Associação entre cultura de secreção vaginal, características sociodemográficas e manifestações clínicas de pacientes com diagnóstico de candidíase vulvovaginal / Association between vaginal secretion culture, socio-demographic characteristics and clinical manifestations of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis

OBJETIVO: Investigar a etiologia, o perfil epidemiológico de pacientes com candidíase vulvovaginal (CVV) e possíveis fatores predisponentes. MÉTODOS: Secreção vaginal das pacientes foi semeada em ágar Sabouraud e amostras de leveduras foram isoladas e identificadas por Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Dados demográficos, clínicos e fatores predisponentes foram obtidos por meio de questionário. Para análise estatística, foram utilizados os testes t de Student, Fischer e do χ², com auxílio do software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), com nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliadas 69 pacientes, com idade entre 15 e 52 anos, predominando mulheres brancas (79,7%), com escolaridade de nível superior completo (58%), casadas (56,5%) e com vida sexual ativa (97,1%). Dentre elas, 34,8% eram gestantes, 7,2% diabéticas, 1,4% soropositivas para AIDS e 36,2% usavam anticoncepcional oral. Antibioticoterapia recente foi citada por 13% das pacientes, uso de antifúngico por 5,8% e de antitricomonas por 1,4%. Uso de corticosteroides foi relatado por 2,9% das participantes e de antineoplásicos, por 1,4%. Fluxo vaginal e prurido foram as principais queixas apresentadas, respectivamente, por 97,1 e 73,9% das pacientes, seguido de ardência (63,8%) e hiperemia (63,8%). Quando presente, o fluxo foi majoritariamente branco (88,1%) ou grumoso (86,6%). O diagnóstico foi confirmado pela cultura em 55 (79,7%) pacientes, sendo 4 casos de infecção mista. A espécie prevalente foi C. albicans, seguida por um caso de C. glabrata, que foi encontrada em mais duas pacientes em associação com C. albicans. Nas outras duas infecções polimicrobianas, C. lusitaniae foi isolada com C. albicans. CONCLUSÕES: Embora a positividade da cultura tenha sido alta e os dados clínicos de CVV sejam característicos, a sintomatologia não é patognomônica. C. albicans é a espécie prevalente, mas deve-se atentar para a ocorrência de outras espécies na etiologia de CVV, como a emergência de C. lusitaniae.

PURPOSE: To investigate the etiology and the epidemiological profile of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and predisposing factors. METHODS: Vaginal secretions were streaked in Sabouraud agar and yeast samples were isolated and identified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Demographic and clinical data were obtained with a questionnaire. For statistical analysis, the Student's t-test, the χ² and Fischer tests were applied as needed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, with the level of significance set at 5%. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients aged from 15 to 52 years were evaluated. They were predominantly white (79.7%), with higher education (58%), married (56.5%) and sexually active (97.1%). Among them, 34.8% were pregnant, 7.2% diabetic, 1.4% seropositive for AIDS, and 36.2% were using oral contraceptives. Recent antibiotic therapy was mentioned by 13% of the patients, and antifungal or anti-trichomonas therapy was mentioned by 5.8 and 1.4% of the patients, respectively. Corticosteroid use was reported by 2.9% and antineoplastic by 1.4%. Vaginal discharge and itching were the main complaints (97.1 and 73.9%), followed by burning (63.8%) and erythema (63.8%). When present, the vaginal flow was predominantly white (88.1%) or lumpy (86.6%). The diagnosis was confirmed by culture in 55 (79.7%) patients, with mixed infections in 4 patients. The most prevalent species was C. albicans, followed by C. glabrata (one monoinfection and two mixed infections with C. albicans). C. lusitaniae and C. albicans were also identified in mixed infections (two patients). CONCLUSION: Despite the high culture positivity and clinical data characteristic of VVC, the symptoms were not pathognomonic. C. albicans is the most prevalent species, but other species are also involved in VVC etiology, such as the emergence of C. lusitaniae.

