High prevalence of depression amongst mothers of children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of depression among mothers of children with asthma and mothers of children without asthma and to investigate the influence of severity and duration of childhood asthma on maternal depression. METHOD: A cross-sectional study including 80 mothers of children with asthma and 160 mothers of children without asthma who attended the pediatric outpatient clinics of a teaching hospital in Southern Brazil. The main outcome measure was the presence of depression in these mothers, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was higher among mothers of asthmatic children compared with mothers of non-asthmatic children (43.8% vs. 17.5%, p < 0.001), with an adjusted prevalence ratio of 2.74 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.76-4.25). Mothers of children with persistent asthma had a higher prevalence of depression than mothers of children with intermittent asthma (62.8% vs. 21.6%, p < 0.001), with an adjusted prevalence ratio of 2.77 (95% CI: 1.46-5.27). No significant association was observed between duration of childhood asthma and maternal depression. CONCLUSION: Mothers of children with asthma have a higher prevalence of depression than mothers of children without asthma. The severity but not duration of childhood asthma is associated with maternal depression.

Prevalência de marcadores sorológicos no Banco de Sangue de Caxias do Sul, RS / The prevalence of serologic markers at the Caxias do Sul Blood Center

Os hemocentros têm como missão o cuidado com a qualidade dos hemoderivados sangüíneos, desde o recrutamento dos doadores até sua análise imunoematológica e sua distribuição. O Banco de Sangue de Caxias do Sul, principal hemocentro da região nordeste do Rio Grande do Sul, fornece 12.500 bolsas de sangue ao ano para os hospitais da própria região e regiões vizinhas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo determinar a prevalência, no Banco de Sangue de Caxias do Sul, dos marcadores sorológicos das principais doenças infecto-contagiosas transmissíveis por transfusão, relacionando-os com as variáveis sexo, faixa etária e nível de escolaridade. O estudo caracterizou-se como transversal histórico, sendo realizado através dos registros dos pacientes no período de janeiro de 2001 a junho de 2005. A faixa etária do sexo masculino foi de 37 ± 10 anos e do sexo feminino foi 38 ± 11 anos. O marcador de maior prevalência durante o período estudado foi o anti-HBc (1,67%), seguido do marcador VDRL (0,65%), HBsAg (0,18%), anti-HCV (0,12%), Chagas (0,06%), anti-HIV (0,05%) e anti-HTLV (0,02%). Apesar do número de pessoas doadoras de sangue aumentar anualmente, a taxa de descarte de bolsas de sangue na cidade de Caxias do Sul e no Brasil tem diminuído. Os resultados desse estudo refletem a importância das campanhas de conscientização sobre as doenças sexualmente transmissíveis e as medidas de segurança transfusional tomadas pelos hemocentros.

Empiric antibiotic therapy in children with community-acquired pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the possible change of clinical response to empiric antibiotic therapy among children survivors hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia at a teaching hospital during 1991-2001. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study. The medical records of children (aged 29 days to 12 years) with diagnosis of presumed bacterial pneumonia at hospital discharge were reviewed and patients data were extracted, using standardized forms. The principal outcome was patients response to empiric antibiotic therapy. The secondary outcome was length of hospital stay. RESULTS: 893 patients were included for this study. Penicillin and derivatives were the most commonly used empiric antibiotics throughout the studied period. There was a slight but statistically significant increase in the mean rate of antibiotic failure from 1991-1998 to 1999-2001 (3.8% vs 11.4% P<0,001). The most common causes for antibiotic failure were inadequate coverage of initial antibiotics between 1991-1998 and presumed antibiotic resistance between 1999-2001. No significant difference was observed regarding the means of length of hospital stay during the whole studied period (P=0.08). CONCLUSION: Empiric antibiotic therapy was effective among children with community-acquired pneumonia treated at a teaching hospital between 1991-2001, inspite of a slight increase in the rate of presumed antibiotic resistance in later years.

[Environmental contamination by helminth eggs and larvae in dog feces from central area of Cassino beach, Rio Grande do Sul]. / Contaminação ambiental por ovos e larvas de helmintos em fezes de cães na área central do Balneário Cassino, Rio Grande do Sul.

In order to investigate the presence of helminths agents of parasitic zoonoses, were examined 237 fecal samples of dogs from central area of the main beach of south coast of Rio Grande do Sul State. The eggs and larvae of genus Ancylostoma (71.3%) and Trichuris (32.5%) and Toxocara eggs (9.3%) were the most prevalent parasites detected.

Contaminaçäo ambiental por ovos e larvas de helmintos em fezes de cäes na área central do Balneário Cassino, Rio Grande do Sul / Environmental contamination by helminth eggs and larvae in dog feces from central area of Cassino beach, Rio Grande do Sul

Para investigar a presença de helmintos, agentes de zoonoses parasitárias, foram examinadas 237 amostras fecais de cäes, na área central do principal balneário do litoral sul do Rio Grande do Sul. As principais contaminaçöes foram: ovos e larvas do gênero Ancylostoma (71,3 por cento), ovos de Trichuris (32,5 por cento) e Toxocara (9,3 por cento)