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Background: Procrastination is characterized by the deliberate postponement of assigned educational tasks and is correlated with low academic achievement and depression. Concern about procrastination is particularly high among medical students, as it has a strong association with aspects such as low self-efficacy, lack of organization, low intrinsic motivation, inefficient effort regulation and time management problems. On the other hand, it was found that students' use of study strategies is significantly related to better academic results. The relationship between students' tendency to procrastinate and the adoption of effective study strategies remains little explored, leaving a critical space for investigation. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring how procrastination affects the selection and effectiveness of study strategies adopted by students., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Brazil and included medical students from the first to the seventh semester of the Unichrsitus Medical School. The validated procrastination scale and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory were used. Generalized linear regression multivariate models with robust errors were used to verify the association between the study variables., Results: 447 students participated, 70.2% of whom were female, with an average age of 23 years. The domain of "study aids" scored higher among younger students, who self-referred as black and who studied in private schools prior to the Medical School. Higher procrastination scores were statistically associated with higher main idea selection, concentration, time organization and anxiety scores and with lower study aids and study preoccupation scores (p values < 0.05). In addition, active methodology was associated with higher scores in the domains of study aids and time organization., Conclusions: Procrastination is associated with the study strategies used by medical students, which can be modified through training and ultimately improve their performance. Students in traditional models, who are older, white and from public schools may especially benefit from this training., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Written informed consent was obtained from participants. The survey was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Unichristus in Brazil under the opinion number 67715223.2.0000.5049. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rationale and Objectives: Although PBL is widely used in several countries, especially in medicine courses, its application in teaching other higher education courses, which involve fundamentals applied to radiology, is still little explored. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in a higher education institution's radiology and biomedicine technologist course, focusing on specific radiology-related disciplines., Materials and Methods: An interventional study was developed with 78 students. An active methodology model was created and implemented for one of the groups of participants. At the beginning of each semester, students of both groups were evaluated with pre-tests. At the end of the semesters, the students performed a post-test and a validated evaluation of the discipline methodology. Repeated measures generalized linear regressive models with robust error estimators were used to evaluate test outcomes., Results: A significant interaction among the methodologies was found (p=0.020), with better results from students exposed to the active methodology (initial and final grades were 7.18 and 7.57 in the active methodology, respectively, and 7.45 and 6.89 in the traditional methodology, respectively). In addition, students' evaluation regarding the quality of the methodology was favorable to the active methodology with statistical significance (p<0.05) in 16 of the 22 items evaluated., Conclusions: The students' positive response and performance were attributed to the interaction and innovation of the methodology compared to conventional methods, highlighting the effectiveness of PBL in higher education in radiology and its potential for more participatory and contextualized learning., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the literature highlighted an increased risk of child abuse and the use of negative parenting practices. Furthermore, pregnancy during this time may have been challenging and generated different feelings regarding the pandemic and motherhood. Many pregnant women had other young children, underscoring the need to understand this scenario better. Therefore, the present study examined the predictive effect of indicators of mental health disorders, emotional discomfort with motherhood, and negative perceptions of COVID-19 on negative parenting practices., Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design. Pregnant women (n = 303) who had other children younger than six years answered an online questionnaire during the physical distancing period due to COVID-19 in Fortaleza. A partially latent structural equation model (SEM) was used to test direct and indirect relations between the variables., Results: The results revealed a direct positive relation between maternal mental health and the variables COVID-19 feelings, emotional discomfort with motherhood, and negative parenting practices. The stronger relationship was between maternal mental health and emotional discomfort with motherhood. The COVID-19 negative feelings also showed a direct positive relation to emotional discomfort with motherhood. Additionally, older mothers and those with fewer children tended to have less mental health disorders. Furthermore, being in a later trimester of pregnancy was linked to more negative feelings about motherhood., Discussion: The study suggests that mothers experiencing mental health challenges are more likely to feel discomfort with motherhood and use negative parenting practices, highlighting a need for intervention., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to everyday life and has had social, political, and financial consequences that will persist for years. Several initiatives with intensive use of technology were quickly developed in this scenario. However, technologies that enhance epidemiological surveillance in contexts with low testing capacity and healthcare resources are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to address this gap by developing a data science model that uses routinely generated healthcare encounter records to detect possible new outbreaks early in real-time., Methods: We defined an epidemiological indicator that is a proxy for suspected cases of COVID-19 using the health records of Emergency Care Unit (ECU) patients and text mining techniques. The open-field dataset comprises 2,760,862 medical records from nine ECUs, where each record has information about the patient's age, reported symptoms, and the time and date of admission. We also used a dataset where 1,026,804 cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. The records range from January 2020 to May 2022. Sample cross-correlation between two finite stochastic time series was used to evaluate the models., Results: For patients with age 18 years, we find time-lag () = 72 days and cross-correlation () ~ 0.82, = 25 days and ~ 0.93, and = 17 days and ~ 0.88 for the first, second, and third waves, respectively., Conclusions: In conclusion, the developed model can aid in the early detection of signs of possible new COVID-19 outbreaks, weeks before traditional surveillance systems, thereby anticipating in initiating preventive and control actions in public health with a higher likelihood of success., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Chronic back pain (CBP) is a major cause of years lived with disability. Social inequalities increase the prevalence and burden of CBP. Management of CBP was affected by restricted access to non-pharmacological treatments and outdoor activities during COVID-19 pandemic., Objective: To determine the prevalence of CBP among patients with COVID-19 as well as the impact of having CBP in COVID-19 outcome in our low-income population., Methods: Retrospective cohort of individuals with confirmed COVID diagnosis from May 2020 - March 2021, at Hospital Regional UNIMED (HRU) in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Data included comorbidities and household income., Results: Among 1,487 patients, 600 (40.3%) were classified as having CBP. Mean age as well as income were similar in CBP and non-CBP groups, with more women in the CBP group. Hypertension and asthma, but not diabetes, were more prevalent in those