Fish oil fat emulsion nutritional support in the treatment of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension in patients with pericardial devascularization with splenectomy: A randomized clinical trial / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective To explore the effect of fish oil fat emulsion as perioperative nutritional support on patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.Methods Randomized controlled clinical trial was performed between September 2011 and September 2017 in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension who underwent pericardial devascularization and splenectomy.Hypocaloric total parenteral nutritional support (TPN) started from the first day after the operation for 5 consecutive days.Patients were divided into experimental group and control group according to thetype of fat emulsion used.43 patients in experimental group were applied for fish oil fat emulsion injection (10％ Omegaven) + medium long chain structure fat emulsion (20％STG) and 42 patients in control group were applied for medium long chain structure fat emulsion (20％STG).Liver function (total bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase),nutrition index (serum albumin and prealbumin),inflammatory mediators (TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-10) were measured before and after the operation,and the clinical outcomes were observed.Results There was no statistically significant difference in liver function and nutritional indices between the experimental group and the control group (P＞0.05).The inflammatory mediators like TNF-u,IL-6 and IL-10 on the first day after surgery were significantly higher than those before surgery in both groups [experiment group:(225.54±54.78) vs.(61.49±16.47),(74.94±6.36) vs.(39.84±2.77),(77.53±11.4) vs.(46.05±6.13) ng/L;control group:(229.26±62.15) vs.(63.48±13.76),(77.23±7.83)vs.(40.64±3.34),(73.89±7.97)vs.(44.88±5.72) ng/L;P＜ 0.01].With the progress of time,the proinflammatory factors like TNF-α and IL-6 decreased after the operation and the range of decrease was higher in experiment group than in control group [d4-d 1:(-56.88± 31.63) vs.(-35.96±20.02),(-13.52±5.20) vs.(-6.38±2.84) ng/L;d7-d1:(-150.67±42.58) vs.(-132.79±53.35),(-27.04±8.97) vs.(-20.85±6.38) ng/L;P＜ 0.05].The range of increase in anti-inflammatory media IL-10 was higher in experiment group than in the control group (d4-d1:(14.22±13.08) vs.(5.64±3.58) ng/L;d7-d1:(17.78±5.58) vs.(-37.96±11.43) ng/L;P＜0.05).The incidence of grade Ⅲ complications and total complications (4.7％ vs.21.4％,23.3％ vs.45.2％) and hospitalization time [(10.12 ±1.48) vs.(12.33±2.04) d] in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05).Conclusions In patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension,perioperative nutritional support of fish oil fat emulsion can reduce systemic inflammatory response and operative complications and promote rapid recovery through its two-way regulation of inflammatory mediators.

Calidad de vida relativa a salud mediante Kidscreen-52 en niños con discapacidad física y niños sanos de 10 a 14 años / Quality of life related to health though Kidscreen-52 in children with physical disabilities and healthy children 10 to 14 years

Introduction: Finding out the effect of interventions on patient's Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL), and it's comparison to the healthy population, is needed in the field of Rehabilitation. Objective: Our goal was to determine how the HRQL of patient, who receive treatment at Santiago's Teletón Institute, differed from the HRQL reported for the equivalent healthy population. Method: This study compared the results for 32 patients, between 10 and 14 years of age, carrying physical disability (secondary to cerebral palsy, myelomeningocele, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy), and 32 subjects from a control group, equivalent in age and gender. Both groups were evaluated using the Kidscreen-52. Results: A comparison between both groups showed a significant difference only for the scores in the physical well-being dimension. Throughout the rest of the dimensions, scores behaved similarly for both groups. The friends and social support dimension obtained the highest median (near 60 points) and the social acceptance dimension obtained the lowest scores (37 points), for both groups. Conclusion: The HRQL for both groups differ only in the scores obtained in the well-being dimension. This finding coincides with the presence of neuromuscular-skeletal pathology in the studied group, and could indicate that the rest of the dimensions are affected by elements other than the presence of illness. Further studies, with greater number of subject and ideally with specific measurement scales, are required to determine the variables that have a bearing on the HRQL for certain illnesses.

