Acupuncture for pediatric chronic pain: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To survey, analyze and discuss the scientific evidence supporting the use of acupuncture and related techniques in the management of chronic pain in the pediatric population. SOURCES: A survey of databases (MEDLINE, Scopus and Scielo) was carried out with search strategies, following the PRISMA statement, without limits on publication dates and languages. Clinical studies (clinical trials, single-arm, and case series) were accepted for review if they included participants aged up to 22 years. Study quality was assessed by MMAT, and the randomized clinical trial was analyzed under the STRICTA criteria. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: 2369 articles were retrieved. After excluding repetitions, 1335 underwent the initial selection. Only 16 articles were selected for full reading, of which 5 were included in the review, being two case series, two single-arm studies, and one randomized clinical trial. The articles were considered of good quality by the adopted criteria. CONCLUSION: The analyzed studies showed important clinical results such as the reduction of pain intensity, and improvement in school attendance and social life. However, there are many limitations in study design and sample size. Therefore, there is weak evidence to support the use of acupuncture in the context of pediatric chronic pain, but the positive results reinforce the need for further investigation of the topic with the conduct of larger and well-designed studies, to obtain more data and greater scientific conviction of the findings.

Postmortem Diagnosis of Dengue as an Epidemiological Surveillance Tool.

Dengue remains a problem in Brazil, and a substantial number of cases that progress to death are not diagnosed by health services. We evaluated the impact of a protocol adopted by the Coroner's Office Rocha Furtado (CO-RF) for the detection of unreported deaths from dengue in Brazil. We evaluated prospectively cases of deaths referred to the CO-RF with suspicion of dengue and those referred with other diagnosis in which the pathologists suspected dengue as the cause of death. Biological material was collected from all bodies autopsied, for which the suspected cause of death was dengue, between January 2011 and December 2012. Of the 214 bodies autopsied, 134 (62.6%) tested positive for dengue; of these cases, 121 were classified as dengue according to the World Health Organization's case definition (1997 or 2009, as appropriate). Thus, CO-RF detected 90 deaths from dengue, which were not suspected during disease progression. This CO-RF protocol, through a combined effort of the surveillance and laboratory teams, increased the detection of fatal dengue cases by 5-fold. This is the largest series of autopsies performed in cases of death related to dengue in the world to date.

Experiência Pedagógica em Patologia na Faculdade de Medicina da UFC / Educational Experience in Pathology at the UFC Medical School

RESUMO Objetivo Relatar a experiência da aplicação de material didático composto por catálogo com imagens macroscópicas e microscópicas, disponível em meio impresso e digital, acompanhado de coleções de lâminas, instrumento criado por alunos do mestrado e iniciação científica, focando a autonomia do aprendizado em Patologia Humana para os alunos da graduação. Métodos Foi elaborado um questionário para ser aplicado aos alunos, para avaliação de resultados alcançados pelo modelo criado, que será oferecido aos estudantes de diversos cursos que possuem a disciplina de Patologia Humana, oferecida na Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC). O catálogo relata a história e evolução da doença de uma paciente com tuberculose sistêmica, suas manifestações clínicas, exames físicos e laboratoriais, além de achados de necropsia, com diferentes aspectos da resposta inflamatória. Resultados Os alunos que viveram esta experiência se manifestaram a favor da implantação da nova ferramenta como material didático da disciplina e sua manutenção nos laboratórios. Conclusão A inovação nas aulas é necessária, e este modelo surge como um material complementar para a melhoria e motivação das aulas práticas no tema proposto.

ABSTRACT Objective To reporting on the application of new teaching material composed of a catalog with macroscopic and microscopic images, available in print and digital media, accompanied by slides of collections. This instrument was created by Master’s and Scientific Initiation students, focusing on the undergraduate students’ autonomy in learning Human Pathology. Methods A questionnaire was developed to be administered to students to assess the results achieved by the new model, which will be available to students whose courses require attending Human Pathology classes at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) Medical School. The catalog describes the history and evolution of the disease in a patient with systemic tuberculosis, its clinical manifestations, physical and laboratorial tests and autopsy findings, with different aspects of the inflammatory response. Results The students who assessed this model were in favor of its implementation as teaching material for Human Pathology classes and its maintenance in laboratories. Conclusion Innovation in classes is necessary and this model emerges as supplementary material for the improvement and motivation of practical classes on the proposed theme.