Factores de riesgo de mortalidad en personas mayores de 65 años internadas en un hospital universitario, São Paulo, Brasil

Diversos estudios muestran que la edad en sí no es un factor independiente predictor de la supervivencia de las personas mayores gravemente enfermas, pero el grupo mayor de 65 años de edad no suele tener acceso a los recursos diagnósticos y terapéuticos más complejos. Con el continuo envejecimiento de la población se hace cada vez más importante poder determinar los factores de riesgo de mortalidad que afectan a las posibilidades de supervivencia de la gente mayor hospitalizada, especialmente en condiciones de urgencia. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar los factores de riesgo asociados con la mortalidad de personas mayores de 65 años internadas en el Servicio de Urgencia del hospital Santa Casa de São Paulo, institución académica de nivel terciario. El estudio se basó en un análisis por regresión logística no condicional de los datos personales recogidos en el hospital en las historias clínicas respectivas y otros documentos pertenecientes a los pacientes hospitalizados durante el período de julio de 1993 a marzo de 1994, inclusive. Durante dicho período se hospitalizó a 599 pacientes -326 hombres (54,4%) y 273 mujeres (45,6%)- con una mediana de edad de 73,3 años. Las razones principales de internamiento fueron neumonía (14,4%), enfermedad cerebrovascular (11,5%) e insuficiencia cardíaca (8,2%). El total de defunciones ascendió a 160. Los pacientes que fallecieron tuvieron una estadía mediana en el hospital de 4 días (intervalo de 1 a 72), semejante a la de los que sobrevivieron (3 días; intervalo de 0 a 35 días; P = 0,29). Según el análisis multivariado, independientemente del sexo, la edad, la raza, la observancia del tratamiento, el diagnóstico inicial y otros estados patológicos presentes, la hipertensión arterial (razón de posibilidades, RP u odds ratio en inglés = 0,39, IC95%: 0,23 a 0,68), la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (RP = 0,45; IC95%: 0,22 a 0,95) y la diabetes mellitus (RP = 0,50; IC95%: 0,27 a 0,91) fueron factores predictores de supervivencia, mientras que la presencia de infecciones extrapulmonares (RP = 2,34; IC95%: 1,13 a 4,86) y el número de enfermedades preexistentes -una (RP = 2,78; IC95%: 1,56 a 4,96), dos (RP = 4,56; IC95%: 2,28 a 9,15) y más de dos (RP= 15,88; IC95%: 6,49 a 38,85)- fueron factores de pronóstico independientes, indicadores de fallecimiento durante la hospitalización. Se concluye que el mejoramiento del diagnóstico y el tratamiento de las infecciones puede reducir la mortalidad de las personas de edad avanzada ingresadas en los servicios de urgencia. La multiplicidad de enfermedades, no la edad, fue el factor que aumentó el riesgo de muerte en este grupo de pacientes. No puede justificarse restringir el acceso de los pacientes geriátricos a los mejores recursos de diagnóstico y terapéutica, solo por la edad, si dichos recursos pueden resultar en mayor supervivencia, prevención de discapacidades o una mejor calidad de vida

Oropharynx microbiota among alcoholics and non-alcoholics

CONTEXT: The oropharynx microbiota plays an important role in the origin of infections, especially among alcoholics whose airway defenses are impaired. OBJECTIVE: To compare the normal oropharingeal flora in heavy alcohol drinker and non-alcoholics. PATIENTS: 117 persons, 58 heavy alcohol drinkers and 59 non-alcoholics. SETTING: Santa Casa de São Paulo Emergency Service. DESIGN: A blind prospective study. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Prevalence of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, and fungi. RESULTS: The study of the oropharynx microbiota among heavy alcohol drinkers demonstrated the presence of anaerobic microorganisms in 84.5% of them, including: Bacteroides sp, Prevotella melaninogenica, Fusobacterium sp, Veilonella sp, Peptostreptococcus sp, Propionibacterium sp, Bifidobacterium sp and Clostridium sp, versus 30.5% (p<0.005) of non-alcoholics. Candida sp was present in 34.5% of heavy alcohol drinkers and 5.1% of non-alcoholics (p<0.005). Enterobacteria predominated among heavy alcohol drinkers (25%) compared with non-alcoholics (5.5%) only in the age group 14 to 34 years (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Based upon these results, it was possible to conclude that the knowledge of the oropharynx microbiota among heavy drinkers and non-alcoholics has an important predictive value concerning probable etiologic agents of lower airway infections. Infections caused by anaerobic microorganisms and fungi should be taken into consideration during the choice of empirical therapy for heavy alcohol drinkers