Introducción: En rehabilitación resulta necesario conocer el impacto de las intervenciones en la Calidad de Vida Relativa a la Salud (CVRS) de los pacientes y comparar con población de niños sanos. Objetivo: Determinar si la CVRS de los pacientes atendidos en el Instituto Teletón Santiago, difiere de la reportada por niños sanos de edades y géneros similares. Método: El estudio compara resultados de 32 pacientes de 10 a 14 años, portadores de discapacidad física (secundaria parálisis cerebral, mielomeningocele y distrofia muscular Duchenne) y 32 niños sanos emparejados por género y edad. A ambos grupos se les aplicó el instrumento genérico de medición de CVRS, Kidscreen-52. Resultados: Al comparar ambos grupos, se obtuvo una diferencia significativa en sus puntajes sólo en la dimensión de bienestar físico. En el resto de las dimensiones, los puntajes se comportaron en forma similar. Para ambos grupos, la dimensión amigos y apoyo social obtuvo la mayor mediana (alrededor de 60 puntos) y la de menor puntaje, la dimensión de aceptación social (37 puntos). Conclusión: La CVRS de ambos grupos difiere sólo en el aspecto bienestar físico, lo que concuerda con la presencia de patologías de origen neuromúsculo-esquelético en el grupo de casos, e indicaría que el resto de las dimensiones de la CVRS se ven influidas por elementos distintos a la presencia de la enfermedad. Se requiere más estudios, con mayor número de pacientes e idealmente con instrumentos específicos, para determinar las variables que inciden en la CVRS de enfermedades determinadas.

Deforestation and threats to the biodiversity of Amazonia / Desmatamento e ameaças à biodiversidade da Amazônia

This is a review of the main factors currently perceived as threats to the biodiversity of Amazonia. Deforestation and the expansion of the agricultural frontier go hand in hand within the context of occupation and land use in the region, followed by a hasty process of industrialization since the 1950s and, more recently, by a nation-wide attempt to adapt Brazil to economic globalization. Intensive agriculture and cattle-raising, lack of territorial planning, the monoculture of certain crops often promoted by official agencies, and the introduction of exotic species by cultivation are some of the factors affecting Amazonian biodiversity. There are still large gaps in knowledge that need to be dealt with for a better understanding of the local ecosystems so as to allow their preservation, but such investigation is subjected to manifold hindrances by misinformation, disinformation and sheer ignorance from the legal authorities and influential media. Data available for select groups of organisms indicate that the magnitude of the loss and waste of natural resources associated with deforestation is staggering, with estimated numbers of lost birds and primates being over ten times that of such animals illegally commercialized around the world in one year. The challenges to be met for an eventual reversal of this situation demand more systematic and concerted studies, the consolidation of new and existing research groups, and a call for a halt to activities depleting the Amazonian rainforest.

Este trabalho mostra um panorama dos principais fatores hoje percebidos como ameaças à biodiversidade na Amazônia. O desmatamento e a expansão da fronteira agrícola caminham lado a lado dentro do contexto da ocupação e do uso da terra na região, seguidos de um processo acelerado de industrialização desde a década de 1950 e, mas recentemente, de tentativas em escala nacional para adaptar o Brasil à globalização econômica. Agricultura e pecuária intensiva, a falta de ordenamento territorial, a monocultura de certas espécies e a introdução de espécies exóticas para cultivo são alguns dos fatores que afetam a biodiversidade da Amazônia. Ainda há grandes lacunas de conhecimento que precisam ser resolvidas para o melhor conhecimento dos ecossistemas locais de modo a possibilitar sua preservação, mas essa investigação anda sujeita a inúmeros empecilhos devido à desinformação, contra-informação e pura ignorância das autoridades legais e da mídia influente. Dados disponíveis para alguns grupos de organismos indicam que a magnitude da perda e desperdício de recursos naturais devida ao desmatamento é imensa, com estimativas de números de aves e primatas perdidos da ordem de mais de dez vezes maior que as desses animais comercializados ilegalmente em um ano em todo o mundo. Os desafios necessários a uma eventual reversão desse quadro exigem estudos mais sistemáticos e coordenados, a consolidação de grupos de pesquisa novos e já existentes, e um apelo para a cessação das atividades que exaurem a Floresta Amazônica.

