Sérgio Setúbal

Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of the severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis.

Four cases of severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis (SPFL) are described. In all four of these blood culture proven cases, there was severe pulmonary injury characterized by alveolar hemorrhage and acute respiratory failure. Three patients died in less than 48 hours after onset of the first respiratory signs. Leptospiral antigen detection in lung tissues was positive by immunoperoxidase in all three of these cases, suggesting that the microorganism exerts a local direct destructive action. Patients with SPFL should be carefully monitored, as the abrupt onset of severe alveolar hemorrhage can lead to respiratory insufficiency and death. The authors emphasize the importance of radiological findings and blood gas analysis for prompt clinical diagnosis, and suggest that corticosteroids, associated with antibiotics, early respiratory support, and platelet transfusions are useful as an attempt to prevent further development of SPFL.

Clinical and Imaging Manifestations of Hemorrhagic Pulmonary Leptospirosis: A State-of-the-Art Review

Leptospirosis, a spirochetal zoonosis, is frequently unrecognized due to its manifestation as an undifferentiated fever. It is an emerging infectious disease that has changed from an occupational disease of veterinarians, farmers, butchers, and other animal handlers to a cause of epidemics in poor and decayed urban communities in developing countries. Humans are infected when mucous membranes or abraded skin come into direct contact with the urine of infected animals, especially rats and dogs. Mortality from severe leptospirosis is high, even when optimal treatment is provided. The diagnosis of leptospirosis is based on clinical findings, history of direct or indirect exposure to infected animals in endemic areas, and positive serological tests. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with febrile illnesses associated with pneumonitis and respiratory failure, especially when hemoptysis is present. Severe pulmonary involvement in leptospirosis consists primarily of hemorrhagic pneumonitis. In advanced cases, adult respiratory distress syndrome and massive pulmonary hemorrhage may occur. Chest radiographs show bilateral alveolar infiltrates and/or resemble viral pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, tuberculosis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and other causes of pulmonary hemorrhage such as Goodpasture syndrome. High-resolution computed tomography scans may show nodular infiltrates, areas of consolidation, ground-glass attenuation, and crazy-paving patterns. Bronchoalveolar lavage and autopsy studies have suggested that ground-glass opacities and air-space consolidations are secondary to pulmonary hemorrhage. Although not specific, the presence of these computed tomography findings in a febrile patient with an appropriate history should suggest a diagnosis of leptospirosis.

Prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular risk in patients with HIV/AIDS in Porto Alegre, Brazil

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to discover the prevalence of overweight, obesity and cardiovascular risk in our HIV/AIDS outpatients according to sex, antiretroviral therapy and other variables. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Patients underwent an anthropometric assessment. Body mass index and waist circumference were used to classify their nutritional status and their cardiovascular risk. RESULTS The majority of the 345 patients (58.8%) were males. Obesity was detected in 8.3% of them; 34.2% were overweight, and 5.2% malnourished. Near half of them (51.3%) had some cardiovascular risk, with increased risk in 24.6% of them, and substantially increased risk in 26.7% of them. CONCLUSIONS Overweight and obesity were highly prevalent. Women were more frequently obese (OR = 3.53; IC 95%, 1.47 < OR < 8.69), and their cardiovascular risk was often higher (OR = 6.97; IC 95%, 4.16 < OR < 11.76). The prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular risk did not change according to antiretroviral therapy or other variables.

Profile of circulating levels of IL-1Ra, CXCL10/IP-10, CCL4/MIP-1β and CCL2/MCP-1 in dengue fever and parvovirosis

Dengue virus (DENV) and parvovirus B19 (B19V) infections are acute exanthematic febrile illnesses that are not easily differentiated on clinical grounds and affect the paediatric population. Patients with these acute exanthematic diseases were studied. Fever was more frequent in DENV than in B19V-infected patients. Arthritis/arthralgias with DENV infection were shown to be significantly more frequent in adults than in children. The circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist (Ra), CXCL10/inducible protein-10 (IP-10), CCL4/macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta and CCL2/monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) were determined by multiplex immunoassay in serum samples obtained from B19V (37) and DENV-infected (36) patients and from healthy individuals (7). Forward stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that circulating CXCL10/IP-10 tends to be associated with DENV infection and that IL-1Ra was significantly associated with DENV infection. Similar analysis showed that circulating CCL2/MCP-1 tends to be associated with B19V infection. In dengue fever, increased circulating IL-1Ra may exert antipyretic actions in an effort to counteract the already increased concentrations of IL-1β, while CXCL10/IP-10 was confirmed as a strong pro-inflammatory marker. Recruitment of monocytes/macrophages and upregulation of the humoral immune response by CCL2/MCP-1 by B19V may be involved in the persistence of the infection. Children with B19V or DENV infections had levels of these cytokines similar to those of adult patients.

