Quality of life of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis and their caregivers.

To compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with and without atopic dermatitis (AD) and that of their caregivers and to assess their QoL according to different degrees of AD. This is a cross-sectional, case-control study conducted with patients aged between 4 and 12 years with and without AD and their caregivers. Patients were treated at the Pediatric Dermatology Outpatient Center and the Childcare Center of the Joana de Gusmão Children's Hospital, respectively, from June 2021 to March 2022. The QoL Assessment Scale Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Infant Imagé (AUQEI) was applied to children and adolescents with AD and the control group while the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument was administered to their caregivers. Fifty cases and fifty controls were included in this study. When assessing the QoL of the case and control groups, statistically significant differences were found in the domains of the AUQUEI instrument. Regarding QoL and AD severity, a statistically significant difference was seen (p = 0.027) when comparing moderate and severe SCORAD scores. When comparing the QoL of children with and without AD, a difference was seen between the two groups. The QoL of AD patients was worse and related to the severity of the disease. A better QoL was found among the caregivers in the control group. In the case group, the higher the SCORAD score, the worse the QoL. No relationship was found between AD severity and the QoL of the caregivers in the case group.

Fetal ultrasound estimated weight and correlation to Brazilian newborn weight.

Background: To compare the best fetal weight formula with different biometric tables on the weight of Brazilian newborns. Methods: This observational study has tested the performance of different common fetal weight formulas and biometric tables. Weight estimates were performed by the methods of Warsof et al. (1977), Shepard et al. (1982), Hadlock et al. (1985), Furlan et al. (2012) and Stirnemann et al. (2017). The biometric tables selected were the following: Snijders and Nicolaides (1994), Hadlock et al. (1984), Papageorghiou et al. (2014) and Kiserud et al. (2016) and correlated to Pedreira et al. (2011) database, which was considered the gold standard. Statistical analyses were performed using the mean relative error, average absolute error and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Results: The best r was found when using the Snijders and Nicolaides (1994) biometric table with weight formula by Stirnemann et al. (2017). The average relative error was lower when using weight formula by Shepard et al. (1982) with biometric tables by Snijders and Nicolaides (1994), Papageorghiou et al. (2014) or Kiserud et al. (2016). On average, absolute error, the lowest r was obtained for the Furlan et al. (2012) weight formula and the Papageorghiou et al. (2014) biometric table. Conclusions: The best correlation was found for biometric table by Snijders and Nicolaides (1994) and fetal weight formula calculation for the estimation of Brazilian newborn weight by Stirnemann et al. (2017).Background: To compare the best fetal weight formula with different biometric tables on the weight of Brazilian newborns. Methods: This observational study has tested the performance of different common fetal weight formulas and biometric tables. Weight estimates were performed by the methods of Warsof et al. (1977), Shepard et al. (1982), Hadlock et al. (1985), Furlan et al. (2012) and Stirnemann et al. (2017). The biometric tables selected were the following: Snijders and Nicolaides (1994), Hadlock et al. (1984), Papageorghiou et al. (2014) and Kiserud et al. (2016) and correlated to Pedreira et al. (2011) database, which was considered the gold standard. Statistical analyses were performed using the mean relative error, average absolute error and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Results: The best r was found when using the Snijders and Nicolaides (1994) biometric table with weight formula by Stirnemann et al. (2017). The average relative error was lower when using weight formula by Shepard et al. (1982) with biometric tables by Snijders and Nicolaides (1994), Papageorghiou et al. (2014) or Kiserud et al. (2016). On average, absolute error, the lowest r was obtained for the Furlan et al. (2012) weight formula and the Papageorghiou et al. (2014) biometric table. Conclusions: The best correlation was found for biometric table by Snijders and Nicolaides (1994) and fetal weight formula calculation for the estimation of Brazilian newborn weight by Stirnemann et al. (2017).

Meta-Analysis of the Sensitivity of Decision Support Systems in Diagnosing Diabetic Retinopathy.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common microvascular complications presenting by patients diagnosticated with diabetic diseases. Uncontrolled hyperglycemia may manifest as visual impairment and blindness. The early detection of DR is essential to minimize the risk and consequence of visual diminishing. The standard gold diagnoses tool relies on different imaging modalities and requires a judgment of expert photographers, which are not available in most of the primary care centers or remote location. In that scenario, an automate or semiautomated DR screening systems can contribute to improving the accuracy of the diagnostic. Thus, we performed a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis to evaluate the Decision Support Systems (DSS) in diagnosing DR. The overall Diagnostic Odds Ratio was 73.15 (95%CI: 37.54-142.50), sensitivity was 97.70 (95%CI: 97.50-97.90) and specificity was 90.30 (95%CI: 90.00-90.60). Our results corroborate with the concept of usefulness of DSSs in early diagnosis, screening and preliminary evaluation of suspicious images of DR.

Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with osteogenesis imperfecta: a cross-sectional study using PedsQL™.

BACKGROUND: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a disorder of bone formation leading to low mineral density and fractures. Children and adolescents with OI require periodic medical follow up, corrective surgery, drug therapy and physical therapy, as well as specific daily care practices. In addition, they have an increased incidence of fractures, which require immobilization and cause severe discomfort and short-term disability. This study evaluated the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with OI in two reference centers for OI treatment in southern Brazil. METHODS: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQLTM) was applied in two university-affiliated reference centers for OI treatment in southern Brazil. Children and adolescents aged ≥ 5 years with clinical diagnoses of OI were included. Clinical data and socioeconomic status was evaluated. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 52 children and adolescents with OI (aged 5-17 years); 26 (50%) participants with type I OI, 13 (25%) type IV, 12 (23.1 %) type III, and 1 (1.9%) type V OI. Physical and social functioning domains differed significantly according to clinical presentation of OI with lowest scores in the severe type (OI type III). Pain seems to be the variable that is most associated with impact on the PedsQL domains. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study revealed differences in physical functioning and social functioning in relation to OI clinical presentation. These results reinforcing the importance of the clinical management of these patients with the aim of functional improvement and importance of pain control.

Data Mining Applied to Analysis of Contraceptive Methods Among College Students.

The aim of this study was to use the Data Mining to analyze the profile of the use of contraceptive methods in a university population. We used a database about sexuality performed on a university population in southern Brazil. The results obtained by the generated rules are largely in line with the literature and epidemiology worldwide, showing significant points of vulnerability in the university population. Validation measures of the study, as such, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve were higher or at least similar as compared to recent studies using the same methodology.

Accuracy of Decision Support Systems for Breast Cancer - Initial Results.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of decision support systems in the diagnosis of breast cancer by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of diagnostic accuracy. The first step of the research, which consisted of the initial research of abstracts and titles identified from the research strategy in the databases was performed by two researchers independently. In this stage, 622 references were retrieved in the databases and, through a consensus meeting, 183 articles were selected for full reading.

Use of Data Mining to Predict the Risk Factors Associated With Osteoporosis and Osteopenia in Women.

Osteoporosis has recently been acknowledged as a major public health issue in developed countries because of the decrease in the quality of life of the affected person and the increase in public costs due to complete or partial physical disability. The aim of this study was to use the J48 algorithm as a classification task for data from women exhibiting changes in bone densitometry. The study population included all patients treated at the diagnostic center for bone densitometry since 2010. Census sample data collection was conducted as all elements of the population were included in the sample. The service in question provides care to patients via the Brazilian Unified Health System and private plans. The results of the classification task were analyzed using the J48 algorithm, and among the dichotomized variables associated with a diagnosis of osteoporosis, the mean accuracy was 74.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 61.0-68.0) and the mean area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.64-0.66), with a mean sensitivity of 76.0 (95% CI, 76.0-76.0) and a mean specificity of 48.0 (95% CI, 46.0-49.0). The analyzed results showed higher values of sensitivity, accuracy, and curve of the ROC area in experiments conducted with individuals with osteoporosis. Most of the generated rules were consistent with the literature, and the few differences might serve as hypotheses for further studies.

Evaluation of the quality of life of children with celiac disease and their parents: a case-control study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of children with CD and of their parents and to compare it with that of children without CD and of their parents. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the quality of life of children (5-12 years) with CD and one of their parents, compared to the QoL of children without CD (and their parents as their caregivers ). The QoL was assessed by applying the following questionnaires: AUQUEI (children) and WHOQOL-BREF (parents). RESULTS: QoL was evaluated in 33 children with CD, 63 children without CD, and of their respective parents as their parent caregivers (96 adults). QoL total scores were similar between the groups of children with and without CD. However, in the Leisure dimension, the scores of children with CD were significantly lower than those of the controls (P = 0.029). Similarly, when assessing the QoL of the parents, we found scores significantly lower in the social dimension (P = 0.0196) for parents of children with CD compared to parents of children without CD. Family income presented an impact on the QoL in adults, but did not affect children. In CD group, children of mothers who had lower educational levels presented better scores in the function dimension, regarding self-care and autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: There is an impairment of the QoL of children with CD and of their parents, with regard to social life, particularly in the leisure (children) and social (adults) dimensions.