Varicella-zoster virus encephalitis in an AIDS patient

A 37-year-old man with a three-year history of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome was admitted with impaired consciousness, seizures and fever. He was on highly active antiretroviral therapy and on neurotoxoplasmosis secondary prophylaxis. Laboratory exams from two months before showed a CD4 cell count of 37/µL and a viral load of 230,000 copies/mL. Three months before admission he developed herpetic skin rash in the right trunk and acyclovir was added to his treatment regimen. On physical exam he was drowsy and had motor and sensory aphasia. The patient had elevated protein levels and normal pressure in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Contrast enhanced computed tomography scan of the brain showed a hypodense lesion in the left parietal lobe, with poorly defined margins and no contrast enhancement. The magnetic resonance scan (MRI) showed multiple hyperintensities in T2-weighted image in white and grey matters and hypointense products of hemorrhage in both hemispheres and in the cerebellum. He was empirically treated with intravenous acyclovir and prednisone. Viral DNA of Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was detected in the CSF by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Acyclovir was continued for 10 days and the patient became well, with improvement of aphasia.We present a case of VZV encephalitis, confirmed by nested PCR, in a patient with suggestive MRI findings, who succeeded with treatment. VZV encephalitis is a rare opportunistic infection, occurring in 0.1 to 4 percent of AIDS patients with neurological disease; it is related to severe immunodeficiency and has a high mortality.

Prevalence of HIV-1/2, HTLV-I/II, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponema pallidum and Trypanosoma cruzi among prison inmates at Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais State, Brazil / Prevalência HIV-1/2, do HTLV-I/II, do víru da hepatite B (HBV) e C (HCV), do Treponema pallidum e do Trypanosoma cruzi entre os presidiários em Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais, Brasil

O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a soroprevalência do vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV-1/2), do vírus linfotrópico humano (HTLV-I/II), da hepatite B (HBV), da hepatitis C (HCV), do Treponema pallidum e do Trypanosoma cruzi em 63 presidiários do sexo masculino em Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais, Brasil e comparar com resultados de doadores de sangue. Os resultados positivos foram: 11/63 (17,5 por cento) para HBV, 5/63 (7,4 por cento) para sífilis, 4/63 (6,3 por cento) para HCV, 3/63 (4,8 por cento) para doenca de Chagas, 2/63 (3,2 por cento) para HIV-1/2 e 1/63 (1,6 por cento) para HTLV-I/II. A soroprevalência em prisioneiros foi mais alta que entre doadores de sangue, principalmente para anticorpos anti-HIV-1/2, HCV e HBV. Isso se deve provavelmente ao baixo nível socioeconômico e de escolaridade, proporçäo elevada de história pregressa de uso de drogas endovenosas e/ou comportamento sexual de risco. Concluímos que prisioneiros constituem um grupo de alto risco para essas doenças e testes de triagem e aconselhamento säo recomendados como rotina no ambiente carcerário

Distintos comportamientos de la oxigenación sistémica e intestinal en el síndrome de distress respiratorio del adulto (ARDS) tratado con presión espiratoria positiva final (PEEP) / Different behaviors of the systemic and intestinal oxygenation in the adult respiratory distress syndrome treated with positive end-expiratory pressure

La relación entre disponibilidad y consumo de O2 (DO2 y VO2, respectivamente) ha sido extensamente estudiada en pacientes críticos. Sin embargo, existen pocos intentos de vincular éstas mediciones a la oxigenación tisular. Nosotros realizamos éste estudio en pacientes con ARDS tratados con PEEP con el propósito de demostrar que el pH intramucoso gástrico (pHi) podría contribuir al monitoreo de la oxigenación tisular y aportar información adicional sobre el significado de la relación VO2/DO2. Con éste objetivo, 11 pacientes con ARDS, sedados con diazepam, relajados con pancuronio y ventilados mecánicamente con una FiO2 de 1, fueron sometidos a incrementos secuenciales de PEEP a O, 10 y 15 cmH2O, con intervalos de 209 minutos. En cada caso se midieron pHi por tonometría, volumen minuto cardíaco por termodilución y contenidos arteriales y venosos mixtos de O2 (gases, Hb y saturación), calculándose DO2 y VO2. Se realizaron correlaciones entre DO2 y VO2 y DO2 y pHi por cuadrados mínimos. A través de un método de agrupamiento se distinguieron diferentes comportamientos. Adicionalmente, se incluyeron otros 2 pacientes para corroborar la metodología estadística. De ésta forma quedaron definidos 3 grupos. En el grupo I (6 pacientes), con las dismuinuciones de la DO2, el VO2 fue constante (r media 0,49 ñ 0,34), aunque el pHi se redujo (r media 0,90 ñ 0,09)...