Survival analysis in non-congenital neurological disorders related to dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus infections in Northeast Brazil.

The Northeast of Brazil has experienced a triple epidemic, with the simultaneous circulation of dengue virus (DENV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), which may have contributed to the observed increase across this region of atypical forms of disease and deaths. In view of this fact, non-congenital neurological disorders related to arboviruses were compared with other etiologies, mortality and survival rates of patients admitted to referral neurology hospitals in Pernambuco State, Northeast Brazil, from 2015 to 2018. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected and tested using molecular and serological assays. The arbovirus-exposed groups were compared with respect to epidemiological, clinical and neurologic characteristics by using the Pearson's chi-square test. For the survival analysis, the Kaplan-Meier and Hazard Ratio (HR) tests were used, with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Encephalitis and encephalomyelitis were more frequent in arboviruses, while myelitis predominated in the neurological disorders of other etiologies. Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) was similarly distributed amongst the groups. Exposure to one of the arboviruses caused a six-fold increase in the risk of death (HR: 6.37; CI: 2.91 - 13.9). Amongst the arbovirus-exposed groups, infection (DENV/CHIKV) increased nine times the risk of death (HR: 9.07; CI: 3.67 - 22.4). The survival curve indicates that have been exposed to some arbovirus decreased the likelihood of survival compared to those with other etiologies (Log-Rank: p<0.001). Within this scenario, neurologic manifestations of DENV, CHIKV and ZIKV have the potential to increase mortality and decrease survival, and concomitant infection (DENV/CHIKV) is an aggravating factor in reducing the likelihood of survival when compared to monoinfections.

Chikungunya encephalitis: report of a fatal case in Northeastern Brazil.

Chikungunya, a viral infection that presents with fever, rash and polyarthritis, is usually an acute febrile illness. Uncommon neurological manifestations include meningoencephalitis, encephalitis, myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myelopathy and neuropathy. During an outbreak of the disease in La Reunion Island, abnormalities were observed in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients with encephalitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, showing bilateral, frontoparietal, white matter lesions with restricted diffusion, similar to our case. We report a 57-year-old male patient with comorbidities, admitted with high fever, arthralgia, asthenia, vomiting, psychomotor agitation, behavioral changes and seizures. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) values revealed pleocytosis (98 cells/mm3 with 68% lymphocytes and 12% monocytes) and high levels of protein (161 mg%). Brain MRI showed hyperintense lesions in the temporal and frontal lobes and bilaterally in the posterior thalamus. CSF serology was positive for IgM antibodies to Chikungunya virus. Encephalitis due to an acute viral infection by Chikungunya was diagnosed. The patient's clinical condition worsened and he died on the twenty-fourth day of admission to our hospital.

Characterization of Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi in visceral leishmaniasis associated with hiv co-infection in Northeastern Brazil.

Visceral leishmaniasis, associated with HIV/AIDS coinfection, is becoming a more aggressive disease, complicating an accurate prognosis. A 21-year-old HIV-positive female presenting with clinical features of visceral leishmaniasis was enrolled in this study. Bone marrow cytology, Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle culture and kDNA PCR of peripheral blood were all positive. Typing methods, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and ITS1-RFLP PCR of peripheral blood confirmed infection by Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi . PCR has proved to be safer and more affordable than other characterization methods; ITS1-RFLP PCR can diagnose and type Leishmania spp. in both endemic and non-endemic areas, favoring the prognosis and allowing the appropriate treatment of patients.

Avaliação do desempenho dos exames parasitológico e molecular em amostras do aspirado de medula óssea no diagnóstico de leishmaniose visceral em pacientes com e sem HIV/Aids / Performance avaliation by parasitological and molecular tests on samples of bone marrow aspirate in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in patients with and without HIV/Aids

Os casos suspeitos de leishmaniose visceral têm como suporte diagnóstico o exame direto da Leishmania sp., que é o padrão ouro, mas apresenta sensibilidade variando de 60 por cento a 85 por cento. A mielocultura é indicada para aumentar a sensibilidade do diagnóstico parasitológico. Já o uso da técnica da PCR vem se mostrando promissora, entretanto, ainda não há um sistema validado para o diagnóstico dessa parasitose. Assim, não se dispõe de exame rápido, sensível e que dispense a realização da coleta invasiva. Desta forma, um estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o desempenho dos exames parasitológico e molecular, utilizando amostras do aspirado de medula óssea no diagnóstico de leishmaniose visceral em pacientes com e sem HIV-Aids. Para responder ao objetivo foi desenvolvido um estudo descritivo, com amostra de conveniência dos casos suspeitos de calazar, internos nos hospitais em Recife, Pernambuco. Com o aspirado de medula óssea foi realizado diagnóstico parasitológico (exame direto, cultura NNN e caracterização do parasito) e o molecular, baseado na PCR, utilizando os primers RV1 e RV2. Um total de 22 pacientes com suspeita clínica de calazar foi incluído no estudo, com idade variando de 8 meses a 63 anos, sendo 59 por cento do sexo masculino. Estes indivíduos foram divididos em dois grupos de acordo com a presença (Grupo I) ou ausência (Grupo II) de HIV/Aids. Nove pacientes realizaram a comparação das três técnicas. O exame direto conseguiu diagnosticar dois casos, sendo apenas um positivo na cultura. Um caso de co-infecção teve resultado positivo nas duas técnicas parasitológicas. Já a PCR identificou cinco casos, três que não foram diagnosticados pelo exame parasitológico. O parasito isolado do caso de co-infecção procedente de Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, foi caracterizado como L. infantum (sin. L. chagasi). Sugerimos que caso haja a indicação clínica da punção external para coleta do aspirado de medula ossea, a PCR deva ser utilizada em conjunto com os exames parasitológicos para facilitar o diagnóstico e a condução clínica desses pacientes.