with CBP. Need for emergency care, hospitalization, and admission to intensive care unit were similar regardless of having CBP. Dyspnea was more common in CBP vs. non-CBP groups, with 48.8% vs. 39.4% percentages, respectively (p = 0.0004)., Conclusion: Having CBP prior to COVID did not impact the acute clinical outcome of COVID individuals of a low-income population., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Self-efficacy consists of the judgment of one's abilities to perform actions required to achieve a given performance, which has been considered predictive of performance. In academics, it means personal convictions in accomplishing a task to a defined degree of quality. Numerous studies have investigated medical students' self-efficacy in traditional and PBL curricula. However, few studies have addressed the hybrid PBL scenario (Hpbl) that simultaneously contemplates PBL, traditional teaching, and practical activities. An even smaller number have evaluated the factors associated with this entity. With these considerations, we aimed to investigate the self-efficacy belief in the hPBL curriculum and the factors associated with this entity. This quantitative observational cross-sectional study was held between August 2022 and November 2022 in Fortaleza, a city in Northeast Brazil with almost 3 million inhabitants. The medical course has 12 semesters. The first two semesters use traditional teaching and cover the basic cycle, followed by the third to eighth semesters which correspond to the pre-clinical and clinical cycle. From the third semester onwards, traditional teaching and PBL are used simultaneously, which we call a hybrid model of PBL. The scale "Scale of Self-efficacy in Higher Education" was applied, a questionnaire validated for the Portuguese language consisting of 34 questions, with answers on a Likert-type scale with ten points, divided into five dimensions. To verify the association between sociodemographic factors and self-efficacy, simple and multiple linear models with robust errors were used. In total, 412 students participated in this study, most of them women (70.1%). The average age of students was 22.9 years. All domains had medians greater than 8, which means strong self-efficacy. The following factors were associated with higher self-efficacy scores in general after the multivariate analysis: female gender (8.6 vs. 8.3, p-value = 0.014), working (8.8 vs. 8.5, p-value = 0.019) and participating in extracurricular activities (8.7 vs. 8.1, p-value = 0.019). We conclude that medical students studying in hybrid learning models showed strong levels of self-efficacy. In addition, participating in extracurricular activities was associated with higher self-efficacy scores and males presented lower levels of self-efficacy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Medical education was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and remote teaching through lectures and classes through videoconferencing was heavily used. However, the need to use cameras led to scopophobia, which is the fear of being watched, which can lead to psychological symptoms. Despite the relevance and prevalence of depression and the increase in the use of cameras for learning, research evaluating the impact of scopophobia on students' mental health is surprisingly scarce. Hence, to fill up this gap, a cross-sectional study was carried out in medical schools in Brazil. To assess the presence of depressed mood, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was applied. We used logistic regression models to verify the associations. The overall prevalence of positive PHQ9 found in our study was 62%. By studying the factors associated with a high risk of scopophobia, we could identify that the PHQ was statistically associated with scopophobia (odds ratio 2.43 (confidence interval 1.11-5.26), adjusted p value = .0269). Also, a lower family income, a higher number of household inhabitants, and female gender were associated. These results suggest that scopophobia is associated with depression, leading us to believe that interventions to mitigate this risk in students are opportune, especially if targeted at lower-income students.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical-epidemiological profile, associated risk factors and clinical outcomes of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), identifying the main causes of morbidity and mortality and overall survival rate of patients at five years of follow-up., Method: This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating the prognosis and clinical outcomes of 222 patients diagnosed with AML at three large hematology centers in Ceará (northeastern Brazil) over a period of five years., Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 44.1 ± 16 years, with a female prevalence of 1.3:1. No additional relevant risk factors associated with the development of AML were found, except for the well-established cytogenetic assessment. The overall 5-year survival rate was 39.4% (95%CI: 35.47 - 42.17). The main causes of death were disease progression (37.72%; n = 84) and sepsis (31.58%; n = 70)., Conclusion: The clinical outcomes in our sample of AML patients were similar to those of other reported groups. Disease progression and infection were the main causes of death. Access to diagnostic flow cytometry and karyotyping was greater in our sample than in the national average. As expected, overall survival differed significantly according to the risk, as determined by cytogenetic testing., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an acquired bleeding disorder observed in the clinical practice. Little is known about its epidemiology in Brazil. The present study was conducted at a hematology referral center which covers a population of over 8 million in 184 municipalities in the state of Ceará. The purpose of this study was to draw a demographic profile of adult ITP patients with regard to sex, age, geographical origin and distribution across the state, and the proportion of secondary ITP. Following ethics committee approval, information was collected with an ad hoc instrument. The sample consisted of 187 adult ITP patients attending the Walter Cantídio University Hospital in 2015. The median follow-up time was 67 months (range: 1 month to 29 years). Female sex (n = 154; 82.35 %) was strongly prevalent in all age brackets, with an overall female/male ratio of 4.7:1. The median age was 41 ± 16.1 with an interquartile range of 29-55.5 years; there was no difference between the genders. Secondary ITP (18/187; 9.6 %) displayed a bimodal distribution and a linear increase between 38 and >68 years of age. The results of this survey on the epidemiology of ITP in Brazil suggest that ethnic and geographical factors may have a great impact on age and sex distribution and on the distribution of secondary ITP., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The increasing worldwide number of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) demands greater attention from health professionals. The purpose of this report is to describe the clinical demographic profile, frequency, and invasive treatment status of adults with CHD in a public reference hospital in northeastern Brazil., Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study including 704 patients attended between August 2016 and August 2020. Data were collected from virtual database., Results: Patients' age varied from 17 to 81 years (mean 32±14; median 27 years); 294 (41.8%) patients were male, and 410 (58,2%) were female; 230 (32,7%) had diagnosis from age 18 and up. Cardiac complexity categories were "simple defects" (134 [19%] patients), "moderate complexity" (503 [71.5%]), and "great complexity" (67 [9.5%]). Atrial septal defect (ASD) was diagnosed in 216 (30.7%) patients, ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 101 (14.3%), tetralogy of Fallot in 93 (13.2%), and other CHD in 294 (41.8%). New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classes were I (401 [57%]), II (203 [28.8%]), III (76 [10.8%]), and IV (24 [3.4%]). Complications were arrhythmias (173 [24%]) and severe pulmonary hypertension (69 [9.8%]). Invasive treatments were corrective surgery (364 (51.6%]), reoperation (28 [4.0%]), palliation (11 [1.6%]), interventional catheterization (12 [1.7%]), surgery plus interventional catheterization (5 [0.7%]), and preoperation (91 [12.9%]). Treatment was not required in 102 (14,5%) patients, and 91 (12.9%) were inoperable., Conclusion: The leading diagnosis was ASD. Frequency of unrepaired patients was high, mainly ASD, due to late diagnosis, which favored complications and denotes a matter of great concern.

