Mortality associated factors in patients with acute pulmonary edema

Introduction: Risk factors related to acute pulmonary edema are still poorly described. However, they are determinant in the perspective of treatment. Methods: This is a retrospective, unicentric and observational study which aim was to evaluate factors related to mortality in patients with acute pulmonary edema. A total of 142 patients were included between January of 2,015 and 2,016. The following factors were evaluated: age, systolic and diastolic pressures, heart rate, creatinine, C-reactive protein, BNP, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular diastolic diameter, troponin, left atrial diameter and pulmonary arterial systolic pressure.Statistical analysis: Evaluation of factors according to occurrence or not of death was performed through Q-square and T-test, being considered significant p <0.05. The complementary analysis of the factors was done by ROC curve to identify the sensitivity and specificity of the best cut-off point of risk factors as a probability of death discriminator.Results: About 49% of the patients were males and the mean age was 69 years. Hypertensive etiology was the most prevalent (42.3%) followed by valve disease (29.5%) and ischemia (14.8%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 15.5%. There were significant differences between patients who died or not, respectively, in the following factors: age (73.6 x 67.6, p = 0.024), C-reactive protein (64.9 mg/dL x 39.7 mg/dL, p = 0.042), troponin (7.41 ng/dL x 2.58 ng/dL, p = 0.007)and diastolic blood pressure (74.2 mmHg x 88.6 mmHg, p = 0.023). The areas under the ROC curve between risk and death factors were: age = 0.640; C-reactive protein = 0.640; Troponin = 0.660; Diastolic blood pressure = 0.318. Best cut-off points to discriminate the risk of death were: age = 67.5 (sensitivity of 72.7% and specificity of 54%), C-reactive protein = 21.5 mg/dL (sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 58%), troponin = 0.73 ng/dL (sensitivity of 63.6% and specificity of 65%) and diastolic blood pressure = 87.5 mmHg (sensitivity of 29.4% and specificity of 49%).Conclusion: Mortality in patients with acute pulmonary edema remains high. Age, C-reactive protein, troponin, and diastolic blood pressure were the factors related to mortality

Chemical components separation with the use of botulinum toxin A: a critical review for correction of ventral hernia

Background: Ventral hernias are prevalent results in abdominal surgeries and may represent a surgical challenge in complex cases, mainly due to tension in abdominal wall musculature. Failure of surgical correction may lead to a more morbid treatment, in addition to a considerable socioeconomic impact. In order to have a lower risk of complications, the use of botulinum toxin A (BTA), may be a preoperative alternative to reduce abdominal wall tension by causing sustained and reversible paralysis. This critical review of the literature proposes to evaluate the adjacent use of BTA in surgical ventral hernias corrections.Methods: Using the PubMed database, the keywords ‘ventral hernia’, and ‘botulinum toxin’ were searched using the Boolean operator AND. Articles were selected based on their relevance and updated information. The outcomes of interest included the change in ventral hernia defect width and in lateral abdominal wall muscle length, pain, hernia recurrence and complications.Results: A total of 20 articles from 2009 to 2018 were found. We excluded some articles due to irrelevant technique, use of animal models and lack of outcome data. Reduction of the abdominal wall thickness increasing its length, less perioperative pain, hernia reduction and the correction with less tension were observed after the use of BTA injection. No complications occurred during applications.Conclusion: The use of BTA seems to be a promising alternative in the management of ventral hernias due to its capacity of reducing tension in the abdominal wall. However, more studies are necessary to determine the efficacy of this method

Chemical components separation with the use of Botulinum toxin A: a critical review for correction of ventral hernia