Pulmonary thromboembolism: retrospective study of necropsies performed over 24 years in a university hospital in Brazil

CONTEXT: Pulmonary thromboembolism is the third most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality among acute cardiovascular diseases. The incidence of pulmonary embolism in necropsies has remained unchanged over the last few decades. Cardiac diseases, neoplasia, trauma, recent surgery and systemic diseases are important predisposing clinical conditions. The relationship between male and female sexes is estimated at 1.24. Various studies have shown an increase in morbidity in spring and autumn. There is great difficulty in precise anatomopathological diagnosis in relation to the localization of the emboli in the pulmonary vessels, although they are preferentially located in the right lung and lower lobes. OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence of lethal and non-lethal pulmonary thromboembolism in relation to epidemiological and anatomical variables. DESIGN: Retrospective study performed via reports on the necropsy findings. SETTING: University hospital providing tertiary-level attendance. SAMPLE: 16,466 consecutive necropsies performed from January 1972 to December 1995. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Frequency of lethal and non-lethal pulmonary thromboembolism, predisposing diseases, occurrence in relation to the seasons of the year, and location where the embolus is lodged. RESULTS: Pulmonary thromboembolism was found in 4.7% of all the necropsies performed. There was a predominance of lethal cases (68.2%). There was no difference in relation to sex or seasons of the year for the occurrence of this disease. Cardiovascular diseases were more frequently associated with thromboembolic phenomena. With regard to the location where the embolus was lodged, various lung segments showed greater incidence of being bilaterally compromised. CONCLUSION: Over the period of this study, it was observed that there was a reduction in the incidence of pulmonary thromboembolism, which was probably due to the increase in prophylactic measures over the last few decades. Nonetheless, lethal thromboembolism predominated in frequency, probably because of the abrupt onset of a condition of attack across a large area of the lung, lack of clinical suspicions and consequently a lack of early diagnosis, and delay in instituting fibrinolytic therapy in the cases with hemodynamic repercussions or a large number of lung segments affected

Impact on hospital mortality and morbidity of right ventricular involvement among patients with acute left ventricular infarction

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: There is uncertainty regarding the risk of major complications in patients with left ventricular (LV) infarction complicated by right ventricular (RV) involvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on hospital mortality and morbidity of right ventricular involvement among patients with acute left ventricular myocardial infarction. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective cohort study, at Emergency Care Unit of Hospital Central da Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo. METHODS: 183 patients with acute myocardial infarction participated in this study: 145 with LV infarction alone and 38 with both LV and RV infarction. The presence of complications and hospital death were compared between groups. RESULTS: 21% of the patients studied had LV + RV infarction. In this group, involvement of the dorsal and/or inferior wall was predominant on electrocardiogram (p < 0.0001). The frequencies of Killip class IV upon admission and 24 hours later were greater in the LV + RV group, along with electrical and hemodynamic complications, among others, and death. The probability of complications among the LV + RV patients was 9.7 times greater (odds ratio, OR = 9.7468; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.8673 to 33.1325; p < 0.0001) and probability of death was 5.1 times greater (OR = 5.13; 95% CI: 2.2795 to 11.5510; p = 0.0001), in relation to patients with LV infarction alone. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LV infarction with RV involvement present increased risk of early morbidity and mortality