Serum biomarkers associated with SARS-CoV-2 severity

Immunity with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the acute phase is not sufficiently well understood to differentiate mild from severe cases and identify prognostic markers. We evaluated the immune response profile using a total of 71 biomarkers in sera from patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, confirmed by RT-PCR and controls. We correlated biological marker levels with negative control (C) asymptomatic (A), nonhospitalized (mild cases-M), and hospitalized (severe cases-S) groups. Among angiogenesis markers, we identified biomarkers that were more frequently elevated in severe cases when compared to the other groups (C, A, and M). Among cardiovascular diseases, there were biomarkers with differences between the groups, with D-dimer, GDF-15, and sICAM-1 higher in the S group. The levels of the biomarkers Myoglobin and P-Selectin were lower among patients in group M compared to those in groups S and A. Important differences in cytokines and chemokines according to the clinical course were identified. Severe cases presented altered levels when compared to group C. This study helps to characterize biological markers related to angiogenesis, growth factors, heart disease, and cytokine/chemokine production in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, offering prognostic signatures and a basis for understanding the biological factors in disease severity

Tuberculosis of the breast with erythema nodosum: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>There has been an increasing number of tuberculosis cases worldwide, but tuberculosis of the breast remains rare. In rare cases this is seen with a cutaneous manifestation of erythema nodosum.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 33-year-old Chinese woman with tuberculosis of the left breast accompanied by erythema nodosum on the anterior aspect of both lower legs. Due to her poor clinical response to conventional therapy, and the histopathological findings of fine needle aspiration cytology, there were strong indications of tuberculosis. Her clinical diagnosis was confirmed by molecular detection of <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>complex by polymerase chain reaction. The diagnosis was further confirmed by a second polymerase chain reaction test of erythema nodosum which tested positive for <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</it> complex. She received anti-tuberculous therapy for 18 months, and finally underwent residual lumpectomy. During her follow-up examination after 12 months, no evidence of either residual or recurrent disease was present.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Histopathological features and a high index of clinical suspicion are necessary to confirm a diagnosis of tuberculosis of the breast. Anti-tuberculous therapy with or without simple surgical intervention is the core treatment.</p

The Calcitonin and Glucocorticoids Combination: Mechanistic Insights into Their Class-Effect Synergy in Experimental Arthritis

PMCID: PMC3564948This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses

Objective: to know the ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses. Method: descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach, performed in inpatient units and in chemotherapy out-patients units that provide assistance to oncological patients in two capitals in the South region of Brazil. Eighteen nurses participated in this study, selected by snowball sampling type. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were carried out, which were recorded and transcribed, and then analyzed by thematic analysis. Results: two categories were established: when informing or not becomes a dilemma - showing the main difficulties related to oncological treatment information regarding health staff, health system, and infrastructure; to invest or not - dilemmas related to finitude - showing situations of dilemmas related to pain and confrontation with finitude. Conclusion: for the effective confrontation of the ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses to occur, it is important to invest in the training of these professionals, preparing them in an ethical and human way to act as lawyers of the patient with cancer, in a context of dilemmas related mainly to the possibility of finitude

Health problems of nursing workers in a public educational institution

Objective: To identify the issues occurred with nursing workers through a Health Monitoring System for Nursing Workers (SIMOSTE) and to describe the consequences of those problems. Method: This is a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study realized in a teaching hospital in the west region of the city of São Paulo. Results: From the SIMOSTE, 1.847 occurrences were registered in a six month period. Within the main occurrences, medical licenses, work related accidents with and without removals; psychiatric consultations and psychotherapy were highlighted. Conclusion: The data points out to the need for the development of new health vigilance actions to notify accidents and illness related to work, besides the prevention of issues