Conhecimento de médicos e enfermeiros obstetras sobre a prevenção dos defeitos no tubo neural / Knowledge of physicians and obstetric nurses about the prevention of neural tube defects

Foi avaliado o nível de conhecimento de médicos e enfermeiros obstetras sobre a utilização de ácido fólico (AF) para a prevenção dos defeitos do fechamento do tubo neural (DFTN). Estudo descritivo transversal no qual 118 voluntários (95 médicos e 23 enfermeiros), responderam um questionário com 21 perguntas sobre a prevenção dos DFTN. Os dados foram analisados em função do conhecimento relatado, das recomendações preconizadas pelo Ministério da Saúde (MS) e das evidências científicas (EC) disponíveis sobre o assunto investigado. O nível de conhecimento baseado nas EC e nas recomendações do MS foi diferente (4,64 ± 0,20 vs 5,55 ± 0,15; p < 0,001; Média ± EPM). Não houve diferença entre o nível de conhecimento quando comparado à formação dos mesmos, ao tempo que realizam atendimento pré-natal e entre as duas classes de profissionais avalia­dos. Houve diferença entre o nível de conhecimento relatado e o baseado nas EC (6,76 ± 0,18 vs 4,64 ± 0,15; p < 0,001) e o baseado nas recomendações do MS (6,76 ± 0,18 vs 5,55 ± 0,20; p < 0,001), 94,1% dos profissionais conhecem o papel do ácido fólico, contudo, 64,2% relataram não saber quando iniciar a suplementação no pré-natal. Frente ao exposto foi verificado que a grande maioria dos avaliados relatou conhecer a importância do AF na prevenção do DFTN, porém, existe ainda desconhecimento sobre o assunto investigado.

The scope of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of obstetricians and obstetric nurses about folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects (NTD). A cross-sectional study was conducted in which 118 volunteers (95 physicians and 23 nurses) answered a questionnaire with 21 questions about prevention of NTD. The data were analyzed according to the reported knowledge, the recommendations made by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MOH) and the scientific evidence (SE) available in the literature on the topic. The knowledge based on the SE and recommendations of MOH was different (4.64 ± 0.20 vs. 5.55 ± 0.15, p <0.001, Mean ± SEM). There was no difference between the knowledge of respondents compared to their training, the time spent in prenatal care and between the two classes of professionals evaluated. There were differences between the reported knowledge and that based on SE (6.76 ± 0.18 vs. 4.64 ± 0.15, p <0.001) and based on the MOH recommendations (6.76 ± 0.18 vs. 5.55 ± 0.20, p <0.001). Thus, the conclusion reached was that 94.1% of those evaluated reported knowing the importance of folic acid in preventing NTD, though 64.2% reported that they did not know when to begin administration of the supplement.

Circunferência abdominal avaliada antes da 12ª semana de gestação: correlação com níveis séricos de leptina / Waist circumference measured before the 12th week of pregnancy: correlation with serum leptin levels

OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a correlação entre a circunferência abdominal materna, medida antes da 12ª semana de gestação, e os níveis séricos de leptina durante a gravidez, bem como, comparar os níveis médios de leptina entre gestantes com e sem obesidade abdominal, diagnosticada no início da gestação. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo incluindo 40 gestantes atendidas no pré-natal de baixo risco, superiores a 20 anos, não tabagistas, com gestação única, e sem doenças crônicas intercorrentes. A circunferência abdominal foi medida antes da 12ª semana, e os níveis séricos de leptina dosados entre a 9ª e a 12ª, a 25ª e a 28ª e entre a 34ª e a 37ª semanas de gestação. De acordo com a circunferência abdominal, a coorte foi dividida em dois grupos: com e sem obesidade abdominal. Os testes de Mann-Whitney e do χ² avaliaram as diferenças entre os grupos. A correlação de Pearson verificou a associação entre a circunferência abdominal e os níveis séricos de leptina durante a gestação. Considerou-se o valor de p<0,05. RESULTADOS: A média do peso e do índice de massa corpórea das pacientes com obesidade abdominal (74,4±11,0 kg/28,99±4,1) foi maior do que naquelas sem obesidade abdominal (55,6±5,9 kg/21,1±2,40) (p=0,001). A média dos níveis séricos de leptina no grupo das gestantes com obesidade abdominal (41,9±3,5 ng/mL) foi superior ao grupo das pacientes sem obesidade abdominal (23,6±2,7 ng/mL) (p<0,0002). Verificou-se, também, correlação entre a medida da circunferência abdominal e a média dos níveis séricos de leptina (r=0,7; p<0,0001). CONCLUSÕES: A circunferência abdominal medida antes da 12ª semana de gestação é um método válido e simples para se predizer os níveis séricos de leptina durante todo o período gestacional. Gestantes com obesidade abdominal diagnosticada antes da 12ª semana apresentam níveis médios de leptina sérica, durante a gravidez, superiores àquelas sem obesidade abdominal.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the correlation between maternal waist circumference measured before the 12th week of gestation and serum leptin levels during pregnancy, as well as to compare the leptin levels of women with and without abdominal obesity diagnosed in early pregnancy. METHODS: Prospective study including 40 pregnant women receiving low-risk prenatal care, older than 20 years, nonsmokers, with singleton pregnancies and without chronic disease. Waist circumference was measured before the 12th week and serum leptin levels were measured between the 9th and 12th, 25th and 28th and 34th and 37th weeks of gestation. According to waist circumference measurement, the cohort was divided into two groups: with and without abdominal obesity. The Mann-Whitney and χ² tests were used to assess the differences between groups. The Pearson correlation coeffient was used to assess the association between waist circumference and serum leptin levels during pregnancy. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The mean weight and body mass index of patients with abdominal obesity (74.4±11.0 kg/28.9±4.1) was higher than that of patients without abdominal obesity (55.6±5.9 kg/21.1±2.4) (p=0.001). The mean leptin levels in pregnant patients with abdominal obesity (41.9±3.5 ng/mL) was higher than in patients without abdominal obesity (23.6±2.7 ng/mL) (p<0.0002). A positive correlation was obtained between the waist circumference measured during the same period and the mean serum leptin levels (r=0.7; p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Waist circumference measured before the 12th week of pregnancy is a valid and simple method to predict the serum leptin levels throughout pregnancy. Pregnant women with abdominal obesity diagnosed before 12th week have higher mean serum leptin levels during pregnancy than those without abdominal obesity.

