Dear Editor, An alarming number of pandemics are affecting the world’s population, including viral infections, overweight/obesity, and metabolic disorders. Genetic variants may be involved in underlying mechanisms of lipid metabolism and intrahepatic fat accumulation. The minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of variants in the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) gene, which unbalance the concentration of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and apolipoprotein B,(–) were investigated in 241 healthy Brazilians. […]

Dear Editor, The World Health Organization has listed oxygen as an essential medicine.() Commonly prescribed for hospitalized pediatric and adult patients, there is a wide opportunity to improve its effectiveness by promoting the more rational, sustainable, and safe use of supplemental oxygen.(,) Guidelines and recommendations for oxygen use may help healthcare workers to adopt and achieve specific oxygen targets,() mitigating hyperoxemia, and hypoxemia.(,) Staying within safe targets, however, can be challenging, and is also quite time-consuming and labor-intensive, as it […]

Dear Editor, Scientific advancements driven by an increased understanding of big data, patient preferences, and high-quality research have revealed the need for rapid responses.() In this scenario, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which enables the possibility of obtaining full texts, which mimic human language patterns, from a short sentence, with the adoption of AI tools such as Chat generative Pre-trained Transformer-ChatGPT (Open AI, San Francisco, CA, USA), is attractive.() A growing number of researchers are evaluating the potential of […]

Dear Editor, Cardiac troponin testing, which includes the measurement of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) or T (cTnT), is the mainstay of diagnosing acute coronary syndrome, especially in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), in which elevated cTnI or cTnT is the only objective parameter. ( ) Ensuring quality throughout the testing process is essential for maintaining the diagnosis integrity. The receipt of underfilled samples is common in clinical laboratories, ( ) and this could impair the results of some immunoassays. ( ) […]

Dear Editor, We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the comments raised in the letter to the editor regarding our article “Post-vaccination incidence and side effects of COVID-19 in a cohort of Brazilian healthcare professionals: an internet-based survey.” ( ) We thank the authors for their interest in our study and for raising important points. […]

Dear Editor, The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has infected more than 623 million people globally, decimating over 6.55 million lives.() In Brazil, the cumulative cases exceeded 34.77 million with more than 687,500 deaths.() The high number of patients with severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection dramatically increased the rate of hospitalization and need for intensive care support, burdening health systems worldwide.() As this was an unknown disease, guidelines and recommendations were gradually being published by medical organizations to provide […]

Dear Editor, Radioscopy-guided antegrade percutaneous implantation of a double-J catheter may be an alternative to retrograde insertion via cystoscopy in cases of neoplastic obstruction of the bladder trigone or anatomical distortions of the lower urinary tract that prevent retrograde catheterization.(,) It is an alternative to nephrostomy, which can be performed simultaneously or afterwards, offering lower risks of infection, accidental loss of nephrostomy, and increased patient’s quality of life.(,) […]

Dear Editor, We would like to share our feedback on the publication “Post-vaccination incidence and side effects of COVID-19 in a cohort of Brazilian healthcare professionals: an internet-based survey”.( ) Ballestero et al. looked into the prevalence of vaccine adverse effects and COVID-19 among healthcare workers who had been vaccinated.( )According to Ballestero et al., 60% of Brazilian healthcare workers had side effects, with local swelling/pain, fatigue/weariness, fever, headache, and limb pain being the most prevalent ones.( ) It is […]

Dear Editor, Research indicates that in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there was a decrease in number of tuberculosis diagnosis. This reduction has been suggested to have occurred due to social distancing and more constant hygiene routines, such as hand washing and sanitizing, as well as continued use of masks.(,) […]

Dear Editor, The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic boosted Telemedicine encounters around the world, with physicians having to face a variety of clinical adversities daily. The conditions with a low level of scientific evidence to guide treatment, such as hiccups, are even more challenging in remote care. Hiccups (diaphragmatic and intercostal muscle contraction followed by laryngeal closure) are usually self-limited and benign after peripheral phrenic irritation. However, this symptom may be a life-threatening situation or related to severe diseases.() Our […]