EDITORIAL The need for transparency in the treatment of spinal diseases […]

EDITORIAL Clinical research in Brazil […]

Brazil has been presenting in the last years a scientific production well-recognized in the international scenario, in several areas of knowledge, according to the impact of their publications in important events and especially in indexed journals of wide circulation. On the other hand, the country does not seem to be in the same direction regarding to the technological production and wealth creation from the established scientific development, and particularly from the applied research. The present paper covers such issue and […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the presence of depression and anxiety symptoms in survivors of the Haiti earthquake who were assisted by a healthcare team from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, and to evaluate the impact that losing a family member during this catastrophe could have on the development of these symptoms. METHODS: Forty survivors of the Haiti earthquake who were assisted by the healthcare team between February and March of 2010 were included in this study. All subjects underwent a semi-structured […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether Brazilian articles on cancer are published in journals with an impact factor and/or repercussion (measured by the number of citations) inferior to those that come from foreign organizations. METHODS: A search was carried out in PubMed for the MeSH term “neoplasm” with the limits clinical trial, affiliation of the Brazilian author(s), and interval from July 1st, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Selected for matching were non-Brazilian related articles published from three months prior to three months […]

OBJECTIVE: To propose a grading system for early hepatic graft dysfunction. METHODS: A retrospective study from a single transplant center. Recipients of liver transplants from deceased donors, transplanted under the MELD system were included. Early graft dysfunction was defined by Olthoff criteria. Multiple cut-off points of post-transplant laboratory tests were used to create a grading system for early graft dysfunction. The primary outcome was 6-months grafts survival. RESULTS: The peak of aminotransferases during the first postoperative week correlated with graft […]

OBJECTIVE: To define the nutritional profile of institutionalized elderly individuals. METHODS: Comparative correlation and quantitative field study conducted in a Long-Stay Institution in Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil, between December 2010 and January 2012. To define nutritional diagnosis, data were collected from patient files, such as body mass index, circumferences, triceps skinfold, muscle area of the arm, thickness of the adductor pollicis, handgrip strength, and biochemical test results. The anthropometric variables were presented as mean, standard deviation, and percentages, and were […]

OBJECTIVE: To verify acceptance of hospital diets as to the nutritional status among patients admitted to the Oncology/Hematology Unit of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted among 100 patients, aged >18 years, of both genders. Body mass index and subjective global nutritional evaluation by patients were used to detect the nutritional status. The rest-ingestion index was used to evaluate diet acceptance, and the reasons for non-acceptance were identified by means of a questionnaire. Data were expressed in […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of appetite suppressant use among health sciences students in Southern Brazil. METHODS: Undergraduate students (n=300) from seven health science undergraduate courses of the Universidade de Caxias do Sul completed a questionnaire about the use of substances to suppress appetite. RESULTS: A significant percentage (15%; n=45) of research participants used appetite suppressants at least once in their lives. The most commonly used substances were sympathomimetic stimulant drugs (5%), including amfepramone (3.3%) and fenproporex (1.7%). The lifetime […]

OBJECTIVES: To describe the immunization coverage of the influenza vaccine for pregnant women, and factors associated to vaccination compliance. METHODS: This is a prospective, descriptive study including 300 women who had just given birth at Hospital and Maternity Santa Joana in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire applied by a trained evaluator during October 2010. RESULTS: The mean age of mothers was 30.5 years; 231 (77%) were married; 164 (54.7%) were primigravidas; 192 (64%) had higher […]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the endometrial alterations related to embolization of uterine arteries for the treatment of symptomatic uterine leiomyomatosis (pelvic pain and/or uterine bleeding) by means of high-field (3-Tesla) magnetic resonance. METHODS: This is a longitudinal and prospective study that included 94 patients with a clinical and imaging diagnosis of symptomatic uterine leiomyomatosis, all of them treated by embolization of the uterine arteries. The patients were submitted to evaluations by high-field magnetic resonance of the pelvis before and 6 months […]

