Cryptococcosis in HIV-AIDS patients from Southern Brazil: Still a major problem.

INTRODUCTION: Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic pathogen that causes ∼15% mortality in AIDS patients. Rio Grande City, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, has the highest national rate of HIV/AIDS, considering cities with population more than 100,000 habitants. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of cryptococcosis in a reference service for HIV-AIDS patients in the South region of Brazil, over seven years. Material and methods A retrospective study was performed including all cryptococcosis cases diagnosed at the University Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande (UH-FURG) between January 2010 and December 2016. RESULTS: Seventy cases of cryptococcosis were diagnosis from 2010 to 2016 in the UH-FURG in the seven years of the study. These numbers were responsible for 2.1% to 8.1% of the hospitalizations/year for HIV patients. All were caused by C. neoformans infection (95% C. neoformans var. grubii VNI and 5% C. neoformans var. grubii VNII). Neurocryptococcosis was the major clinical manifestation and cryptococcosis was the HIV- defining condition in 40% of patients. The period of hospitalization was an average of 39.3 days (SD=31.3), and more than half of patients (53%; 37/70) died after a mean of 82 days. DISCUSSION: The present study showed the importance of cryptococcosis as an AIDS-defining disease in HIV-AIDS patients in a tertiary hospital from Southern Brazil. More investment is necessary to reduce the impact of this opportunistic mycosis in HIV-AIDS patients from southern Brazil.

Reirradiation of salivary gland tumors with carbon ion radiotherapy at CNAO.

AIMS: To report oncologic and functional outcomes in terms of tumor control and toxicity of carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) in reirradiation setting for recurrent salivary gland tumors at CNAO. METHODS: From November 2013 to September 2016, 51 consecutive patients with inoperable recurrent salivary gland tumors were retreated with CIRT in the frame of the phase II protocol CNAO S14/2012C for recurrent head and neck tumors. RESULTS: Majority of pts (74.5%) had adenoid cystic carcinoma, mainly rcT4a (51%) and rcT4b (37%). Median dose of prior photon based radiotherapy was 60 Gy. Median dose of CIRT was 60 Gy [RBE] at a mean of 3 Gy [RBE] per fraction. During reirradiation, 19 patients (37.3%) experienced grade G1 toxicity, 19 pts (37.3%) had G2 and 2 pts (3.9%) had G3. Median follow up time was 19 months. Twenty one (41.2%) patients had stable disease and 30 (58.8%) tumor progression at the time of last follow up. Furthermore, 9 (18%) patients had G1 late toxicity, 19 (37%) had G2 and 9 (17. 5%) had G3. Using the Kaplan Meier method, progression free survival (actuarial) at one and two years were 71.7% and 52.2% respectively. Estimated overall survival (actuarial) at one and two years were 90.2% and 64%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CIRT is a good option for retreatment of inoperable recurrent salivary gland tumors with acceptable rates of acute and late toxicity. Longer follow up time is needed to assess the effectiveness of CIRT in reirradiation setting of salivary gland tumors.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy in non-operable lung cancer patients

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Cryptococcuria as manifestation of disseminated cryptococcosis: Staib agar as a selective identification medium.

We conducted a retrospective study of 58 cases of cryptococcosis (1986-2008) with urine test positive for Cryptococcus sp, in Mycology Laboratory, Santa Casa-Hospital Complex, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. The diagnosis of cryptococcuria was based on microscopic examination and culture of urinary sediment. Cryptococcus was isolated from other clinical specimens such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, ascitic and pleural fluids, respiratory secretions, biopsies of skin, nasal and bone marrow. Cryptocccus neoformans was present in 55 cases and Cryptocccus gattii in three cases. Males predominated (79.3%); age ranged from 12 to 86 years. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were present in 60.3%, 31.1% did not have AIDS and 5.2% were apparently immunocompetent patients. The most frequent signs and symptoms were headache (53.4%) and fever (51.7%). The most widely used medication was the amphotericin B (43 patients). The mortality rate was 45%. We conclude that the mycological examination of the urine can be an alternative simple, non-invasive and useful in diagnosis of disseminated cryptococcosis, especially when used in conjunction with techniques for demonstration of the capsule (nigrosine) and/or production of melanin in special culture media (Staib agar).

The PREMAP Study: prevalence and risk factors of dementia and clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease in Provence, France. Prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease in Provence.

The PREMAP Study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in a random sample of 1062 residents 70 year old or more, living in south-eastern France (private homes and institutions). All persons living in institutions for the elderly (n = 258) and community dwellers (n = 804) scoring less than 24 points on the MMSE (18.4%) were invited to undergo a medical evaluation at home by a qualified neurologist using the CERAD battery. We found 177 cases of dementia (9.2%), including 82 cases of AD (5.5%). Prevalence of AD increased significantly with age and was higher among women (OR: 4.24) and persons with no formal educational level (OR: 2.47). While a MMS score less than 24 was more frequent among persons with a foreign native language (OR: 3.05), the OR and AD was not significantly associated with native language. The proportion of AD among persons suffering from senile dementia was 45% among elderly living in institutions and 69% among those living in the community. Prevalence rates in south-eastern France are similar to the average rates for Europe. This study underlines the need to investigate the relationships between native language, MMSE and AD on the one hand, and the link between a low MMSE score and institutionalisation of patients suffering from AD on the other.

An outbreak of hepatitis A in a French day-care center and efforts to combat it.

An outbreak of hepatitis A in a French day-care center was identified during a survey of risk factors for such events in a sample of 210 centers. In the period between 29 March and 9 July 1994, 17 cases were diagnosed in the center (anti-HAV IgM serum antibody) including 11 children aged 2-3 (attack rate = 55.5% of class), 2 staff members, 3 parents and 1 educator-parent (secondary attack rate = 27.6%). The source case was probably a classmate of Case 1's older brother, who was diagnosed earlier in the spring. Intensive hygiene measures and the organisational features of the clinic limited all transmission except by direct physical contact with infected children. Vaccination of staff was begun too late to be effective; gamma-globulin prophylaxis might have been administered but was not. This is the first documented outbreak of the disease in a French center.

Cost effectiveness of hepatitis A prevention in France.

A spreadsheet simulation model of hepatitis A disease was developed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of an inactivated [corrected] hepatitis A vaccine ('Havrix', SmithKline Beecham) in high risk groups in France. Gammaglobulin prophylaxis, systematic vaccination without screening and vaccination of nonimmune persons after systematic screening were compared with the reference situation of no prevention over a 10-year period. It was found that both vaccination strategies would prevent 98% of new cases of hepatitis A, and would generate savings of FF4.2 to FF4.7 million ($US1 = FF5, 1995) in alternative service volunteers [initial seroprevalence (IS) 26%] stationed in countries with high hepatitis A endemicity. The cost per symptomatic case avoided [i.e. the cost-effectiveness ratio (CER)] was found to vary from FF177,612 with screening to FF281,463 without screening in adult tourists (IS 77%). In hospital workers, screening before vaccination (CER = FF65,108) would be about half as costly as systematic vaccination (IS 55 to 79%). Recommendations for vaccination should take into account the specific collective or individual risk, age, seroprevalence and probability of compliance with the prevention protocol.