Sexual dysfunction in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis : a systematic review.

A psoríase é uma doença cutaneoarticular, cuja incidência varia entre 1%-3%. O estresse tende a ser um fator desencadeante ou de agravamento na psoríase. Além disso, a própria doença pode gerar estresse emocional, pelo constrangimento das lesões. Uma série de alterações psicológicas pode estar associada à psoríase, e são comuns os relatos de sentimentos de raiva, depressão, vergonha e ansiedade, culminando no isolamento social e, possivelmente, na disfunção sexual. Apesar de a disfunção sexual ser uma queixa comum, são poucos os dados encontrados a respeito na literatura. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática da prevalência da disfunção sexual na psoríase e na artrite psoriásica, avaliando a participação de fatores como depressão e extensão da doença nessa relação. O resultado da revisão sistemática sobre o assunto aponta que os dados a respeito das dificuldades sexuais nos pacientes com psoríase são limitados. As hipóteses aventadas para explicar a ocorrência de disfunção sexual nesse grupo de pacientes incluem a extensão do quadro cutâneo, os efeitos psicológicos da condição no paciente, a preocupação do parceiro e os efeitos colaterais relacionados aos tratamentos médicos para a psoríase. Os dados apresentados enfatizam a negligência frequente dada a este tipo de sintomatologia na prática médica e ressaltam a importância da avaliação do impacto da psoríase não apenas em relação ao acometimento cutâneo e articular, mas também psicossocial e sexual. Face às diversidades socioculturais de cada população, sugere-se a necessidade de um estudo específico na população brasileira a fim de fornecer maiores informações sobre nossos pacientes.Psoriasis is a cutaneous-articular disease, whose incidence ranges from 1% to 3%. Stress tends to be a triggering or aggravating factor in psoriasis. In addition, the disease itself can generate emotional stress because of its lesions. Several psychological disorders can be associated with psoriasis, and feelings such as rage, depression, shame, and anxiety have been commonly reported, which can culminate in social isolation and sexual dysfunction. Despite being a common complaint among patients with psoriasis, sexual dysfunction has been rarely reported in the literature. This study aimed at performing a systematic review of the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, assessing the role played by factors such as depression and severity of disease in this relation. This systematic review showed that data on the sexual difficulties of patients with psoriasis are scarce. The hypotheses to explain sexual dysfunction in that group of patients include the severity of skin findings, the psychological effects of the condition on the patient, concerns of the sexual partner, and side effects of the medical treatments for psoriasis. Those data emphasize that this type of symptomatology is frequently neglected in medical practice, and stress the importance of assessing the impact of psoriasis regarding not only cutaneous and joint involvements, but also psychosocial and sexual impairments. Considering the sociocultural diversities of each population, a specific study of the Brazilian population to provide more information about our patients is required

Treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects primarily the skin and joints, with a worldwide incidence of 2-3%. Fifty percent of patients are women, most still diagnosed during childbearing years. Currently,the estimate is that up to 107 thousand deliveries are performed annually in women with psoriasis, a percentage of them in women with moderate to severe disease. Fetal risks in pregnant women with psoriasis derive both from maternal disease and the medications used to control the illness. The purpose of this review is to study the effect of the main drugs used in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis during pregnancy and lactation, with particular focus on disease-modifying anti-rheumatic biological drugs, biological therapies, immunobiologics or biologics

How the rheumatologist can guide the patient with rheumatoid arthritis on sexual function

A sexualidade, parte integrante da vida humana e da qualidade de vida, é uma das responsáveis pelo bem-estar individual. A disfunção sexual pode ser definida como alteração em algum componente da atividade sexual e pode acarretar frustração, dor e diminuição dos intercursos sexuais. Embora se saiba que doenças crônicas, como a artrite reumatoide (AR), influenciam a qualidade da vida sexual, a disfunção sexual ainda é pouco diagnosticada, o que se deve a dois motivos: tanto os pacientes deixam de relatar a queixa por vergonha ou frustração quanto os médicos pouco questionam seus pacientes a esse respeito. Os reumatologistas estão cada vez mais dispostos a discutir domínios que não estão diretamente relacionados com o tratamento medicamentoso das doenças articulares, como qualidade de vida, fadiga e educação dos pacientes. A sexualidade, no entanto, é muito pouco abordada. O objetivo desta revisão é apresentar alguns conceitos úteis ao reumatologista para orientação do paciente com AR quanto à função/disfunção sexual, considerações relativas ao papel desse profissional no sentido de instruir o paciente, noções gerais sobre função sexual, incluindo conceitos práticos sobre posições sexuais mais adequadas para portadores de AR, e abordagem multidisciplinar da disfunção sexual.Sexuality, an integral part of human life and quality of life, is one of those factors responsible for individual welfare. Sexual dysfunction can be defined as a change in any component of sexual activity, which may cause frustration, pain and decreased sexual intercourse. Although it is known that chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), influence the quality of sexual life, sexual dysfunction is still underdiagnosed, due to two reasons: (i) patients fail to report the complaint because of shame or frustration and (ii) this subject is rarely called into question by doctors. Rheumatologists are increasingly willing to discuss areas which are not directly related to drug treatment of joint diseases, such as quality of life, fatigue, and education of patients; however, sexuality is rarely addressed. The aim of this review is to present some useful concepts to Rheumatologists for orientation of their patients with RA with respect to sexual function/dysfunction, some considerations concerning the role of these professionals in order to instruct the patient, general notions about sexual function, including practical concepts about the more appropriate sexual positions for patients with RA, and a multidisciplinary approach to sexual dysfunction

