ABSTRACT
Patients with sickle-cell anemia submitted to frequent blood transfusions are at risk of contamination with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Determination of HCV RNA and genotype characterization are parameters that are relevant for the treatment of the viral infection. The objective of the present study was to determine the frequency of HCV infection and the positivity for HCV RNA and to identify the HCV genotype in patients with sickle-cell anemia with a history of blood transfusion who had been treated at the Hospital of the HEMOPE Foundation. Sera from 291 patients were tested for anti-HCV antibodies by ELISA 3.0 and RIBA 3.0 Chiron and for the presence of HCV RNA by RT-PCR. HCV genotyping was performed in 19 serum samples. Forty-one of 291 patients (14.1 percent) were anti-HCV positive by ELISA and RIBA. Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed a greater risk of anti-HCV positivity in those who had started a transfusion regime before 1992 and received more than 10 units of blood. Thirty-four of the anti-HCV-positive patients (34/41, 82.9 percent) were also HCV RNA positive. Univariate analysis, used to compare HCV RNA-negative and -positive patients, did not indicate a higher risk of HCV RNA positivity for any of the variables evaluated. The genotypes identified were 1b (63 percent), 1a (21 percent) and 3a (16 percent). A high prevalence of HCV infection was observed in our patients with sickle-cell anemia (14.1 percent) compared to the population in general (3 percent). In the literature, the frequency of HCV infection in sickle-cell anemia ranges from 2 to 30 percent. The serological screening for anti-HCV at blood banks after 1992 has contributed to a better control of the dissemination of HCV infection. Because of the predominance of genotype 1, these patients belong to a group requiring special treatment, with a probable indication of new therapeutic options against HCV
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Anemia, Sickle Cell , Blood Transfusion , Hepacivirus , Hepatitis C , Aged, 80 and over , Brazil , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Genotype , Hepatitis C , Hepatitis C Antibodies , Immunoblotting , Prevalence , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Risk Factors , RNA, ViralABSTRACT
Se analizó el valor pronóstico de la Escala de Glasgow (EG) en 62 pacientes sometidos a neurocirugía intracraneana, correlacionando la EG en distintos tiempos (prequirúrgico, postoperatorio inmediato, mediato y tardío) con la Escala de Glasgow Evolutiva (EGE), representando ésta el valor de la evolución final obtenida en el momento del alta. Existiría una correlación directa significativa entre EG y EGE, resultando la EG de las primeras 72 hs. del postoperatorio y del postoperatorio mediato como los valores mejor correlacionados con el escor evolutivo al alta. La EG en las primeras 72 hs. podría ser un predictor confiable de la evolución neuroquirúrgica
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Glasgow Coma Scale , Neurosurgery/statistics & numerical data , Prognosis , Postoperative Complications , Postoperative Period , Predictive Value of Tests , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Se analizó el valor pronóstico de la Escala de Glasgow (EG) en 62 pacientes sometidos a neurocirugía intracraneana, correlacionando la EG en distintos tiempos (prequirúrgico, postoperatorio inmediato, mediato y tardío) con la Escala de Glasgow Evolutiva (EGE), representando ésta el valor de la evolución final obtenida en el momento del alta. Existiría una correlación inversa significativa entre EG y EGE, resultando la EG de las primeras 72 hs. del postoperatorio y del postoperatorio mediato como los valores mejor correlacionados con el escor evolutivo al alta. La escor en las primeras 72 hs. podría ser un predictor confiable de la evolución neuroquirúrgica
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Clinical Evolution , Glasgow Coma Scale , Neurosurgery/standards , Postoperative Complications/diagnosis , Prognosis , Neurosurgery/statistics & numerical data , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Con objeto de investigar si la ingestion de nopal, al igual que de algunas fibras dieteticas, disminuye los lipidos sericos, la glucemia y el peso corporal se estudiaron ocho individuos sanos, 14 obesos y siete diabeticos a quienes se les administraron 100 g de hojas asadas de nopal antes de cada alimento durante 10 dias. Despues de este periodo se encontro disminucion significativa del colesterol total en los tres grupos y de colesterol beta, trigliceridos y peso corporal en los obesos y en los diabeticos. El colesterol alfa no se modifico. La glucemia disminuyo en promedio 63,4 mg/dl (3.5 mmol/l) en los diabeticos (p < 0.001), y 3.86 mg/dl (0.21 mmol/l) en los no diabeticos (p < 0.05).La ingestion de nopal antes de los alimentos puede ser util para tratar algunas hiperlipidemias, la diabetes mellitus y la obesidad