Estudo de correlação entre as provas bioquímicas de função hepática, no diagnóstico de hepatite aguda pelo vírus da hepatite A em crianças

A hepatite aguda pelo vírus da hepatite tipo A (VHA) é uma causa comum de doença hepática em crianças em nosso meio, sendo o tipo mais freqüente entre as de causa viral. Usualmente, diante de um paciente com quadro clínico e dados epidemiológicos sugestivos de hepatite aguda, a presença de doença hepática é confirmada e a evolução é acompanhada utilizando-se as chamadas “provas de função hepática” (PFH), cujos resultados habitualmente são conhecidos antes do resultado do exame sorológico, que define a etiologia. Diante do número relativamente grande de PFH que podem ser utilizadas, das implicações fisiopatológicas diferentes que podem ter e do custo de sua execução, procuramos verificar quais delas poderiam ser substituídas por outra(s) e quais as possíveis relações entre os mecanismos de suas alterações. Para isso estudamos as correlações entre os níveis das seguintes PFH – concentração sérica bilirrubina total (BT), concentração sérica de bilirrubina de reação direta (BD), atividades séricas de aspartato aminotransferase (AST), de alanina aminotransferase (ALT), de fosfatase alcalina (FA) e de γ-glutamiltransferase (γGT) em crianças com hepatite do tipo A (HA), que evoluíram para cura, em diferentes fases de sua evolução – do 1o ao 7o dia (G 0-7), do 8o ao 14o dia (G 8-14), do 15o ao 30o dia (G 15-30), do 31o ao 60o dia (G 31-60) e após os 60 dias (G > 60). Foi aplicada análise de correlação múltipla efetuando-se as seguintes análises: 1) correlação entre BD (variável dependente - VD) e BT, AST, ALT, FA e γGT (variáveis independentes - VI) nos grupos G 0-7 e G 8-14; 2) correlação entre BT (VD) e AST, ALT, FA e γGT (VI), nos demais grupos; 3) correlação entre AST (VD) e BT, ALT, FA e γGT (VI) em todos os grupos e 4) correlação entre...Acute type A hepatitis (HA) is a common disease in children in Brazil. And is the most frequent cause of viral hepatitis. Usually when the clinical picture and epidemiological data are suggestive of acute hepatitis the diagnosis of hepatic damage and the follow-up is made using the so called “liver function tests” (LFT), besides the serological confirmation of a recent infection by the hepatitis type A virus (HAV). Considering that: 1) the number of available LFT is relatively large: 2) the ordering of many tests repeatedly over the course or disease would be expensive, and 3) the physiopathological mechanisms of their alterations may be different one from the other we aimed at determining which test(s) could be substituted by other(s) and which are the possible relations among the physiopathological mechanisms of their alterations. To fulfil these objectives, we studied, in children with type A hepatitis, which eventually cured, the multiple correlations among combinations from the following group of tests: total serum bilirubin concentration (TB), direct reactant bilirubin concentration (DB), serum aspartate aminotransferase activity (AST), serum alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT), serum alkaline phosphatase activity (AP) and serum γglutamiltranspeptidase activity (γGT). The correlations were calculated from data taken during different periods after jaundice was noticed – from 0 to 7 days (G 0-7), from 8 to 14 days (G 8-14), from 15 to 30 days (G 15-30), from 31 to 60 days (G 31-60) and after 60 days. A multiple correlation test was applied to carry out the following analyses: 1) correlation between DB ( dependent variable – DV) and TB, AST, ALT, AP and γGT (independent variable – IV) for the groups G 0-7 and... (Complete abstract, click electronic access below

Dietary intake and blood lipid profile in overweight and obese schoolchildren

Abstract. Background: The high blood lipid levels and obesity are one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and the atherosclerotic process begins in childhood. Some environmental factors are supposed to be involved in this relationship, such as dietary factors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary intake and blood lipids levels in overweight and obese schoolchildren. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study with 147 overweight and obese schoolchildren in Botucatu city, Brazil. The anthropometric measurements (body weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference and skinfolds), pubertal staging evaluation and biochemical tests were taken in all children. Three 24h-recall were applied in order to estimate the dietary intake and its relationship with blood lipid levels. The Student t test and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was assessed at the level of 0.05. The data were processed in SAS software (version 9.1.3; SAS Institute). Results: At this study, 63% of children were obese (body mass index higher than 95§ssup§th§esup§ percentile) and 80% showed high body fat percentage. The percentage of children with abnormal total cholesterol and triglycerides was 12% and 10%, respectively, and 28% presented at least one abnormal lipid levels. The average values of anthropometric measurements were higher in children with elevated lipid levels. Total cholesterol levels were positively related to full-fat dairy products and triglycerides levels to saturated fat percentage. Conclusions: Saturated fat was positively associated with elevated lipid levels in overweight and obese schoolchildren. These results reinforce the importance of healthy dietary habits since childhood in order to reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. © 2012 Rinaldi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd