Usage of Calendula officinalis in the prevention and treatment of radiodermatitis: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of Calendula officinalis in relation to Essential Fatty Acids for the prevention and treatment of radiodermatitis. METHOD This is a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial with 51 patients with head and neck cancer in radiotherapy treatment divided into two groups: control (27) and experimental (24). RESULTS There is statistically significant evidence (p-value = 0.0120) that the proportion of radiodermatitis grade 2 in Essential Fatty Acids group is higher than Calendula group. Through the Kaplan-Meier survival curve we observed that Essential Fatty Acids group has always remained below the Calendula group survival curve, due to the lower risk of developing radiodermatitis grade 1, which makes the usage of Calendula more effective, with statistical significance (p-value = 0.00402). CONCLUSION Calendula showed better therapeutic response than the Essential Fatty Acids in the prevention and treatment of radiodermatitis. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-237v4b

Controlling wound odor with metronidazole: a systematic review

AbstractOBJECTIVEVerifying the evidence of therapeutic efficacy in the topical application of metronidazole for controlling wound odor.METHODSA systematic literature review, according to the Cochrane Collaboration recommendations.RESULTS329 articles were identified in the Cochrane, LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL and PubMed databases, with 14 of them being included in the final sample. Two of the studies were double-blind randomized clinical trial studies.CONCLUSIONThe actual effectiveness of metronidazole in controlling wound odor cannot yet be evidenced due to the absence of strong evidence from studies on the subject, despite clinical practice recommending its benefits

Antifungal and marker effects of Talisia esculenta lectin on Microsporum canis in vitro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Aims: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of lectin obtained from Talisia esculenta (TEL) seeds as a tool to recognize and study Microsporum canis. For this purpose, we investigated the antifungal and marker action of this lectin and the relationship of these effects with the presence of carbohydrates on the structure of this fungus. Methods and Results: The in vitro antifungal activity of TEL was analysed by broth microdilution assay. In addition, TEL was assessed against the arthroconidia present on hairs obtained from infected dogs and cats. The affinity of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled TEL for macroconidia and arthroconidia of M. canis was also tested. The effects of TEL on the growth of the M. canis strains began with 0 center dot 125 mg ml-1, and 100% inhibition was obtained with a concentration of 2 mg ml-1. The addition of carbohydrates, especially N-acetyl-glucosamine and d-mannose, inhibited these antifungal effects. TEL was able to inhibit the growth of arthroconidial chitin-rich forms of M. canis obtained from hairs of infected animals and strains cultured in Sabouraud agar. FITC-labelled TEL efficiently marked macroconidial and arthroconidial forms of M. canis, as shown by fluorescent microscopy. Conclusions: These results show that the inhibitory effects of TEL on M. canis growth may be related to the interaction of lectin with the carbohydrates present at the micro-organism's surface, mainly d-mannose and N-acetyl-glucosamine. Significance and Impact of the Study: Talisia esculenta can be used as an important tool in the biochemical study of M. canis or as a molecule to recognize this dermatophyte in infected tissue.107620632069Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FUNCAP (Ceara State Research Support Foundation) [9836/06]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPq [475724/2006-2]FUNCAP (Ceara State Research Support Foundation) [9836/06

O conhecimento de enfermeiros e médicos que trabalham na Estratégia de Saúde da Família acerca da tuberculose no município de Vitória (ES): um estudo de corte transversal Knowledge about tuberculosis by doctors and nurses, who work in the Family Health Strategy in the city of Vitória, Espírito Santo State: a cross-sectional study

O Brasil está no 14º lugar entre os 23 países responsáveis por 80% dos casos da doença no mundo. Buscando compreender a manutenção desses índices, estruturou-se este estudo, com o objetivo de identificar se o conhecimento, sobre a tuberculose, de médicos e enfermeiros que trabalham na Estratégia de Saúde da Família no município de Vitória (ES), seria um fator relevante na mediação dos processos de prevenção, diagnóstico e tratamento da tuberculose. É um estudo de corte transversal, tendo como amostra 50 profissionais. Os dados coletados foram analisados utilizando-se o teste qui-quadrado exato de Fischer com o nível de significância de 0.05. Em relação à transmissão e ao diagnóstico da tuberculose, não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre médicos e enfermeiros. Apenas uma variável apresentou diferença estatística: 41% dos médicos e 15% dos enfermeiros (p<0,05) disseram que o paciente deve ser assistido em um local de escolha do médico ou enfermeiro, e ainda 4% do total da amostra responderam que a supervisão não pode ser feita por um membro da família. A pesquisa comprova que médicos e enfermeiros possuem conhecimento para reduzir os índices da tuberculose, embora sejam indispensáveis o contínuo estudo e capacitação desses profissionais.<br>Brazil is in 14th among the 23 countries responsible for 80% of the tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world. Aiming to understand the maintenance of these indexes, this study was developed to identify if the knowledge about tuberculosis by doctors and nurses, who work in the Family Health Strategy in the city of Vitória (ES), would be a factor in the mediation of the prevention processes, diagnosis and treatment of the Tuberculosis. This is a cross-sectional study, with a sample size of 50 professionals. The collected data had been analyzed using the Chi-square and Fisher Exact tests with significance level of 0.05. Regarding the transmission and diagnosis of the Tuberculosis, there was no statistically significant difference between doctors and nurses. Only one variable presented a statistical difference: 41% of doctors and 15% of the nurses (p<0,05) mentioned that the patient must be attended in a place of choice of the doctor or nurse, and still, 4% of the total of the sample had answered that the supervision cannot be made by a member of the family. The research proves that doctors and nurses has knowledge to reduce the indexes of Tuberculosis, even so is indispensable the continuous study and qualification of these professionals

Tolerância à salinidade avaliada em genótipos de arroz cultivados in vitro

As plantas em condições naturais estão expostas a vários estresses ambientais que afetam seu metabolismo. Dentre esses, a salinidade dos solos e da água de irrigação é um dos mais sérios problemas para a agricultura irrigada. O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar, por meio de caracteres morfológicos, a variabilidade genética de 10 genótipos de arroz, cultivados in vitro, e agrupar esses genótipos para o caráter tolerância à salinidade. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por 10 genótipos e quatro concentrações de NaCl (0, 4, 8 e 12 mg L-1) acrescidas ao meio de cultura MS. Após 21 dias, foram avaliados diversos caracteres morfológicos, para os quais foram realizados cálculos percentuais de desempenho relativo (aumento ou redução), considerando-se o valor absoluto do tratamento-controle (0 mg L-1). Todos os caracteres mensurados tiveram seu desenvolvimento reduzido em substrato salino, sendo os correspondentes à biomassa média da parte aérea e do sistema radicular os mais sensíveis ao NaCl. Observou-se dissimilaridade entre os genótipos estudados para tolerância à salinidade, verificada pela formação de três grupos distintos pelo método hierárquico UPGMA e dois grupos pelo método de Tocher, sendo o genótipo BRS Bojuru o mais tolerante e BRS "7" Taim e BRS Ligeirinho os mais sensíveis à salinidade