Protecting brains and saving futures guidelines: A prospective, multicenter, and observational study on the use of telemedicine for neonatal neurocritical care in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Management of high-risk newborns should involve the use of standardized protocols and training, continuous and specialized brain monitoring with electroencephalography (EEG), amplitude integrated EEG, Near Infrared Spectroscopy, and neuroimaging. Brazil is a large country with disparities in health care assessment and some neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not well structured with trained personnel able to provide adequate neurocritical care. To reduce this existing gap, an advanced telemedicine model of neurocritical care called Protecting Brains and Saving Futures (PBSF) Guidelines was developed and implemented in a group of Brazilian NICUs. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter, and observational study will be conducted in all 20 Brazilian NICUs using the PBSF Guidelines as standard-of-care. All infants treated accordingly to the guidelines during Dec 2021 to Nov 2024 will be eligible. Ethical approval was obtained from participating centers. The primary objective is to describe adherence to the PBSF Guidelines and clinical outcomes, by center and over a 3-year period. Adherence will be measured by quantification of neuromonitoring, neuroimaging exams, sub-specialties consultation, and clinical case discussions and videoconference meetings. Clinical outcomes of interest are detection of seizures during hospitalization, use of anticonvulsants, inotropes, and fluid resuscitation, death before hospital discharge, length of hospital stay, and referral of patients to specialized follow-up. DISCUSSION: The study will provide evaluation of PBSF Guidelines adherence and its impact on clinical outcomes. Thus, data from this large prospective, multicenter, and observational study will help determine whether neonatal neurocritical care via telemedicine can be effective. Ultimately, it may offer the necessary framework for larger scale implementation and development of research projects using remote neuromonitoring. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03786497, Registered 26 December 2018, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03786497?term=protecting+brains+and+saving+futures&draw=2&rank=1.

Testicular metastases: a poor prognostic factor in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed neoplasm in men. In some patients, however, the disease pursues a clearly more aggressive course. Testicular metastases from prostate cancer are rare events that have been previously reported; however, its frequency and clinical meaning are not well established. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to evaluate its occurrence and clinical meaning. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A review of patients who underwent androgen deprivation orchidectomy for prostate cancer between 1995 and 2007 was undertaken. On the period evaluated, 1,693 orchidectomies were performed at our institution. Since, the population of patients treated at our institution does not have access to the expensive androgen-deprivation drugs, the vast majority is treated through surgical castration. In such context, evaluation of testicular parenchyma of patients with advanced prostate cancer could be assessed. Clinical and histological data were reviewed, and patients with testicular metastases were identified. RESULTS: Of the 1,693 orchidectomies performed during the period analysed, three cases of testicular metastases of prostate cancer (range 58-76 years) were diagnosed (0.18%). All patients had very atypical neoplasm's behaviour and poor prognosis, dying within the first year. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, testicular metastases from prostate cancer are a rare event, observed in 1.8 per 1,000 cases. As other visceral metastases, testicular metastases might also be considered as an unusual additional factor of poor prognosis.

Recreational use of PDE5 inhibitors by young healthy men: recognizing this issue among medical students.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, recreational use of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors has become popular as a sexual enhancement aid among some men without erectile dysfunction (ED) and even among women. AIM: The aim of the present study, therefore, was to investigate the recreational use of PDE5 among young and healthy men. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We evaluated the use of PDE5 inhibitors among young and healthy men, their main reasons for using these drugs, and their expectations regarding its effects. METHODS: A survey was carried out among 167 male medical students (21.2 +/- 2.3 years, range 17-31). The surveys were divided into domains, assessing epidemiological data, use of PDE5 inhibitor, and the simplified International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). RESULTS: All men considered themselves with perfect erectile function. However, 9% reported previous use of PDE5 inhibitors. Of these, 46.7% had used PDE5 inhibitors more than three times, and 71.4% had mixed them with alcohol. Among this group of men, 13.3% had ED according to the IIEF-5. ED occurring with condom use, however, was twice more common, and 71.4% of the men who had taken PDE5 inhibitors thought that the drug had potential to facilitate condom use. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the use of PDE5 inhibitors by young men is more frequent than previously reported. Condom-related ED seems to be an underestimated problem, frequently solved with PDE5 inhibitors. However, potential deleterious effects might exist. Because PDE5 inhibitors are being used as non-prescribed drugs by as much as 9% of young men, further studies must evaluate the effects of these drugs in young and healthy men.