OBJECTIVE: To verify and evaluate the mother-child bond and mental health of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: A total of 74 mothers of children aged up to 7 years participated. Data collection was made through interviews. Evaluation tools were Mother-Child Bonding Evaluation Protocol and Self-Report Questionnaire. We used statistical analysis χ² and Student-t tests. A 5%-level of rejection of the null hypothesis was set. RESULTS: There were no significant results between the average maternal ages, between bond and […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate prevalence of invasive candidiasis in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and to evaluate oral diseases and Candida spp. colonization in low birth weight preterm newborns. METHODS: A descriptive epidemiological study performed in two stages. First, prevalence of candidiasis was analyzed in a database of 295 preterm patients admitted to hospital for over 10 days and birth weight less than 2,000g. In the second stage, oral changes and Candida spp. colonization were assessed in 65 patients weighing less […]

OBJECTIVE: To standardize an experimental model of chronic monoarthritis induced by complete Freund’s adjuvant appropriate for the analysis of the effect of walking on nociception and on joint edema. METHODS: The following factors were evaluated as to monoarthritis induction: route and site of administration, number and interval of inoculations, Mycobacterium species, and animal gender. Wistar male and female rats (200 to 250g) received two injections of complete Freund’s adjuvant containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (1.0mg/mL; 50µL) or Mycobacterium butyricum (0.5mg/mL; 50µL) intra-articularly […]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of alcoholic ingestion and neurostimulation on the muscle glycogen reserve, body weight, blood sugar, and weight of the soleus muscle. METHODS: Twenty male rats were distributed into four experimental groups (n=5), namely, Control, Ethanol, Electrostimulated, and Ethanol+Electrostimulated. The study lasted for 22 days. The groups submitted to the use of ethanol received the substance diluted in water, which was consumed during the entire experimental period. The groups that received electrostimulation, undersedationfor the procedure, had their […]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the concentration of nitrate/nitrite in the cerebrospinal fluid and in the dorsal horn interstice of the L6-S1 spinal cord boundary in rats with or without cystitis induced by cyclophosphamide. METHODS: All experiments were conducted using Wistar female rats. A microdialysis probe was implanted in the subarachnoid space or in the spinal cord tissue at the L6-S1 segments (confirmed histologically). Two days later, the microdialysis probe was perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid, containing or not NG-monomethyl-L-arginine. Samples were […]

OBJECTIVE: To show the use of Linear Programming to evaluate the performance of Oral Health in Primary Care. METHODS: This study used data from 19 municipalities of Santa Catarina city that participated of the state evaluation in 2009 and have more than 50,000 habitants. A total of 40 indicators were evaluated, calculated using the Microsoft Excel 2007, and converted to the interval [0, 1] in ascending order (one indicating the best situation and zero indicating the worst situation). Applying the […]

OBJECTIVE: To compare the estimated cost of treatment of spinal disorders to those of this treatment in a specialized center. METHODS: An evaluation of average treatment costs of 399 patients referred by a Health Insurance Company for evaluation and treatment at the Spine Treatment Reference Center of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. All patients presented with an indication for surgical treatment before being referred for assessment. Of the total number of patients referred, only 54 underwent surgical treatment and 112 received […]

Tubal sterilization is the definitive procedure most often used worldwide to control fecundity. Laparoscopic ligature is safe, but invasive and with possible surgical and anesthetic risks. The hysteroscopic approach enables tubal occlusion at outpatient’s setting without the need of incisions or anesthesia. A microdevice (Essure®) is inserted directly into the tubes and its polyethelene fibers cause obstruction of tubes in about three months. During this period, it is recommended that patients continue the use of a temporary birth control method. […]

Lipoblastoma and lipoblastomatosis are rare benign soft-tissue tumoral lesions resembling fetal adipose tissue. A total of 16 cases of lipoblastoma of the neck were reported in the literature, and only 3 were described in the posterior side of the neck. Hibernoma is a rare benign adipose tumor composed of brown fat cells and only about ten cases occurring in the cervical area have been reported. We reported two rare cases of adipose tissue tumors. The first case was a male […]