Introdução: Hérnias ventrais são um resultado prevalente de cirurgias abdominais que podem representar um desafio cirúrgico em casos complexos, principalmente devido à tensão na musculatura da parede abdominal. A falha na correção cirúrgica pode levar a necessidade de um tratamento mais mórbido, além de um considerável impacto socioeconômico. Para que o risco de complicações seja menor, o uso da toxina botulínica A (TBA) pode ser uma alternativa pré-operatória para reduzir a tensão da parede abdominal, através de uma paralisia sustentada e reversível. Esta revisão crítica da literatura propõe avaliar o uso adjacente de TBA em correções de hérnias ventrais cirúrgicas. Métodos: Usando o banco de dados PubMed, as palavras-chave “ventral hernia” e “botullinum toxin” foram pesquisadas usando o operador “AND”. Os artigos foram selecionados com base em sua relevância e informações atualizadas. Os desfechos de interesse incluíram a mudança na largura do defeito da hérnia ventral e no comprimento do músculo da parede abdominal lateral, dor, recidiva de hérnia e complicações. Resultados: Foram encontrados 20 artigos de 2009 a 2018. Foram excluídos artigos devido à técnica irrelevante, uso de modelos animais e falta de dados sobre resultados. Redução da espessura da parede abdominal aumentando seu comprimento, menos dor perioperatória, redução de hérnia e correção com menos tensão foram observados após o uso da injeção de BTA. Nenhuma complicação ocorreu durante as aplicações. Conclusão: O uso de TBA parece ser uma alternativa promissora no manejo de hérnias ventrais devido à sua capacidade de reduzir a tensão na parede abdominal. No entanto, mais estudos são necessários para determinar a eficácia deste método.Background: Ventral hernias are prevalent results in abdominal surgeries and may represent a surgical challenge in complex cases, mainly due to tension in abdominal wall musculature. Failure of surgical correction may lead to a more morbid treatment, in addition to a considerable socioeconomic impact. In order to have a lower risk of complications, the use of botulinum toxin A (BTA), may be a preoperative alternative to reduce abdominal wall tension by causing sustained and reversible paralysis. This critical review of the literature proposes to evaluate the adjacent use of BTA in surgical ventral hernias corrections. Methods: Using the PubMed database, the keywords ‘ventral hernia’, and ‘botulinum toxin’ were searched using the Boolean operator AND. Articles were selected based on their relevance and updated information. The outcomes of interest included the change in ventral hernia defect width and in lateral abdominal wall muscle length, pain, hernia recurrence and complications. Results: A total of 20 articles from 2009 to 2018 were found. We excluded some articles due to irrelevant technique, use of animal models and lack of outcome data. Reduction of the abdominal wall thickness increasing its length, less perioperative pain, hernia reduction and the correction with less tension were observed after the use of BTA injection. No complications occurred during applications. Conclusion: The use of BTA seems to be a promising alternative in the management of ventral hernias due to its capacity of reducing tension in the abdominal wall. However, more studies are necessary to determine the efficacy of this method

Development of an instrument to evaluate the knowledge that the patient with hepatic cirrhosis has about his disease and treatment

Introdução: cirrose hepática (CH) é uma doença com alta morbidade e mortalidade no Brasil. Seu tratamento é complexo e requer desde mudanças no estilo de vida até se submeter a grandes cirurgias, como o transplante hepático. Para alcançar os melhores resultados é necessário que o paciente tenha uma boa aderência ao tratamento. Estudos indicam que o conhecimento do paciente sobre sua condição clínica é um fator determinante na aderência. Objetivos: criar um instrumento que meça o conhecimento que um paciente com CH tem sobre sua doença e seu tratamento. Methodologia: o processo de desenvolvimento do instrument foi dividido em 3 estágios: construção do instrument (1º estágio), avaliação do conteúdo e claridade do instrument (2º estágio) e avaliação da confiabilidade do instrument (3º estágio). Results: um instrument para avaliar o conhecimento do paciente cirrótico sobre sua doença foi feito, analisado por especialistas e aprovado pelos critérios propostos. Conclusions: 1) O desenvolvimento do instrumento seguiu os passos descritos na literatura. 2) As sugestões dos avaliadores foram seguidas na reestruturação das questões, tornando-as mais claras e relevantes para a proposta do instrumento. 3) Foi possível alcançar de forma satisfatória a proposta de construção do instrumento.Introduction: hepatic cirrhosis (HC) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality in Brazil. Its treatment is complex and requires from lifestyle changes to large surgeries such as liver transplantation. To reach the best treatment results, it is necessary to guarantee a good patient’s adherence to the treatment. Studies indicate that the patient’s self-knowledge about his or her clinical condition is a determining factor in its adherence. Objectives: to assist in the design of an instrument that evaluates knowledge about the disease and treatment of HC. Methodology: The development process of the instrument will be divided into 3 stages: construction of the instrument (1st stage), evaluation of content validity and clarity of the instrument (2nd stage) and assessment of the reliability of the instrument (3 rd stage). Results: an instrument to evaluate the cirrhotic patient knowledge about the disease was made, analyzed by specialists and approved in the criteria proposed. Conclusions: 1) The development of the instrument followed the steps described in literature. 2) The suggestion of the evaluators allowed to restructure the questions making them clearer and more relevant to the proposal of the instrument. 3) it was possible to achieve satisfactorily the proposal of the construction of the instrument

Intermediate levels of BNP were related with cardiology events in acute coronary syndromes?

