Alcione Miranda dos Santos

Treinamento muscular inspiratório e exercícios respiratórios em crianças asmáticas

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects that inspiratory muscle training (IMT) and respiratory exercises have on muscle strength, peak expiratory flow (PEF) and severity variables in children with asthma. METHODS This was a randomized analytical study involving 50 children with asthma allocated to one of two groups: an IMT group, comprising 25 children submitted to IMT via an asthma education and treatment program; and a control group, comprising 25 children who were submitted only to monthly medical visits and education on asthma. The IMT was performed using a pressure threshold load of 40% of maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP). The results were evaluated using analysis of variance, the chi-square test and Fishers exact test, values of p > 0.05 being considered significant. RESULTS In the comparative analysis, pre- and post-intervention values of MIP, maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) and PEF increased significantly in the IMT group: MIP from -;48.32 +/- 5.706 to -;109.92 +/- 18.041 (p < 0.0001); MEP from 50.64 +/- 6.55 to 82.04 +/- 17.006 (p < 0.0001); and PEF from 173.6 +/- 50.817 to 312 +/- 54.848 (p < 0.0001). In the control group, however, there were no significant differences between the two time points in terms of MIP or MEP, although PEF increased from 188 +/- 43.97 to 208.80 +/- 44.283 (p < 0.0001). There was a significant improvement in the severity variables in the IMT group (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Programs involving IMT and respiratory exercises can increase mechanical efficiency of the respiratory muscles, as well as improving PEF and severity variables.

Prevalência da hipertensão arterial em adultos e fatores associados em São Luís - MA

BACKGROUND Little is known about the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and its risk factors in the less developed regions of Brazil. OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of arterial hypertension and its associated factors in the population > 18 years in São Luís, state of Maranhão according to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC 7) criteria. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in São Luís, MA, from February to March 2003, with 835 individuals >18 years who completed a structured household questionnaire. Measurements of arterial pressure (AP), weight, height and waist circumference were taken, and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease were assessed. The Poisson regression method was used for the identification of factors associated with AH, with an estimate of the prevalence ratio (PR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval. RESULTS Age varied from 18 and 94 years (mean age was 39.4 years), 293 (35.1%) individuals were normotensive and 313 (37.5%) were pre-hypertensive. The AH prevalence was 27.4% (95% CI--24.4% to 30.6%), and it was higher among men (32.1%) than among women (24.2%). In the adjusted analysis, the following remained independently associated with AH: male gender (PR 1.52, 95% CI, 1.25-1.84), age > or = 30 years, with PR=6.65, 95% CI, 4.40-10.05 for > or = 60 years of age, overweight (PR 2.09 95% CI 1.64-2.68), obesity (PR 2.68, 95% CI, 2.03-3.53) and diabetes (PR 1.56, 95% CI, 1.24-1.97). CONCLUSION These findings suggest the need to control overweight, obesity and diabetes, especially among women and individuals > or = 30 years of age in order to reduce the prevalence of arterial hypertension.

Carga de trabalho de profissionais da saúde e eventos adversos durante ventilação mecânica em unidades de terapia intensiva neonatal

Objective:To investigate a possible association between the intensity of staff workload and intermediate adverse events, such as accidental extubation, obstruction of the endotracheal tube, and accidental disconnection of the ventilator circuit, during neonatal mechanical ventilation in high-risk neonatal units. Method:This prospective cohort study analyzed data of 543 newborns from public neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the city of Sao Luis, state of Maranhao, Northeastern Brazil, for 6 months, during which 136 newborns were submitted to mechanical ventilation in 1,108 shifts and were observed a total of 4,554 times. Results: Adverse events occurred 117 times during this period. The associations between workload and adverse events were analyzed by means of generalized estimating equations. The adjustment variables were: birth weight, gender, maternity unit, Clinical Risk Index for Babies score, and care demand, the latter measured by the Northern Neonatal Network Scale. The larger the number of newborns classified by care demand (NCCD) per nurse and nursing technician, the more likely the occurrence of intermediate adverse events linked to mechanical ventilation. A number of NCCD > 22 per nurse (relative risk [RR] = 2.86) and > 4.8 per auxiliary nurse (RR = 3.41) was associated with a higher prevalence of intermediate adverse events. Conclusions: The workload of NICU professionals seems to interfere with the intermediate results of neonatal care and thus should be taken into consideration when evaluating NICU outcomesOBJECTIVE To investigate a possible association between the intensity of staff workload and intermediate adverse events, such as accidental extubation, obstruction of the endotracheal tube, and accidental disconnection of the ventilator circuit, during neonatal mechanical ventilation in high-risk neonatal units. METHOD This prospective cohort study analyzed data of 543 newborns from public neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the city of São Luís, state of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil, for 6 months, during which 136 newborns were submitted to mechanical ventilation in 1,108 shifts and were observed a total of 4,554 times. RESULTS Adverse events occurred 117 times during this period. The associations between workload and adverse events were analyzed by means of generalized estimating equations. The adjustment variables were: birth weight, gender, maternity unit, Clinical Risk Index for Babies score, and care demand, the latter measured by the Northern Neonatal Network Scale. The larger the number of newborns classified by care demand (NCCD) per nurse and nursing technician, the more likely the occurrence of intermediate adverse events linked to mechanical ventilation. A number of NCCD > 22 per nurse (relative risk [RR] = 2.86) and > 4.8 per auxiliary nurse (RR = 3.41) was associated with a higher prevalence of intermediate adverse events. CONCLUSIONS The workload of NICU professionals seems to interfere with the intermediate results of neonatal care and thus should be taken into consideration when evaluating NICU outcomes.