Background: Percutaneous liver biopsy is the gold standard technique for establishing the cause of cirrhosis and liver disease activity assessment. However, some cases of steatohepatitis or other chronic liver diseases show a high number of false negative results in samples obtained via the percutaneous route. This fact justifies performing a liver biopsy via the laparoscopic route. However, this is an expensive technique, with morbidities associated with pneumoperitoneum and anesthetic complications. The main objective of this study is to develop a video-assisted technique that uses only a minimally-invasive device for the liver biopsy and the optical trocar. Without additional trocars, this technique constitutes a less invasive procedure than the existing techniques in clinical practice., Methods: This is a device development and validation study and patients submitted to abdominal laparoscopic surgery and required liver biopsy for moderate to severe steatosis were recruited. The patients were randomized into two groups: laparoscopic liver biopsy technique (n = 10, control group) and mini-laparoscopic liver biopsy technique (n = 8, experimental group). The times associated with procedure performance in both groups were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests according to data distribution., Results: At baseline, there was no statistical difference regarding gender and type of surgery. The experimental group had a significantly shorter time compared with the group that underwent the traditional procedure in mean procedure time (p = 0.003), biopsy time (p = 0.002) and hemostasis time (p = 0.003)., Conclusions: The mini-laparoscopic biopsy device and technique showed to be capable of safely obtaining sufficient tissue samples, which was minimally invasive and in a shorter time than the classic technique., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Scopophobia can be described in the medical field as the fear of being watched or stared at. Despite the relevance of scopophobia in remote learning scenarios, which have always existed and have been largely expanded during the pandemic in medical education, studies on this topic are exceedingly rare worldwide. Hence, to fill up this gap, a cross-sectional study of medical students was developed to assess the association of scopophobia with the prevalence of online learning fatigue., Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative, analytical study was carried out in Medical Schools of Brazil. To assess the risk of scopophobia, questions were developed, based on the literature on the topic. The Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale (ZEF) was used, and the questions have currently been validated for Brazilian Portuguese. Logistic regression models were also used to assess the relationship of scopophobia risk and ZEF scores., Results: A total of 283 students from Brazil participated in the study. The median age was 23 years, and 64% of the participants were female. In total, 14.5% were considered to be at high risk for scopophobia. It was found that after adjusting for sex, income and number of residents in the household, scopophobia and the total zoom fatigue score remained associated. For the total score, each additional point on the scale increased the chance of scopophobia by 3%, and for the overall domain, 19% (p-values < 0.05)., Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows a relevant prevalence of students with scopophobia, which requires a differentiated approach on the part of teachers. The causes of scopophobia are often specific and have a psychological origin that goes beyond the usual pedagogical management. Therefore, motivation strategies are necessary in a general, as well as an individualized manner, aiming to favor the improvement of the online teaching and learning process., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Maternal educational attainment has been identified as relevant to several child health and development outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the association of sociodemographic and maternal education factors with child development in families living below the poverty line. A cross-sectional study was conducted through telephone contact from May to July 2021 in Ceará, a state in Northeastern Brazil. The study population comprised families with children up to six years of age participating in the cash transfer program "Mais infância". The families selected to participate in this program must have a monthly per capita income of less than US$16.50. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire version 3 was applied to assess the children's development status. The mothers reported maternal educational attainment as the highest grade and or degree obtained. The final weighted and adjusted model showed that maternal schooling was associated with the risk of delay in all domains except for the fine motor domain. The risk of delay in at least one domain was 2.5-fold higher in mothers with a lower level of schooling (95% CI: 1.6-3.9). The findings of this study suggest that mothers with higher educational attainment have children with better child development outcomes.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among families with infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors in Fortaleza, the fifth largest city in Brazil., Methods: Data from two survey rounds of the Iracema-COVID cohort study collected at 12 (n = 325) and 18 months (n = 331) after birth. FI was measured using the Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Scale. FI levels were described according to potential predictors. Crude and adjusted logistic regressions with robust variance were used to assess factors associated with FI., Results: In the 12- and 18-month follow-ups interviews, there was a 66.5% and 57.1% prevalence of FI, respectively. Over the study period, 3.5% of the families persisted in severe FI and 27.4% in mild/moderate FI. Households headed by mothers, with more children, low education and income, sustained maternal common mental disorders, and that were beneficiaries of cash transfer programs were the most affected by persistent FI., Conclusions: Although the prevalence of FI decreased in our sample, almost 60% of families in Fortaleza still have no regular access to enough and/or nutritionally appropriate food. We have identified the groups at higher FI risk, which can guide governmental policies., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The use of fluids is the most frequently used therapy for circulatory shock. Its inadequate use has adverse effects, requiring hemodynamic goals, highlighting the use of pulse pressure variation due to its high accuracy. One of the problems related to this method is the difficulties in measuring the pulse pressure variation (PPV) in most monitors for clinical use. We assessed the qualitative aspects of perceived usability of a smartphone application (app), which, based on a photograph of the patient's arterial pulse wave, can help measure PPV and help in the diagnosis and management of shock cases., Methods: To assess the software perceived usability, we used the System Usability Scale (SUS) applied to 30 physicians in 2 tertiary hospitals in Brazil. The software accuracy was measured using a sequence of 3 images with different values ​​of pulse pressure variation, comparing the obtained values ​​ with the gold standard. The educational interface of the app was evaluated qualitativelyfrom the spontaneous testimonies of the selected test participants.The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Centro Universitário Christus., Results: The analysis showed an average SUS of 86.3 points on a scale of 1-100 (above 80.3 is considered the best in terms of interface). The assessment of the application's accuracy when evaluating pulse pressure variation showed that the average variation of the measurements taken by the participants was small, with a good measure of repeatability and reproducibility. The app's educational interface was qualitatively evaluated, being praised by the users., Conclusions: It can be concluded that the developed mobile application showed excellent qualitative aspects of perceived usability results. More studies with this app will be required to evaluate the potential to help professionals with hemodynamic evaluation in emergency and intensive care settings., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and identify associated factors., Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study comprised data from a sample of 3,200 households with 3,566 children under 6 years of age, representative of the state of Ceará, Brazil. A multistage sampling approach was used, with stratification among the state capital, Fortaleza, and the 28 countryside municipalities, in which 160 census tracts were randomly selected, each one with a cluster of 20 households. The outcome variable was structured based on adverse childhood experiences as suggested by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the number of situations to which the child was exposed: 0-2, 3-5, and 6-9. Ordinal logistic regression multivariate model was applied to assess associations., Results: Among the 3,566 children studied, 89.7% (95%CI 88.7-90.7) were exposed to at least one adverse experience, of which the most prevalent were neglect, and emotional/physical abuse. The main factors associated were maternal advanced age and smoking, paternal absence, low education level of the head of the family, food insecurity and lack of a social support network., Conclusion: The study found a high occurrence of adverse early childhood experiences, particularly among preschool children born to mothers of older age, solo, who smoke and in a situation of social and economic vulnerability, including food insecurity, who should be target of control and prevention measures.