Introdução: Diversos estudos na literatura têm relacionado valores elevados de peptídeo natriurético cerebral (BNP) com pior prognóstico em pacientes com síndrome coronária aguda (SCA). No entanto, valores entre 100 pg/mL e 400 pg/mL são considerados limítrofes e ainda questionados em relação à diagnóstico e ocorrência de eventos. Métodos: Trata-se de estudo retrospectivo observacional com objetivo de avaliar se o valor intermediário de BNP na admissão hospitalar é capaz de predizer prognóstico intrahospitalar. Os pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos: grupo I: BNP < 100 pg/mL; grupo II: 100 < BNP < 400 pg/mL. Foram incluídos 405 pacientes (235 no grupo I e 170 no grupo II) com SCA. Obtiveram-se dados referentes à comorbidades e medicações utilizadas. Análise estatística: O desfecho primário foi mortalidade por todas as causas. O desfecho secundário foi eventos combinados (choque cardiogênico, reinfarto, morte, acidente vascular cerebral e sangramento). A comparação entre grupos foi realizada através de Q-quadrado e ANOVA. A análise multivariada foi realizada por regressão logística, sendo considerado significativo p < 0,05. Resultados: Na comparação entre os grupos I e II, observaram-se diferenças em relação à prevalência de diabetes mellitus e angioplastia coronária prévia. Na análise multivariada, observaram-se diferenças significativas entre os grupos I e II em relação à ocorrência de choque cardiogênico (2,55% x 10,59%, OR = 4,09, p = 0,01), respectivamente. Conclusão: Valores intermediários de BNP não foram capazes de predizer mortalidade em pacientes com SCA. No entanto, observou-se uma maior incidência de choque cardiogênico.Introduction: Several studies in the literaturehave linked high levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) withpoor prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).However, values between 100 pg/ml and 400 pg/ml are consideredborderline and also questioned about the occurrence of events anddiagnosis. Methods: This is an observational retrospective studyto evaluate the BNP intermediate value at hospital admissioncan predict in-hospital prognosis. The patients were divided intotwo groups: Group I: BNP < 100 pg/ml; Group II: 100 < BNP <400 pg/mL. It included 405 patients (235 in group I and 170 ingroup II) with ACS. Data were obtained regarding comorbiditiesand medications used. Statistical analysis: The primary outcomewas mortality from all causes. The secondary endpoint wascombined events (cardiogenic shock, reinfarction, death, strokeand bleeding). The comparison between groups was performedusing Q-square test and ANOVA. Multivariate analysis wasperformed by logistic regression, considering significant p < 0.05.Results: Comparing the groups I and II, there were differences inthe prevalence of diabetes and previous coronary angioplasty. Inmultivariate analysis, there were significant differences betweengroups I and II in the occurrence of cardiogenic shock (2.55%vs. 10.59%, OR = 4.09, p = 0.01), respectively. Conclusion:Intermediate BNP values were not able to predict mortality inpatients with ACS. However, there was a higher incidence ofcardiogenic shock

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and (MMP-8) gene polymorphisms promote increase and remodeling of the collagen III and V in posterior tibial tendinopathy

Posterior tibial tendinopathy (PTT) can lead to acquired flatfoot in adults. Many patients develop PTT without any identifiable risk factors. Molecular changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) polymorphism may influence the risk of developing PTT. We aim to investigate the association between matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP1) and (MMP-8) gene polymorphisms with changes in collagen I, III and V in PTT. A case-control study with 22 patients and 5 controls was performed. The MMP-1 (2G/2G) and MMP-8 (T/T) genotypes were determined by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Tendon specimens were evaluated by a histologic semiquantitative score, immunofluorescence and histomorphometry for collagen I, III and V. Tendon specimens from PTT demonstrated marked distortion of the architecture with necrosis, large basophilic areas with disruption of the normal linear orientation of collagen bundles, infiltration of inflammatory cells, dystrophic calcification and ossification. Under immunofluorescence, PTT tendon specimens showed weak green fluorescence and diffuse distribution of collagen I fibers, but strong fluorescence of collagen III and V. The collagen I fibers were significantly decreased whereas an increase of collagen III and V were found in PTT compared to control groups. In addition, PTT group presented a significant association with MMP-1 and MMP-8 gene polymorphisms. Patients with PTT matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and (MMP-8) gene polymorphisms presented an increase of the collagen III and V ratio, suggesting that the higher proportion in degenerated tendons could contribute to a decrease in the mechanical resistance of the tissue. Still, functional and association studies are needed to elucidate evident roles of MMPs in PTT