The challenge of concomitant infections in the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic era : severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in a patient with chronic Chagas disease and dimorphic leprosy

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first officially described in Brazil on February 26th, 2020. The accumulation of reports of concomitant infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and pathogens that cause diseases endemic to tropical countries, such as dengue and chikungunya fever, has started to draw attention. Chagas disease and leprosy remain public health problems in many developing countries, such as Brazil. In this manuscript, we describe a case of concomitant leprosy, Chagas disease, and COVID-19, highlighting the cutaneous manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the clinical behavior of household contacts who previously received prophylactic Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccines

A comprehensive systematic review of leishmaniasis in patients undergoing drug-induced immunosuppression for the treatment of dermatological, rheumatological and gastroenterological diseases

Immunosuppression is an important risk factor for leishmaniasis. We assessed the clinical profile, geographic distribution and prevalence of leishmaniasis in patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for dermatological, rheumatological or gastroenterological autoimmune diseases. We identified relevant studies in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and LILACS on July 3rd, 2018. We included articles that reported at least one case of leishmaniasis in patients undergoing immunosuppressive treatment for dermatological, rheumatological or gastroenterological diseases. Our protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018103050). We assessed the quality of the included studies with the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool. After the removal of duplicates, 5,431 articles were collected and screened. We included 138 articles; the prevalence of leishmaniasis in six methodologically similar studies varied from three to 1,282 cases per 100,000 patients using anti-TNFα drugs, but the results were significantly heterogeneous . Leishmaniasis in patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs is a health problem mostly reported in European countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; sporadic activities, such as travelling, seem not to be associated with a significant risk of leishmaniasis, although effective control measures must always be observed

Leprosy detection rate in patients under immunosuppression for the treatment of dermatological, rheumatological, and gastroenterological diseases : a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis

Background: Recently developed immunosuppressive drugs, especially TNF antagonists, may enhance the risk of granulomatous infections, including leprosy. We aimed to evaluate the leprosy detection rate in patients under immunosuppression due to rheumatological, dermatological and gastroenterological diseases. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, LILACS, Web of Science and Scielo databases through 2018. No date or language restrictions were applied. We included all articles that reported the occurrence of leprosy in patients under medication-induced immunosuppression. Results: The search strategy resulted in 15,103 articles; finally, 20 articles were included, with 4 reporting longitudinal designs. The detection rate of leprosy ranged from 0.13 to 116.18 per 100,000 patients/year in the USA and Brazil, respectively. In the meta-analysis, the detection rate of cases of leprosy per 100,000 immunosuppressed patients with rheumatic diseases was 84 (detection rate = 0.00084; 95% CI = 0.0000–0.00266; I2 = 0%, p = 0.55). Conclusion: Our analysis showed that leprosy was relatively frequently detected in medication-induced immunosuppressed patients suffering from rheumatological diseases, and further studies are needed. The lack of an active search for leprosy in the included articles precluded more precise conclusions. Trial registration: This review is registered in PROSPERO with the registry number CRD42018116275

Molecular and cellular biomarkers of COVID-19 prognosis : protocol for the prospective cohort TARGET study