Objective: To analyze the delay or failure to seek primary health care by the mother-child dyads during the COVID-19 pandemic, a practice that has a high potential to increase maternal and child morbidity and mortality., Methods: Data from three survey rounds of the Iracema-COVID cohort study, collected 6, 12, and 18 months after birth, showed the patterns of postpartum attendance to primary health care consultation of the mother-child dyad. Crude and adjusted multinomial logistic regressions with robust variance were used to assess factors associated with nonattendance., Results: Among the 314 cohort mothers, 25% did not attend any primary health care consultation during the 18-months postpartum, while 30% of the mothers did all three. Regarding the child, 75% had regular primary health care consultations in all three survey rounds, while 4% did not attend any in their first 18 months of life. By the end of the first COVID-19 wave, the proportion of mother and child who attended the consultations had fallen by 23 and 18%, respectively. The main factors associated with nonattendance were mothers aged below 25 years, and mothers with more than one child., Conclusion: An important delay or nonattendance to primary health care consultation by the mother-child dyad was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such practice, with a high potential to increase maternal and child morbidity and mortality, was particularly frequent among younger mothers and those with more than one child.

Background: Preterm newborn nutrition affects postnatal skeletal growth and bone mineralization, but studies have not yet fully concluded the relationship between nutrition and osteopenia. This study was intended to investigate the impact of nutritional factors on osteopenia in preterm newborns., Methods: This is a case-control study with babies born with gestational age ≤ 32 weeks in a high-risk maternity hospital, between 2018 and 2019. The population consisted of 115 newborns, being 46 cases (40%) and 69 controls (60%). Disease outcome was based on serum alkaline phosphatase levels > 900UL/l and hypophosphatemia < 4 mg/dl. Gestational data at birth and clinical and nutritional follow-up data during 8 weeks postnatally were assessed. Variables were assessed using regressive logistic models., Findings: Preterm infants who were fed pasteurized fresh human milk with acidity ≥ 4 ºDornic are 5.36 times more likely to develop osteopenia (p = 0.035). Higher calcium intake, compared to controls, also increased the probability of disease occurrence [OR 1.05 (CI 1.006-1.1); p = 0.025], while the presence of a partner [OR 0.10 (CI 0.02-0.59); p = 0.038] and the shortest time using sedatives [OR 0.89 (CI 0.83-0.98); p = 0.010] were protective factors associated with osteopenia. Extremely low birth weight [OR 5.49 (CI 1.20-25.1); p = 0.028], sepsis [OR 5.71 (CI 1.35-24.2); p = 0.018] and invasive ventilatory support [OR 1.09 (CI 1.03-1.18); p = 0.007] were risk factors., Conclusions: Acidity and high calcium intake are the main nutritional factors associated with osteopenia of prematurity. Further studies on the use of human milk with lower acidity, recommendation and nutritional supplementation of calcium should be accomplished to guide prevention strategies in newborns at risk for osteopenia during hospital stay., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Parenting practices have been identified as a key determinant of children’s developmental outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of parenting practices with child development in a cross-sectional population-based study in a low-income state in northeastern Brazil. The study included data on 3566 caregiver−child pairs, and the children were aged 0−66 months. Positive parenting behaviors (PPBs) were conceptualized in areas of interactive play, social development, and speech and language interactions. Child development was evaluated using the Brazilian Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationships. We found that a greater number of PPBs was associated with better child development domain scores. Among infants < 1 year, each additional PPB was associated with a 0.32 standardized mean difference (SMD) greater communication (95% CI: 0.24−0.41) and 0.38 SMD greater problem-solving scores (95% CI: 0.24−0.52). Among children aged 4−6 years old, each additional PPB was associated with improved communication (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.13−0.32), problem solving (SMD: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.10−0.32) and personal−social domain scores (SMD: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.17−0.36). Our findings indicate that PPB were robustly associated with better outcomes across developmental domains among Brazilian children. Programs and interventions that support PPB can contribute to improvements in development outcomes.

Background: Physical distancing associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to suboptimal maternal mental health, social support after birth, and infant feeding practices., Research Aims: To compare breastfeeding prevalence in participants who were pregnant at a time when strict physical distancing measures were imposed in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará state, Brazil, with the pre-pandemic breastfeeding levels, and to assess the association of breastfeeding prevalence with maternal common mental disorders, and sociodemographic and health predictors., Method: A cross-sectional prospective two-group comparison design using two population-based surveys was carried out in Fortaleza before and after the pandemic. Participants ( n = 351) who had a live birth in Fortaleza in July or August 2020, and participants ( n = 222) who had a child younger than 12 months in 2017 were surveyed. Crude and adjusted multinomial logistic regressions with robust variance were used to estimate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI)., Results: Similar prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding were observed in 2021 (8.1%) and 2017 (8.5%; p = .790). An increase in predominant (2.2% vs. 13.4%; p < .001) and a decrease in complementary breastfeeding (64.0% vs. 48.4%; p = .037) was observed in 2021, compared to 2017. The prevalence of maternal common mental disorders also increased in 2021 (17.6% vs. 32.5%, p < .001). No statistically significant associations were found between breastfeeding patterns, maternal common mental disorders, and other predictors in 2017 or 2021., Conclusions: Participants who delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic delayed solid foods introduction and breastfed predominantly longer than participants during the pre-pandemic period. While common mental disorders significantly increased, they were not associated with differences in breastfeeding.

