Air pollution from biomass burning and asthma hospital admissions in a sugar cane plantation area in Brazil

Objective: To evaluate the association between the total suspended particles (TSPs) generated from preharvest sugar cane burning and hospital admission due to asthma ( asthma hospital admissions) in the city of Araraquara.Design: An ecological time-series study. Total daily records of asthma hospital admissions (ICD 10th J15) were obtained from one of the main hospitals in Araraquara, São Paulo State, Brazil, from 23 March 2003 to 27 July 2004. the daily concentration of TSP (mu g/m(3)) was obtained using Handi-vol equipment (Energetica, Brazil) placed in downtown Araraquara. the local airport provided the daily mean figures of temperature and humidity. the daily number of asthma hospital admissions was considered as the dependent variable in Poisson's regression models and the daily concentration of TSP was considered the independent variable. the generalised linear model with natural cubic spline was adopted to control for long-time trend. Linear terms were used for weather variables.Results: TSP had an acute effect on asthma admissions, starting 1 day after TSP concentrations increased and remaining almost unchanged for the next four days. A 10 mu g/m(3) increase in the 5-day moving average (lag1-5) of TSP concentrations was associated with an increase of 11.6% (95% CI 5.4 to 17.7) in asthma hospital admissions.Conclusion: Increases in TSP concentrations were definitely associated with asthma hospital admissions in Araraquara and, despite using sugar cane alcohol to reduce air pollution from automotive sources in large Brazilian urban centres, the cities where sugar cane is harvested pay a high toll in terms of public health.Univ São Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Poluicao Atmosfer Expt, Nucleo Estudos Epidemiol Ambiental, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Grp Fisiopatol Resp & Poluicao Ambiental, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Catolica Santos, Programa Posgrad Saude Coletiva, Santos, SP, BrazilUniv Santo Amaro, Fac Med, Programa Pediat Ambiental, São Paulo, BrazilABC, Fac Med, Dept Saude Coletividade, Santo Andre, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Grp Fisiopatol Resp & Poluicao Ambiental, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Queima de biomassa e efeitos sobre a saúde Biomass burning and its effects on health

A primeira idéia que se forma na mente das pessoas e do pesquisador é associar a poluição do ar aos grandes centros urbanos, com a imagem de poluentes sendo eliminados por veículos automotores ou pela chaminé de suas fábricas. Entretanto, uma parcela considerável da população do planeta convive com uma outra fonte de poluição, que atinge preferencialmente os países em desenvolvimento: a queima de biomassa. Este artigo tem como objetivo chamar a atenção do pneumologista, da comunidade e das autoridades para os riscos à saúde da população exposta a essa fonte geradora de poluentes, seja em ambientes internos, seja em ambientes abertos. O presente trabalho caracteriza as principais condições que levam à combustão de biomassa, como a literatura tem registrado os seus efeitos sobre a saúde humana, discutindo os mecanismos fisiopatológicos envolvidos, e finaliza com a apresentação de dois estudos recentes que enfatizam a importância da queima de um tipo específico de biomassa, a palha da cana-de-açúcar, prática comum no interior do Brasil, e sua interferência no perfil de morbidade respiratória da população exposta.<br>The first thought that comes to mind concerning air pollution is related to urban centers where automotive exhausts and the industrial chimneys are the most important sources of atmospheric pollutants. However a significant portion of the earth’s population is exposed to still another source of air pollution, the burning of biomass that primarily affects developing countries. This review article calls the attention of lung specialists, public authorities and the community in general to the health risks entailed in the burning of biomass, be it indoors or outdoors to which the population is exposed. This review describes the main conditions that lead to the burning of biomass and how the literature has recorded its effects on human health discussing the psychopathological mechanisms. Finally two recent studies are presented that emphasize an important type of biomass burning that of the sugar cane straw. This is a common practice in several regions of Brazil changing the respiratory morbidity standards of the population exposed

Complicações da terapia anticoagulante com warfarina em pacientes com doença vascular periférica: estudo coorte prospectivo Complications of anticoagulant therapy with warfarin in patients with peripheral vascular disease: a cohort prospective study

OBJETIVO: Estudar prospectivamente a freqüência de complicações em pacientes tratados com warfarina e acompanhados no Ambulatório de Anticoagulação da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade Estadual Paulista. MÉTODOS: Pacientes sorteados entre os agendados para consulta de junho de 2002 a fevereiro de 2004. Na primeira consulta, foi preenchida ficha com dados de identificação e clínicos. A cada retorno, ou quando o paciente procurou o hospital por intercorrência, foi preenchida ficha com a razão normatizada internacional, existência e tipo de intercorrência e condições de uso dos antagonistas da vitamina K. RESULTADOS: Foram acompanhados 136 pacientes (61 homens e 75 mulheres), 99 com tromboembolismo venoso e 37 com doença arterial; 59 pacientes eram de Botucatu, e 77, de outros municípios. Foram registradas 30 intercorrências: nove não relacionadas ao uso da warfarina e 21 complicações hemorrágicas (38,8 por 100 pacientes/ano). Uma hematêmese foi considerada grave (1,9 por 100 pacientes/ano). As demais foram consideradas moderadas ou leves. Não houve óbitos, hemorragia intracraniana ou necrose cutânea. A única associação significante foi da freqüência de hemorragia com nível médio de razão normatizada internacional. CONCLUSÃO: Nossos resultados mostram a viabilidade desse tratamento em pacientes vasculares em nosso meio, mesmo em população de baixo nível socioeconômico, quando tratados em ambulatório especializado.<br>OBJECTIVE: To prospectively study the frequency of complications in patients treated with warfarin followed at Botucatu Medical School. METHODS: Patients randomly selected among those with appointments scheduled from June 2002 to February 2004. At the first appointment, a protocol was filled with identification and clinical data. At every return or when the patient went to the hospital due to clinical events, another form was filled with the international normalized ratio, existence and type of clinical event and the conditions of use of vitamin K antagonists. RESULTS: A total of 136 patients (61 men and 75 women), were followed; 99 patients with venous thromboembolism and 37 with arterial disease; 59 were from Botucatu and 77 were from other municipalities. Thirty clinical events were registered: nine of them were not related to the use of warfarin and 21 were hemorrhagic complications (38.8 per 100 patients-year). One hematemesis was considered severe (1.9 per 100 patients-year). The others were considered moderate or mild. There were no deaths, intracranial hemorrhage or cutaneous necrosis. The only significant association was frequency of hemorrhage and average international normalized ratio level. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the feasibility of this treatment in vascular patients in our country, even in socially and economically poor populations, when treated in specialized clinics