Toxoplasma gondii antibody profile in HIV-1-infected and uninfected pregnant women and the impact on congenital toxoplasmosis diagnosis in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

OBJECTIVE Compare the anti-T. gondii IgG titer between HIV-1 infected and non HIV-1 infected pregnant women and report three cases of congenital toxoplasmosis resulting from reactivation of infection during pregnancy of HIV-1 infected women. METHODS This study was conducted among 2,270 pregnant women with chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection (absence of IgM and presence of IgG), including 82 HIV-1 infected and 2,188 non-infected women. RESULTS The average anti-T. gondii IgG titer was 127 for the 2,188 non-HIV-1 infected women, and 227 for the 82 HIV-1-infected women (p = 0,007). These results suggested that higher anti-T. gondii IgG titers in HIV-1-infected pregnant women may not be indicative of an elevated risk for fetal infection. In this study three cases of congenital toxoplasmosis that resulted from infection reactivation during pregnancy of HIV-1-infected women were manifested by fetal death, symptomatic infection, and infant without symptoms, respectively. In two of these women, a ten-fold increase in IgG levels above used cutoff was observed (2,320 UI/mL and 3,613 UI/mL, respectively). In the third pregnant women anti-T. gondii IgG titers during pregnancy did not rise despite the occurrence of congenital toxoplasmosis (204; 198; 172 UI/mL). CONCLUSIONS Congenital toxoplasmosis resulting reactivation of infection during pregnancy in the studied group leads us to believe that it is a public health problem, especially in our population, in which seroprevalence of T. gondii infections is high. These findings also suggest that special attention is necessary during pregnancy, because the serologic diagnosis may not be indicative of toxoplasmosis reactivation.

High prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus colonization among healthy children attending public daycare centers in informal settlements in a large urban center in Brazil

BackgroundIn the past decade methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become increasingly prevalent in community settings. Attending a daycare center (DCC) is a known risk factor for colonization with MRSA. Brazil operates free, public DCCs for low-income families, some of which are located in census tracts defined by the Brazilian Census Bureau as informal settlements (aglomerados subnormais, AGSN). Physical and demographic characteristics of AGSNs suggest that S. aureus colonization prevalence would be higher, but little is known about the prevalence of MRSA in these settings.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to assess risk factors for S. aureus and MRSA colonization among children attending DCCs located in AGSN vs non-AGSN. Nasal swabs were collected from children aged three months to six years in 23 public DCCs in Niterói, Brazil between August 2011 and October 2012.ResultsOf 500 children enrolled in the study, 240 (48%) were colonized with S. aureus and 31 (6.2%) were colonized with MRSA. Children attending DCCs in AGSNs were 2.32 times more likely to be colonized with S. aureus (95% CI: 1.32, 4.08), and 3.27 times more likely to be colonized with MRSA than children attending non-AGSN DCCs (95% CI: 1.52, 7.01), adjusted for confounding variables.ConclusionS. aureus and MRSA colonization prevalence among children attending DCCs in informal settlement census tracts was higher than previously reported in healthy pre-school children in Latin America. Our data suggest that transmission may occur more frequently in DCCs rather than at home, highlighting the importance of DCCs in AGSNs as potential MRSA reservoirs. This finding underscores the importance of local epidemiologic surveillance in vulnerable AGSN communities.

Seroepidemiological study of human parvovirus B19 among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in a medium-sized city in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Parvovirus B19 (B-19) may cause chronic anaemia in immunosuppressed patients, including those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We studied single serum samples from 261 consecutive HIV-infected patients using an enzyme immunoassay to detect IgG antibodies to B-19. The seroprevalence of B-19-IgG was 62.8%. The differences in seroprevalence across gender, age, educational categories, year of collection of the serum samples, clinical and antiretroviral therapy characteristics, CD4+ count, CD4+ and CD8+ percentage and CD4+/CD8+ ratios were neither substantial nor statistically significant. There was a non-significant, inverse association between B-19 seropositivity and plasma HIV load and haemoglobin level. Our results indicated that 37.1% of patients might be susceptible to B-19 infection and remained at risk for being infected, mainly during epidemic periods. As B-19 infection can be treated with immune globulin preparations, it may be included in the diagnostic approach toward chronic anaemia in HIV-infected patients.