Background: We assessed the impact of implementing a virtual emergency room (VER) in easing emergency room (ER) visits in patients suspected of having COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study conducted in May 2020 and in March 2021, during the first and second waves in Brazil. Patients could choose to either visiting ER or using the VER (implemented in March 2021). Medical records were revised for demographic and clinical data. The primary outcome was the number of visits. Results: A total of 32,822 visits were evaluated. HR was more than three times less in the VER group with <10% VER clients going to ER. The trend and volume of use of the emergency sector in the periods did not show a statistically significant difference, despite the higher number of cases in the second period. Conclusion: This telemedicine strategy led to a reduction in visits to the ER. Also, our results suggest the safety of this intervention.

Objectives: To assess the determining factors of late healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and bacterial multiple drug resistance in neonatal intensive care., Methods: This is a case-control study, conducted between January 2013 and December 2017, in a neonatal intensive care unit in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Newborns showing late HAIs were considered cases and those without infection, the control. Variables with p-values ≤ 0.05 in our initial bivariate regressive analysis were included in a non-conditional hierarchical logistic model for multivariate analysis. P-values below 0.01 were considered significant., Results: Of the 1,132 participants, 427 (37.7%) showed late healthcare-associated infections. Of these, 54 (12.6%), positive blood cultures, of which 14.9% contained multidrug-resistant bacteria. Bivariate analysis showed the protective effect of the feminine phenotype (OR = 0.71; 95%CI: 0.56-0.90) and of gestational ages ≥ 34 weeks (OR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.30-0.75). In earlier-born preterm infants, late infections were 18 times more likely in those with less than 30 week-gestations (OR = 18.61; 95%CI: 9.84-35.22) and four times higher in those weighing less than 1,500 g (OR = 4.18; 95%CI: 3.12-5.61). Mechanical ventilation increased infection odds by more than seven times (OR = 7.14; 95%CI: 5.26-9.09); as did parenteral nutrition (OR = 5.88; 95%CI: 4.54-7.69); central venous catheters (OR = 10.00; 95%CI: 6.66-16.66); the number of catheters used (OR = 3.93; 95%CI: 3.02-5.12); surgery (OR = 4.00; 95%CI: 2.27-7.14); and hospitalization time (OR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.05-1.07). The association between preterm infants with less than 30 week-gestations (OR = 5.62; 95%CI: 1.83-17.28); mechanical ventilation (OR = 1.84; 95%CI: 1.26-2.68); central venous catheters (OR = 2.48; 95%CI: 1.40-4.37); and hospitalization time (OR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.05-1.07) remained significant after adjustment. Among deaths, 41 (55.4%) were associated with late infections., Conclusion: Better practices should be adopted in caring for the premature, as well as in the rational use of procedures, to avoid late healthcare-associated infections, preventable deaths, and risks of bacterial multiple drug resistance and environmental contamination.

Objective: To explore the relationship of undernutrition and the short duration of breastfeeding with child development of children 0-66 months of age residing in Ceará, Brazil., Methods: The authors of the present study utilized population-based data from children enrolled in the Study on Maternal and Child Health in Ceará, Brazil (PESMIC). Children's development was assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire third version, validated in Brazil. Undernutrition was accessed through anthropometric measures obtained by trained staff. Breastfeeding information was obtained through the mothers' report and confirmed in the child's governmental booklet. The authors used logistic regressions adjusted for sample clusters used in PESMIC design in a theoretical model for known determinants of child development following the World Health Organization nurturing framework., Results: A total of 3,566 children were enrolled in the sixth PESMIC study and had their development assessed. The authors found that 8.2%, 3.0%, 2.1%, and 3.6% of children were stunted, underweight, or wasted, at the time of the interview, respectively. All studied factors were associated with a higher prevalence of child development impairment in at least one of the assessed domains. Underweight was the factor with the strongest effect, with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 4,14 (2,26-7,58), p < 0.001. Breastfeeding for up to two months compared to more than six months (AOR 2,08 (1,38-3,12)) was also associated., Conclusions: The authors found that undernutrition and short duration of breastfeeding are associated with development outcomes among Brazilian children. As a result, integrated nutritional programs may improve child development outcomes., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

As technology continues to improve, health care systems have the opportunity to use a variety of innovative tools for decision-making, including artificial intelligence (AI) applications. However, there has been little research on the feasibility and efficacy of integrating AI systems into real-world clinical practice, especially from the perspectives of clinicians who use such tools. In this paper, we review physicians' perceptions of and satisfaction with an AI tool, Watson for Oncology, which is used for the treatment of cancer. Watson for Oncology has been implemented in several different settings, including Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Mexico. By focusing on the implementation of an AI-based clinical decision support system for oncology, we aim to demonstrate how AI can be both beneficial and challenging for cancer management globally and particularly for low-middle-income countries. By doing so, we hope to highlight the need for additional research on user experience and the unique social, cultural, and political barriers to the successful implementation of AI in low-middle-income countries for cancer care., (©Srinivas Emani, Angela Rui, Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha, Rubina F Rizvi, Sergio Ferreira Juaçaba, Gretchen Purcell Jackson, David W Bates. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (https://cancer.jmir.org), 07.04.2022.)