O escore de risco ajustado para cirurgia em cardiopatias congênitas (RACHS-1) pode ser aplicado em nosso meio?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the RACHS-1 (Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery) as a predictor of surgical mortality in a pediatric population of a public hospital of the Northeast of Brazil. METHODS: From June 2001 through June 2004, 145 patients undergone surgical treatment of CHD in our institution of whom 62% were female, and the mean age was 5.1 years. The RACHS-1 was used to classify the surgical procedures into categories of risk 1 to 6, and logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors related to surgical death. RESULTS: Age, type of CHD, pulmonary flow, surgical procedure, pump time and cross clamp time were identified as a risk factor for postoperative mortality (p<0.001). There was a linear correlation between the categories of the RACHS-1 and the mortality rate; however, the observed mortality was greater than the predicted figures by that scoring system. CONCLUSION: Although the RACHS-1 is easily applicable, it can not be applicable in our scenario because it takes into account only the surgical procedure as a categorized variable, not considering others factors presented in our scenario that could interfere in the final surgical result.OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the RACHS-1 (Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery) as a predictor of surgical mortality in a pediatric population of a public hospital of the Northeast of Brazil. METHODS From June 2001 through June 2004, 145 patients undergone surgical treatment of CHD in our institution of whom 62% were female, and the mean age was 5.1 years. The RACHS-1 was used to classify the surgical procedures into categories of risk 1 to 6, and logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors related to surgical death. RESULTS Age, type of CHD, pulmonary flow, surgical procedure, pump time and cross clamp time were identified as a risk factor for postoperative mortality (p<0.001). There was a linear correlation between the categories of the RACHS-1 and the mortality rate; however, the observed mortality was greater than the predicted figures by that scoring system. CONCLUSION Although the RACHS-1 is easily applicable, it can not be applicable in our scenario because it takes into account only the surgical procedure as a categorized variable, not considering others factors presented in our scenario that could interfere in the final surgical result.

Aspiração de corpo estranho por menores de 15 anos: experiência de um centro de referência do Brasil

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical, radiological and endoscopic characteristics of foreign body aspiration among individuals under the age of 15 treated at a referral center in the city of São Luís, Brazil. METHODS This was a descriptive study using data from the medical charts of patients treated for foreign body aspiration at the Hospital Universitário Materno Infantil between 1995 and 2005. We investigated 72 confirmed cases of foreign body aspiration, evaluating the place of residence, as well as biological, clinical, radiological and endoscopic variables. We used the chi-square test to identify statistically significant differences in frequency among the variables studied. RESULTS The majority of the patients were from outlying areas (55.6%). The following variables presented the highest frequencies: 0-3 year age bracket (81.9%); male gender (63.9%); evolution > 24 h (66.7%); hypotransparency on chest X-ray (57.7%); foreign body in the right lung (41.2%) or in the larynx (20.5%); organic nature of the foreign body (83.3%); complication in the form of localized inflammation (59.4%); glottal edema as an endoscopic complication (47.6%); and seeds (46.6%), fishbone (28.3%) or plastics (25.5%) as the type of foreign body. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS Preventive care should be a priority for male children under the age of 3 living in outlying areas. Such children should not be given access to substances that can be aspirated, including certain foodstuffs. Simple and easily accessible radiological tests have been underused, which jeopardizes the quality of the initial treatment.

Neural Networks: An Application for Predicting Smear Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis (SNPT) accounts for 30% of pulmonary tuberculosis (PT) cases reported yearly. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of SNPT could provide lower morbidity and mortality, and case detection at a less contagious status. The main objective of this work is to evaluate a prediction model for diagnosis of SNPT, useful for outpatients who are attended in settings with limited resources. The data used for developing the proposed models werecomprised of 136 patients from health care units. They were referred to the University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from March 2001 to September 2002, with clinical-radiological suspicion of SNPT. Only symptoms and physical signs were used for constructing the neural network (NN) modelling, which was able to correctly classify 77% of patients from a test sample. The achievements of the NN model suggest that mathematical modelling, developed for classifying SNPT cases could be a useful tool for optimizing application of more expensive tests, and to avoid costs of unnecessary anti-PT treatment. In addition, the main features extracted by the neural model are shown to agree with current analysis from experts in the field.