Background: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s attention has been focused on better understanding the relation between the human host and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as its action has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Objective: In this context, we decided to study certain consequences of the abundant cytokine release over the innate and adaptive immune systems, inflammation, and hemostasis, comparing mild and severe forms of COVID-19. Methods: To accomplish these aims, we will analyze demographic characteristics, biochemical tests, immune biomarkers, leukocyte phenotyping, immunoglobulin profile, hormonal release (cortisol and prolactin), gene expression, thromboelastometry, neutralizing antibodies, metabolic profile, and neutrophil function (reactive oxygen species production, neutrophil extracellular trap production, phagocytosis, migration, gene expression, and proteomics). A total of 200 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction–confirmed patients will be enrolled and divided into two groups: mild/moderate or severe/critical forms of COVID-19. Blood samples will be collected at different times: at inclusion and after 9 and 18 days, with an additional 3-day sample for severe patients. We believe that this information will provide more knowledge for future studies that will provide more robust and useful clinical information that may allow for better decisions at the front lines of health care. Results: The recruitment began in June 2020 and is still in progress. It is expected to continue until February 2021. Data analysis is scheduled to start after all data have been collected. The coagulation study branch is complete and is already in the analysis phase

Mental health and burnout syndrome among postgraduate students in medical and multidisciplinary residencies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil : protocol for a prospective cohort study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to high levels of physical, psychological, and social stress among health care professionals, including postgraduate students in medical and multidisciplinary residencies. This stress is associated with the intense fear of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus known to cause COVID-19. These professionals are at risk of developing physical and mental illnesses not only due to the infection but also due to prolonged exposure to multidimensional stress and continued work overload. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of mental disorders and burnout syndrome and determine the risk factors for burnout among postgraduate students in medical and multidisciplinary residencies in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: For this prospective cohort study with parallel groups, participants were recruited between July and September 2020 to achieve a sample size of at least 1144 participants. Research instruments such as Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; Patient Health Questionnaire; Brief Resilient Coping Scale; and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory will be used to collect data. Data will be collected in 2 waves: the first wave will include data related to sample characterization and psychosocial evaluation, and the second wave will be launched 12 weeks later and will include an evaluation of the incidence of burnout as well as correlations with the potential predictive factors collected in the first wave. Additionally, we will collect data regarding participants’ withdrawal from work. Results: The recruitment took place from July 29 to September 5, 2020. Data analyses for this phase is already in progress. The second phase of the study is also in progress. The final data collection began on December 1, 2020, and it will be completed by December 31, 2020. Conclusions: We believe the findings of this study will help evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health conditions of health professionals in Brazil as well as contribute to the planning and implementation of appropriate measures that can alleviate these mental health challenges. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/2429

Panoramic snapshot of serum soluble mediator interplay in pregnant women with convalescent COVID-19: an exploratory study

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy can induce changes in the maternal immune response, with effects on pregnancy outcome and offspring. This is a cross-sectional observational study designed to characterize the immunological status of pregnant women with convalescent COVID-19 at distinct pregnancy trimesters. The study focused on providing a clear snapshot of the interplay among serum soluble mediators.MethodsA sample of 141 pregnant women from all prenatal periods (1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters) comprised patients with convalescent SARS-CoV-2 infection at 3-20 weeks after symptoms onset (COVID, n=89) and a control group of pre-pandemic non-infected pregnant women (HC, n=52). Chemokine, pro-inflammatory/regulatory cytokine and growth factor levels were quantified by a high-throughput microbeads array.ResultsIn the HC group, most serum soluble mediators progressively decreased towards the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy, while higher chemokine, cytokine and growth factor levels were observed in the COVID patient group. Serum soluble mediator signatures and heatmap analysis pointed out that the major increase observed in the COVID group related to pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-17). A larger set of biomarkers displayed an increased COVID/HC ratio towards the 2nd (3x increase) and the 3rd (3x to 15x increase) trimesters. Integrative network analysis demonstrated that HC pregnancy evolves with decreasing connectivity between pairs of serum soluble mediators towards the 3rd trimester. Although the COVID group exhibited a similar profile, the number of connections was remarkably lower throughout the pregnancy. Meanwhile, IL-1Ra, IL-10 and GM-CSF presented a preserved number of correlations (≥5 strong correlations in HC and COVID), IL-17, FGF-basic and VEGF lost connectivity throughout the pregnancy. IL-6 and CXCL8 were included in a set of acquired attributes, named COVID-selective (≥5 strong correlations in COVID and <5 in HC) observed at the 3rd pregnancy trimester.Discussion and conclusionFrom an overall perspective, a pronounced increase in serum levels of soluble mediators with decreased network interplay between them demonstrated an imbalanced immune response in convalescent COVID-19 infection during pregnancy that may contribute to the management of, or indeed recovery from, late complications in the post-symptomatic phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women