Background: Globally, children's exposure to digital screens continues to increase and is associated with adverse effects on child health. We aimed to evaluate the association of screen exposure with child communication, gross-motor, fine-motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development scores., Methods: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study with cluster sampling among children 0-60 months of age living in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Child screen time was assessed by maternal report and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations were used to define excessive screen time exposure. Child development was assessed with the Brazilian Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Generalized linear regression was used to determine the association of screen exposure with developmental outcomes. We also examined the potential non-linear relationship of screen time with development scores using spline analyses., Results: A total of 3155 children 0-60 months of age had screen time exposure evaluated and 69% percent were identified as exposed to excessive screen time. This percentage of excess screen time increased with child age from 41.7% for children 0-12 months to 85.2% for children 49-60 months. Each additional hour of screen time was associated with lower child communication (standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.03; 95% CI: - 0.04, - 0.02), problem solving (SMD: -0.03; 95% CI: - 0.05, - 0.02) and personal-social (SMD: -0.04; 95% CI: - 0.06, - 0.03) domain scores., Conclusions: Excess screen time exposure was highly prevalent and independently associated with poorer development outcomes among children under 5 years of age in Ceará, Brazil., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: The primary factors that originate and perpetuate atrial fibrillation (AF) are electrical and anatomical substrate alterations. However, the central mechanisms governing AF perpetuation have not been elucidated yet, which is reflected on the modest results of the treatment in patients with long persistent AF., Objective: To evaluate if human intrinsic cardiac autonomic nervous system (ICANS) remodeling, including nervous system fibers and muscarinic and β-adrenergic receptors, play a role in permanent AF., Methods: Heart necropsy samples from thirteen patients with heart disease and permanent AF and thirteen controls without AF were used. By using immunoperoxidase and histomorphometry quantification, we identified the following: the density of all fibers of the ICANS, sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers; and the percentage of myocardium positive for β-adrenergic receptors 1, 2 and 3; G protein-coupled receptor kinase-5 (GRK-5); and muscarinic receptors M1 to M5. The results were compared using ANOVA and nested ANOVA and were adjusted according to the left atrium volume for all variables, and β-blocker use to evaluate the expression of β-receptors and GRK-5., Results: There was an overall increase in the density of fibers of the ICANS (p=0.006), especially in atrial sympathetic nerve fibers (p=0.017). Only M1 muscarinic receptors were increased (5.87 vs 2.35, p=0.032). For adrenergic receptors, the results were positive for increased expression of β-3 (37.41 vs 34.18, p=0.039) and GRK-5 (51.16 vs 47.66; p<0.001). β-blocker use had no impact on β-receptor expression., Conclusion: Increased ICANS innervation and remodeling receptor expression in regions prone to triggering AF may play a role in permanent AF.

Background: Adolescent motherhood (AM) remains a public health problem, especially in low and middle income countries, where approximately 95% of these births occur. Evidence from studies with population representativeness about events associated with AM is limited. We assessed the prevalence of AM, as well as its association with Socioeconomic Factors and Obstetric Outcomes., Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study on maternal and child health of women aged 10 to 49 years, living in the state of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil was carried out to assess the prevalence of AM, as well as its association with Socioeconomic Factors and Obstetric Outcomes. The definition of adolescence used in the study was the one utilized by the WHO. In addition to the interview, data were double-checked according to the information in the government's pregnancy health booklet. Sample-adjusted logistic models to determine the association of socioeconomic factors and AM, as well as the association of AM with obstetric outcomes, with a causal approach to multivariate analyses, were used., Results: The prevalence of adolescent motherhood was 18.6%. Poverty and household crowding were associated with greater chances of AM (p values of 0.038 and <  0.001, respectively), as well as not being in a stable relationship (OR 2.26 (95%CI: 1.67, 3.07), p <  0.001). AM showed a greater chance of not using community health services (p <  0.001), had fewer prenatal consultations (β - 0.432 (95%CI: - 0.75, - 0.10)) and started prenatal care at a later date (β 0.38 (95%CI: 0.21, 0.55), p <  0.001)). AM are also less likely to be tested for HIV and more likely to have urinary tract infections., Conclusions: Interventions aimed at socially-vulnerable adolescents are suggested. However, if pregnant, adolescents should receive proactive and differentiated prenatal care., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Comorbidities and socioeconomic issues impact outcome of rotator cuff tear (RCT) repair. There are no data on RCT repair outcome from developing regions. We determined the impact of obesity and smoking following RCT repair in a low-income population., Methods: This is a retrospective case series. Forty-seven shoulders of 42 patients subjected to open or arthroscopic repair of a RCT with a minimum of 2 years follow-up were cross-sectionally evaluated. Patients were seen in the Orthopaedic Service of the Hospital Geral de Fortaleza-CE, Brazil between March and September 2018. RCT were classified as partial or full-thickness lesions. Fatty infiltration (Goutallier) and tendon retraction (Patte) were recorded as well as obesity (BMI > 30), literacy [>/≤ 8 school years (SY)] and smoking status 6 months prior to surgery (present/absent). Outcomes included pain (visual analogue scale; VAS, 0-10 cm), range of motion [active forward flexion and external rotation (ER)], UCLA and ASES scoring., Results: Patients were 59.9 ± 7.4 years-old, 35(74.4%) female with 19 (17.1-30.2 IQR) median of months from diagnosis to surgery and 25 median months of follow-up (26.9-34.0 IQR); over 90% declared < 900.00 US$ monthly family income and two-thirds had ≤8 SY. Forty patients (85.1%) had full-thickness tears, 7 (14.9%) had Goutallier ≥3 and over 80% had < Patte III stage. Outcomes were similar regardless of fatty infiltration or tendon retraction staging. There were 17 (36.1%) smokers and 13 (27.6%) obese patients. Outcome was similar when comparing obese vs non-obese patients. Smokers had more pain (P = 0.043) and less ER (P = 0.029) with a trend towards worse UCLA and ASES scores as compared to non-smokers though differences did not achieve minimal clinically important difference (MCID) proposed for surgical RCT treatment. After adjusting for obesity, VAS and ER values in smokers were no longer significant (P = 0.2474 and 0.4872, respectively)., Conclusions: Our data document outcomes following RCT repair in a low-income population. Smoking status but not obesity impacted RCT repair outcome though not reaching MCID for surgical treatment., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To develop and validate a chest cavity simulator for teaching video-assited thoracic surgery (VATS)., Methods: The first phase of the study consisted of developing a chest cavity simulator. A quasi-experimental study was performed in the second phase, and 25 surgeons and residents participated in a three-stage pulmonary suture experiment. The videos were recorded and timed. Generalized linear regression models for repeated measures were used to analyze the outcome change over time., Results: The chest cavity simulator consists of a console simulating the left hemithorax. Among the participants, 96% rated the design, visual aspect, positioning ergonomics, and triangulation of the portals as very good or excellent (face validity). There was a decrease in suturing time in step 1 from 435.7 ± 105 to 355.6 ± 76.8 seconds compared to step 3 (p = 0.001). The evaluation of the simulation effectiveness and performance (content validity) was rated as very good or excellent by 96% ofparticipants. The most experienced surgeon showed significant reduction in procedure time (p = 0.021) (construct validity)., Conclusions: The thoracic cavity simulator is realistic, showing content and construct validity, and can be used in VATS training. The simulation model allowed skill gain in the endoscopic suture.