Detection of Group B Streptococcus in Brazilian pregnant women and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is still not routinely screened during pregnancy in Brazil, being prophylaxis and empirical treatment based on identification of risk groups. This study aimed to investigate GBS prevalence in Brazilian pregnant women by culture or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) associated to the enrichment culture, and to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated bacteria, so as to support public health policies and empirical prophylaxis. After an epidemiological survey, vaginal and anorectal specimens were collected from 221 consenting laboring women. Each sample was submitted to enrichment culture and sheep blood agar was used to isolate suggestive GBS. Alternatively, specific PCR was performed from enrichment cultures. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined for isolated bacteria by agar diffusion method. No risk groups were identified. Considering the culture-based methodology, GBS was detected in 9.5 percent of the donors. Twenty five bacterial strains were isolated and identified. Through the culture-PCR methodology, GBS was detected in 32.6 percent specimens. Bacterial resistance was not detected against ampicillin, cephazolin, vancomycin and ciprofloxacin, whereas 22.7 percent were resistant to erythromycin and 50 percent were resistant to clindamycin. GBS detection may be improved by the association of PCR and enrichment culture. Considering that colony selection in agar plates may be laboring and technician-dependent, it may not reflect the real prevalence of streptococci. As in Brazil prevention strategies to reduce the GBS associated diseases have not been adopted, prospective studies are needed to anchor public health policies especially considering the regional GBS antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.

Bacterial vaginosis: clinical, epidemiologic and microbiological features / Bacterial vaginosis: clinical, epidemiologic and microbiological features

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is a polymicrobial clinical syndrome, whose etiology has not been fully understood. It occurs in approximately 30% of the women in childbearing age and is the result of the shift of protective resident microorganisms as Lactobacillus spp. by opportunistic pathogenic bacteria such as Gardnerella vaginalis. Patients with BV generally present copious, thin, homogeneous, milky, foul-smelling flow. Vaginal pH is > 4.5 and microscopy reveals bacteria-covered epithelial cells, termed “clue cells”. Around 50% of the patients are asymptomatic and the disease is associated with gynecologic complications, such as cervicitis, salpingitis, endometritis, post-operative infections and pelvic inflammatory disease; and obstetric complications, such as premature rupture of the membranes, preterm deliveries, chorioamniotitis and postpartum endometritis. Although the Nugent´s method is accepted as the “gold standard” for diagnosing BV, Amsel criteria are generally used for diagnosis in clinical practice. The Papanicolaou method is a valid diagnostic option, chiefly when it yields a positive result (mean specificity 95% when compared to gold standard). G. vaginalis has been almost universally recovered from women with BV, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease, besides it may be detected in about 50% of healthy women. According to the literature, first-line drugs for BV treatment worldwide are metronidazole and clindamycin. However, regional studies on G. vaginalis drug susceptibility patterns are needed faced the so fast growing antimicrobial resistance phenomenon.

Obesidade, adipocitocinas e gravidez: uma atualização da literatura / Obesity, adipocytokines and pregnancy: an update of the literature

Atualmente, a obesidade é considerada um dos maiores e mais visíveis, porém mais negligenciados, problemas de saúde pública em todo o mundo. A adiposidade visceral, mais do que a subcutânea, é determinante para o aparecimento de doenças como o diabetes mellitus, a hipertensão arterial e a doença vascular coronariana. Fisiologicamente, as alterações no metabolismo dos carboidratos e dos lipídios ocorrem na gravidez para garantir um fornecimento contínuo de nutrientes para feto em crescimento promovendo um estado de resistência à insulina (RI). Além dos hormônios placentários, citocinas pró-inflamatórias, as adipocitocinas, secretadas por células do tecido adiposo e pela placenta, desempenham um papel significativo na instalação e manutenção desta RI na gravidez. Nesta revisão, procuramos atualizar o conhecimento sobre as alterações promovidas pelas adipocitocinas e pela obesidade central no organismo da gestante, ressaltando o diagnóstico da adiposidade visceral na gravidez e o risco que envolve este tipo de obesidade para a gestante.

