Werther Souza Sales

Candida colonization in intensive care unit patients' urine

The objective of this study was to identify possible predisposing factors for candiduria in intensive care unit (ICU) patients from Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil, during one year. Urine samples from 153 ICU patients were obtained by catheterization on admission day and every seven days. Data such as sex, age, antifungal therapy, and variables as antibiotics, underlying diseases or comorbid conditions and stay in the hospital, were collected from patients who had at least one urine culture that yielded > 10(3) yeast colonies/ml. Candiduria was recovered in 68 patients and the commonest predisposing factors were antibiotic therapy (100%) and indwelling urinary catheter (92.6%). The percentage of Candida spp. isolation increased during the extended periods in which patients remained in the ICU. C. albicans was isolated in 69.1%, and the other species non-albicans as C. glabrata, C. kefyr, C. parapsilosis, C. famata, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, and C. tropicalis were isolated in lower percentage. The high frequency of candiduria and the possible predisposing factors found in ICU patients show that candiduria surveillance should be performed to help reducing nosocomial infections.

Oclusão arterial aguda de membros inferiores por êmbolo tumoral em paciente com neoplasia de pulmão

Peripheral arterial embolism (PAE) caused by malignant tumors is a rare manifestation of cancer. PAE may originate from several sites, including heart, aorta, and pulmonary veins. Such veins are a major source of thrombotic embolism or tumors with vascular erosion. Although uncommon, lung cancer should be regarded as a source of emboli in the extremities, especially when there is neoplastic invasion of the pulmonary veins. We report on a case of a male patient who underwent pneumonectomy for lung cancer who developed acute arterial occlusion of the lower extremities caused by saddle tumor embolus.

Bilateral post-arterial puncture pseudoaneurysm in a patient with amyloidosis

A amiloidose consiste em um deposito de proteinas fibrilares insoluveis em tecidos e orgaos, causando disfuncao nos mesmos, e pode contribuir, associada a outros fatores, para formacao de complicacoes, como pseudoaneurisma em locais de puncao arterial. O pseudoaneurisma consiste de uma complicacao cada vez mais frequente e, por isso, a importância de se identificarem seus fatores de risco, para que, entao, sua incidencia possa ser minimizada.