Assessment of the performance of a definition of a suspected measles case: implications for measles surveillance

OBJECTIVE To assess the performance, in Brazil, of the definition of a suspected measles case among patients with rash diseases that has been adopted in Brazil and many other countries. METHODS From January 1994 to December 2003, patients with acute rash were seen at two large primary health care units and a public general hospital in Niterói, a city in the metropolitan area of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data from clinical and serologic assessment were used to estimate sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the definition of a suspected measles case that has been adopted in Brazil, as well as other combinations of signs and symptoms; serologic status was taken as the reference. Using enzyme immunoassay, serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies against measles virus. RESULTS A total of 1,221 patients with an illness characterized by different combinations of rash with other signs and symptoms were studied. The suspected case definition that has been adopted in Brazil (rash, fever, and at least one of the following: cough, coryza, or conjunctivitis) had an overall sensitivity of 100%, and a specificity of 58.7%. Confirmed measles cases were 2.4 times as likely as were other rash diseases to have that combination of signs/symptoms. The suspected case definition adopted in Brazil had a 6% PPV and 100% NPV. The combination of all five signs and symptoms had the highest specificity, PPV, and likelihood ratio, for both children (< 15 years old) and adults (> or = 15 years). That was achieved at the expense of sensitivity, which dropped to 89%, but the NPV was still very high. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the suspected measles case definition adopted in Brazil is extremely sensitive for measles surveillance among patients with rash diseases. However, the high false-positive rates that were found may result in a substantial number of other rash diseases being misclassified as measles, leading to the misdirection of control measures and increases in their cost.

Occupational hepatitis C seroconversions in a Brazilian hospital

BACKGROUND There are six known cases of occupational human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroconversion in Brazil. However, there are neither published cases of occupational hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroconversion nor systematic studies of blood and body fluid exposures (BBFE) that could estimate the risk of HCV or HIV occupational seroconversion in Brazil. AIMS To describe the outcomes of BBFEs in a Brazilian hospital over 12 years and 2 months. METHODS Statistical analysis of a computerized database of exposure events recorded on printed forms. Incidence rates (IR) were calculated as the number of BBFE per 100 full-time equivalent worker-years. RESULTS There were 1457 BBFE, 87% being percutaneous and 561 (38%) recurring in health care workers (HCWs) who reported having previous exposures. The highest IRs occurred in laboratory technicians (9.7), medical students (9.5), cleaning staff (9.5) and nursing aids (9.2). The IR in temporary employees was 13.0. Two HCWs, a nursing aid and a surgeon, seroconverted to hepatitis C after HCV exposures involving 13 G catheter needles. The risk of acquiring a HCV infection was 2 in 38 percutaneous HCV exposures, i.e. 5% (95% CI: 0.89-16.3). There were no seroconversions to HIV despite 80 percutaneous HIV exposures. CONCLUSIONS HCV has a higher potential for occupational transmission than HIV. Measures to reduce the risks of BBFE and occupational transmission of blood-borne viral infections should be improved in Brazil.

Human parvovirus B19 infection in HIV-positive patients

Parvovirus B19 infects predominantly erythroid cells, leading to transient inhibition of erythropoiesis. Immunocompromised patients may be unable to produce neutralizing antibodies and may develop severe chronic anemia. Epidemiological studies done on Niterói population showed that B19 infection occurs periodically in late spring and summer. We report a study from 55 HIV infected patients attending an infectious diseases outpatient clinic in this city during a 5-month period in which B19 circulation was well documented. All patients were under anti-retroviral therapy. No anti-B19 IgM was found, but a high prevalence of IgG anti-B19 (91%) was observed. In six patients, B19 DNA was found by dot-blot hybridization techniques, but this was not confirmed by PCR. None of these 6 patients manifested anemia and only one had CD4 cell count below 200 x 10(7)/L. We conclude that persistent infection causing anemia is an infrequent finding in our HIV positive patients under drug therapy.