Background: The Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis (FIHOA) is a simple, reliable, and reproducible specific instrument to evaluate hand OA that can be applied both in clinical practice and research protocols. In order to be used in Brazil, FIHOA has to be translated into Portuguese, culturally adapted and have the reliability of the translated FIHOA version tested, which is the purpose of this study., Methods: The FIHOA was translated into Brazilian Portuguese and administered to 68 patients with hand OA recruited between May 2019 and February 2020. The test-retest was applied to 32 patients and the reliability was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. External construction validity was assessed using the Spearman's correlation test between FIHOA and pain, assessed with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Cochin Hand Functional Scale (CHFS) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)., Results: The 30 participants that initially answered the translated version of the FiHOA did not report difficulties in understanding or interpreting the translated version. The test-retest reliability for the total score was strong (r = 0.86; ICC = 0.89). Mean differences (1.37 ± 0.68) using Bland Altman's analysis did not significantly differ from zero and no systematic bias was observed. Cronbach's alpha was also high (0.89) suggesting a strong internal coherence in the test items. There were also correlations between FIHOA and the CHFS (r = 0.88), HAQ (r = 0.64) and pain in the hands both at rest (r = 0.55) and in motion (r = 0.44)., Conclusion: The translation of the FIHOA into Brazilian Portuguese proved a valid instrument for measuring the functional capacity of patients with hand OA who understand Brazilian Portuguese.

Objective: To assess the perceptions of pregnant women about COVID-19 and the prevalence of common mental disorders during the implemented social distancing period., Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study using digital media, of pregnant women exposed to social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Fortaleza, Ceará, Northeastern Brazil. Common mental disorders were estimated using the modified Self-Report Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) scale, and the feelings towards COVID-19 were assessed using the Fear of COVID-19 scale through telephone calls made in May 2020. COX multivariate regression models were used to verify the associations., Results: Of the 1,041 pregnant women, 45.7% (95%CI: 42.7-48.8) had common mental disorders (CMD). All items of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale showed a significant association with the prevalence of CMD (p < 0.001). A CMD risk gradient was observed, going from a prevalence ratio of 1.52 (95%CI: 1.13-2.04) in pregnant women with two positive items to 2.70 (95%CI: 2.08-3.51) for those with four positive items. Early gestational age and the lack of prenatal care were also associated with CMD., Conclusions: The prevalence of common mental disorders in pregnant women was high during the period of social distancing and was aggravated by negative feelings towards COVID-19.

Background: The first 1000 days of life are a critical period when the foundations of child development and growth are established. Few studies in Latin America have examined the relationship of birth outcomes and neonatal care factors with development outcomes in young children. We aimed to assess the association between pregnancy and neonatal factors with children's developmental scores in a cross-sectional, population-based study of children in Ceará, Brazil., Methods: Population-based, cross-sectional study of children aged 0-66 months (0-5.5 years) living in Ceará, Brazil. We examined the relationship of pregnancy (iron and folic acid supplementation, smoking and alcohol consumption) and neonatal (low birth weight (LBW) gestational age, neonatal care interventions, and breastfeeding in the first hour) factors with child development. Children's development was assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-BR). We used multivariate generalized linear models that accounted for clustering sampling to evaluate the relationship of pregnancy and neonatal factors with development domain scores., Findings: A total of 3566 children were enrolled. Among pregnancy factors, children whose mothers did not receive folic acid supplementation during pregnancy had lower fine motor and problem-solving scores (p-values< 0.05). As for neonatal factors, LBW was associated with 0.14 standard deviations (SD) lower (CI 95% -0.26, - 0.02) communication, 0.24 SD lower (95% CI: - 0.44, - 0.04) fine motor and 0.31 SD lower (CI 95% -0.45, - 0.16) problem-solving domain scores as compared to non-LBW children (p values < 0.05). In terms of care, newborns that required resuscitation, antibiotics for infection, or extended in-patient stay after birth had lower development scores in selected domains. Further, not initiating breastfeeding within the first hour after birth was associated with lower gross motor and person-social development scores (p-values < 0.05)., Conclusion: Pregnancy and neonatal care factors were associated with later child development outcomes. Infants at increased risk of suboptimal development, like LBW or newborns requiring extended in-patient care, may represent groups to target for supplemental intervention. Further, early integrated interventions to prevent adverse pregnancy and newborn outcomes may improve child development outcomes.

Introduction: More than 200 million children fail to reach their full developmental potential in low- and middle-income countries. Adverse childhood experiences, maternal mental health, and intimate partner violence are negatively associated with child development outcomes. The relationship of these risk factors with child communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development scores in Brazil are assessed., Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study of preschool children living in the state of Ceará, Brazil, in 2017 was conducted. Child development was assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Adverse childhood experiences for children were self-reported by the participants' mothers using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adverse Childhood Experiences Study‒adapted metric. Maternal mental health and intimate partner violence were evaluated using validated questionnaires. Sample-adjusted multivariable generalized linear models with interaction terms were used to determine the association of intimate partner violence, maternal mental health, and adverse childhood experiences with developmental outcomes and identify possible moderators. Data were analyzed between 2019 and 2020., Results: Children exposed to ≥3 adverse childhood experiences had -0.12 (95% CI= -0.24, 0) lower communication, -0.25 (95% CI= -0.46, -0.03) lower gross motor, -0.27 (95% CI= -0.47, -0.07) lower fine motor, and -0.17 (95% CI= -0.3, -0.03) lower personal-social domain scores than children with no adverse childhood experiences. Furthermore, the greater number of adverse childhood experiences was linearly associated with lower developmental scores. Maternal mental health and intimate partner violence were also associated with lower development scores., Conclusions: Adverse childhood experiences were independently associated with developmental outcomes in Brazilian children. Community-based interventions to reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences, intimate partner violence, and maternal mental health may benefits child development outcomes., (Copyright © 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Quality Problem or Issue: Up to 13 July 2020, >12 million laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) infection have been reported worldwide, 1 864 681 in Brazil. We aimed to assess an intervention to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of a rapid response team (RRT)., Initial Assessment: An observational study with medical record review was carried out at a large tertiary care hospital in Fortaleza, a 400-bed quaternary hospital, 96 of which are intensive care unit beds. All adult patients admitted to hospital wards, treated by the RRTs during the study period, were included, and a total of 15 461 RRT calls were analyzed., Choice of Solution: Adequacy of workforce sizing., Implementation: The hospital adjusted the size of its RRTs during the period, going from two to four simultaneous on-duty medical professionals., Evaluation: After the beginning of the pandemic, the number of treated cases in general went from an average of 30.6 daily calls to 79.2, whereas the extremely critical cases went from 3.5 to 22 on average. In percentages, the extremely critical care cases went from 10.47 to 20%, with P < 0.001. Patient mortality remained unchanged. The number of critically ill cases and the number of treated patients increased 2-fold in relation to the prepandemic period, but the effectiveness of the RRT in relation to mortality was not affected., Lessons Learned: The observation of these data is important for hospital managers to adjust the size of their RRTs according to the new scenario, aiming to maintain the intervention effectiveness., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: To develop a model for simulated training of ureteropyelic anastomosis in laparoscopicpyeloplasty., Methods: Longitudinal and experimental study, with 16 participants. A synthetic instrument was produced to simulate the renal pelvis and the proximal portion of the ureter positioned on a platform within laparoscopic simulators, thereby resulting in the realistic simulation of the ureteropelvic anastomosis. A step-by-step guide was also developed for the accomplishment of the ureteropelvic anastomosis training model., Results: In the evaluation of all participants' suture training, a decrease was found in the time needed to perform the anastomosis, with a median of 17.83 min in the 1st step and 14.21 min in the last one (p = 0.01). Regarding the knots, in the 1st step, 5% of them were considered firm, with an evolution to 30% in the last step (p = 0.011)., Conclusion: We noticed improvement in the ability to perform the ureteropelvic anastomosis by participants with no experience with it. Therefore, even unexperienced participants can improve their skills with this training. Moreover, we observed the effectiveness of the model use, confirmed by the participants' opinion and its validation by expert surgeons.

