagasic cardiopathy.MethodsThe Selenium Treatment and Chagasic Cardiopathy trial is a superiority, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. The eligibility criteria are as follows: (1) a Chagas disease diagnosis confirmed by serology; (2) segmental, mild or moderate global left ventricular systolic dysfunction; and (3) age between 18 and 65 years. The exclusion criteria are as follows: (1) pregnancy, (2) diabetes mellitus, (3) tobacco use, (4) alcohol abuse, (5) evidence of nonchagasic heart disease, (6) depression, (7) dysphagia with evidence of food residues in the esophagus, (8) dysphagia with weight loss higher than 15% of usual weight in the last four months and/or (9) conditions that may result in low protocol adherence. The intervention will be 100 μg of sodium selenite once daily for 365 consecutive days compared to placebo. The following are the primary outcomes to be measured: (1) the trajectories of the left ventricular ejection fraction in the follow-up period; (2) reduction of heart disease progression rates, with progression defined as a 10% decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction; and (3) rate of hospital admissions attributable to dysrhythmia, heart failure or stroke due to Chagas disease. One hundred thirty patients will be randomly allocated into either the intervention or placebo group at a ratio of 1:1. The sequence allocation concealment and blinding were planned to be conducted with the strategy of numbered boxes. Both patients and health-care providers will remain blinded to the intervention groups during the 5 years of follow-up.DiscussionIf Se treatment reduces the progression of Chagas cardiopathy, the inclusion of this micronutrient in the daily diet can improve the therapeutic regimen for this neglected tropical disease at low cost.Trial registrationClinical Trials.gov ID: NCT00875173 (registered 20 October 20 2008).

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ResumoObjetivo: Identificar e rever os instrumentos que explorem a motivação como fator capaz de predizer o resultado de tratamento da dependência de substâncias psicoativas e que vêm sendo utilizados na última década. AbstractObjective: To identify and review tools used in specialized services to explore aspectos of motivation as a predictive factor of treatment outcome in drug-abusing patients. Method: Comprehensive literature review of scales used to assess the degree of motivation. Result: Four scales to evaluate stages of behavioural change related to motivation were identified and described, together with their associated psychometric properties -Rhode Island Change Assessment Questionnaire (URICA), Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eargness Scale (SOCRATES), Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ), Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ); The first two have Portuguese validated versions. Conclusion: Motivacional theory has been regularly studied in the last decade, allowing the definition of pragmatic evaluation parameters in scales with validity and reliabilities that vary from good to excellent.

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