Currently, obesity is considered one of the largest and most visible, but most neglected, public health problems worldwide. The visceral adiposity, rather than subcutaneously, is crucial to the emergence of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary vascular disease. Physiologically, changes in the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids occur in pregnancy to ensure a continuous supply of nutrients to the growing fetus by promoting a state of insulin resistance (IR). In addition to the placental hormones, proinflammatory cytokines, the adipocytokines, secreted by fat tissue and the placenta, play a significant role in the installation and maintenance of IR in pregnancy. In this review, we present the knowledge of the changes promoted by adipocytokines and obesity in the central body of the mother, emphasizing the diagnosis of visceral fat in pregnancy and the risks surrounding this type of obesity in pregnant women.

Doença perinatal associada aos estreptococos do Grupo B: aspectos clínico-microbiológicos e prevenção / Perinatal Group B streptococcal disease: clinical-microbiological aspects and prevention

Os cocos Gram-positivos Streptococcus agalactiae ou estreptococos do Grupo B de Lance (EGB) são bactérias que fazem parte da microbiota residente nas membranas mucosas de seres humanos, colonizando principalmente os tratos gastrintestinal e geniturinário. Sua importância é relacionada à contaminação vertical dos neonatos de parturientes colonizadas, que pode acontecer de forma ascendente ainda no útero ou durante o parto. Mundialmente, a prevalência da colonização pelos EGB nas gestantes varia de 3% a 41%. Entre as infecções neonatais associadas a estes microrganismos destacam-se, principalmente, a septicemia e a pneumonia e, em menor freqüência, meningite, celulite, osteomielite e artrite séptica. Em 1996, foi publicado o primeiro guia preventivo da doença estreptocócica perinatal, estabelecendo as diretrizes e critérios para a prevenção da transmissão vertical destes agentes. Em 2002, foi estabelecido o uso da profilaxia antimicrobiana intraparto e a investigação rotineira da colonização pelo S. agalactiae no final da gestação, através de cultura de material vaginal e retal em meio seletivo. Nos países que adotaram estas medidas profiláticas, registrou-se um decréscimo significativo na incidência da doença. No Brasil, a mortalidade neonatal é um grave problema de saúde pública e ainda não foram adotadas estratégias de prevenção e tratamento para reduzir a prevalência de infecção neonatal pelo EGB. Considerando o custo elevado e as graves conseqüências da doença estreptocócica perinatal, verifica-se a necessidade de elaboração de políticas de saúde, visando reduzir a transmissão vertical. Assim, percebe-se a necessidade de atualização literária, englobando aspectos microbiológicos e preventivos da doença estreptocócica perinatal, visando, sobretudo, a uma abordagem que facilite o entendimento e a aplicabilidade deste conhecimento dentro do cenário nacional.

Lance group B streptococci (GBS, or Streptococcus agalactiae) are Gram-positive bacterial components of the resident microbiota of human mucous membranes, mainly colonizing the gut and the urogenital tract. Vertical perinatal transmission of colonized women is known to occur as both, intrauterine infection or through contamination during labor. The worldwide prevalence of GBS-colonized pregnant women ranges from 3% to 41%. Neonatal infection may lead mainly to sepsis and pneumonia, with less frequent occurrences of meningitis, celullitis, osteomyelitis and septic arthritis. The first guidelines for prevention of the vertical transmission of perinatal streptococcal disease were issued in 1996. Routine investigation of the S. agalactiae colonization status, through selective medium culture of vaginal and rectal secretions at the term of pregnancy, and intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis, were established in 2002. A significant decrease in the incidence of perinatal infection was seen in the countries that adopted the prophylactic measures. Although neonatal mortality in Brazil is a serious public health issue, no preventive or treatment strategies targeting GBS-neonatal infection have been adopted. Due to the high costs and serious consequences of perinatal streptococcal disease, health policies aiming at reducing vertical transmission are clearly called for. In this regard, literary updates are needed, specially considering microbiology and prevention of GBS-neonatal infection, to give clearly understandable and applicable supportive arguments, in the national scenery.