Cystatin C, kidney function, and cardiovascular risk factors in primary hypertension*

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical usefulness of serum cystatin C (Scys) and cystatin C-based equations for the screening of chronic kidney disease in primary hypertensive patients, and correlate these markers with risk factors for cardiovascular disease. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in 199 middle-aged adults at a basic health unit. Kidney function assessment included measurements of serum creatinine (Scr) and Scys levels, 24-hour microalbuminuria (MA), as well as glomerular filtration rate (GFR) through Larsson and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equations. Bland- Altman plot analysis was used to calculate the agreement between equations. RESULTS High levels of Scys were found in 22% of the patients, even with normal values of GFR estimated by MDRD study equation. Systolic blood pressure and MA correlated better with Scys than Scr, but there was no correlation between Scys and diastolic blood pressure. Gender, age > 60 years, MA, and uric acid were significantly associated with high Scys levels. After multivariate analysis, only age > 60 yrs (RR = 6.4; p < 0.001) and male gender (RR = 3.0; p = 0.006) remained associated with high Scys levels. CONCLUSION Cystatin C can be used as a screening marker both for detecting mild declines of renal function and for preventing the risk of cardiovascular events in hypertensive subjects with presumably normal renal function.

Usando redes neurais artificiais e regressão logística na predição da Hepatite A

Este trabalho desenvolve um sistema para predicao da soroprevalencia da Hepatite A. Para isto, sao considerados os modelos de regressao de logistica e redes neurais artificiais. O desempenho de tais modelos e medido atraves da taxa de classificacao incorreta em uma amostra do municipio de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, que possui elevada prevalencia da doenca. Resultados mostram que o modelo neural, aplicado sobre a informacao relevante extraida do modelo de regressao logistica, apresenta um bom desempenho, alcancando uma eficiencia de classificacao geral acima de 88%.

Estimated Visceral Adipose Tissue, but Not Body Mass Index, Is Associated with Reductions in Glomerular Filtration Rate Based on Cystatin C in the Early Stages of Chronic Kidney Disease

Information on the association between obesity and initial phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is still limited, principally those regarding the influence of visceral adipose tissue. We investigated whether the visceral adipose tissue is more associated with reductions in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) than total and abdominal obesity in hypertensive individuals with stage 1-2 CKD. A cross-sectional study was implemented which involved 241 hypertensive patients undergoing treatment at a primary health care facility. GFR was estimated using equations based on creatinine and cystatin C levels. Explanatory variables included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and estimated visceral adipose tissue (eVAT). The mean age was 59.6 ± 9.2 years old and 75.9% were female. According to BMI, 28.2% of subjects were obese. Prevalence of increased WC and eVAT was 63.9% and 58.5%, respectively. Results from the assessment of GFR by BMI, WC, and eVAT categories showed that only women with increased eVAT (≥150 cm2) had a lower mean GFR by Larsson (P = 0.016), Levey 2 (P = 0.005), and Levey 3 (P = 0.008) equations. The same result was not observed when the MDRD equation was employed. No association was found between BMI, WC, eVAT, and GFR using only serum creatinine. In the early stages of CKD, increased eVAT in hypertensive women was associated with decreased GFR based on cystatin C.

Cintura hipertrigliceridêmica e risco cardiometabólico em mulheres hipertensas

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HW) and cardiometabolic risk factors in women with hypertension. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in 218 patients monitored by HiperDia (Enrollment and Monitoring Program for Hypertensive and Diabetic Individuals) in two health units in Sao Luis, MA, Brazil. The dependent variable was HW and the independent variables were sociodemographics, lifestyle, anthropometrics, and health problems. RESULTS: HW was present in 33% of the sample and was predominant in women aged > 60 years (56.4%), non-whites (81.7%), those with eight or fewer years of schooling (57.3%), and those belonging to socioeconomic class C (49%). Excess weight (68.8%) and hypercholesterolemia (68.8%) were observed. HW was associated with: smoking (PR: 2.08; p = 0.017), overweight (PR: 2.46; p = 0.010), obesity (PR: 4.13; p 100 mg/dL or being diabetic (PR: 1.86; p = 0.006). After adjustment, total cholesterol (PR = 1.78; p = 0.012), HDL-cholesterol (PR: 3.03; p 25 to 30 kg/m2 (PR = 3.61; p < 0.001) remained associated. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of HW and its association with altered lipid profile and excess body weight was observed. HW showed to be an important diagnostic tool for the monitoring of hypertensive women with metabolic risk, which is low cost, easily accessible, and useful in clinical practice, especially in primary health care in the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude - SUS).