Childhood obesity is now an epidemic in many countries worldwide and is known to be a multifactorial condition. We aimed to examine the relationship of environmental, socioeconomic, and nutritional factors with childhood overweight and obesity. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of children from 2 to 6 years of age in Ceará, Brazil. Children's nutritional status was assessed by body mass index (BMI) Z scores categorized as overweight and obesity. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between the factors with overweight and obesity. A total of 2059 children participated, of which 50.4% were male. The mean age was 46 ± 17 months, with a prevalence of overweight and obesity of 12.0% (95% CI 10.7-13.6) and 8.0% (6.7-9.5), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the probability of childhood obesity increased as family income increased (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.6 (95% CI 0.37-0.95), p -value = 0.03). Moreover, families with fewer children had more than 30% fewer overweight children (aHR 0.68; 95% CI 0.48-0.96). Environmental, socioeconomic, and child nutritional factors were associated with overweight and obesity. The results provided could be used to design integrated interventions spanning from conception, or earlier, through the first years of life and may improve child nutritional outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of child development delay and to identify socioeconomic determinants., Study Design: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of children 2 to 72 months of age residing in the state of Ceará, Brazil. In total, 3200 households were randomly selected for participation in the study and had child development assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) version 3. Development delay was defined as a score of less than -2 standard deviations below the median of the Brazilian ASQ standard. We present population-level prevalence of delay in five development domains and assess socioeconomic determinants., Results: A total of 3566 children completed the ASQ development assessment of which 9.2% (95% CI: 8.1-10.5) had at least one domain with development delay. The prevalence of delay increased with age in all domains and males were at higher risk for communication, gross motor and personal-social development delays as compared to females (p-values <0.05). We found robust associations of indicators of socioeconomic status with risk of development delay; increasing monthly income and higher social class were associated with reduced risk of delay across all domains (28,2% in the poorest and 21,2% in richest for any delay, p-values <0.05 for all domains). In addition, children in poor households that participated in conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs appeared to have reduced risk of delay as compared to children from households that were eligible, but did not participate, in CCT programs., Conclusions: There is a relatively high population-level prevalence of development delay in at least one domain among children 0-6 years of age in Ceará, Brazil. Integrated child development, social support, and poverty reduction interventions may reduce the population-level prevalence of development delay in Ceará and similar settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background and Objectives: The administration of antifibrinolytics has been shown to be effective in reducing blood loss and the need for transfusions in surgeries. However, few studies have evaluated these drugs in cancer surgery. The objective was to review the efficacy and safety of the treatment with antifibrinolytics in patients who underwent oncologic surgeries., Contents: An electronic bibliographic research was conducted in PubMed, OVID, MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBSCO and in the Cochrane Library data basis in order to identify randomized clinical trials performed in any type of oncologic surgery. The data evaluated were blood loss, need for transfusion and incidence of arteriovenous thromboembolism. Five randomized controlled trials evaluating 838 patients met the inclusion requirements. In the analysis of the incidence of thromboembolic events in the five RCTs, there was no statistically significant difference between the administration of tranexamic acid when compared with the placebo (OR=0.36, 95% IC: 0.11-1.19, p=0.09, I 2 =0%). However, when total estimated blood loss and need for blood transfusion are analyzed, the use of tranexamic acid was associated with a significant reduction over placebo (MD=-135.79, 95% CI: -179.50 to -92.08, p<0.00001, I 2 =68%) and (OR=0.45, 95% CI: 0.32-0.65, p<0.00001, I 2 =60%), respectively., Conclusions: This meta-analysis found no evidence that the administration of antifibrinolytics increases the risk of thromboembolic complications in patients submitted to oncologic surgery, and has shown evidence that it is effective in reducing total perioperative blood loss and the need for blood transfusion., (Copyright © 2019 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Background: Brazil presented an alarming number of newborns with microcephaly in the years 2015 and 2016. The investigation of the cases raised the suspicion of the association of these cases with maternal infections by the zika virus. Also, in 2015, there was an epidemic of zika virus infection in Brazil, reinforcing this hypothesis., Objective: The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with the diagnosis of microcephaly in newborns, including zika virus infection., Methods: We conducted a case-control study. The cases were defined as children who received clinical and imaging diagnosis of microcephaly, born after October 2015 in Ceará, Brazil, which recorded the highest number of microcephaly cases in Brazil during the outbreak. The cases were identified in medical records of public and private maternity hospitals and in child development stimulation clinics tracked until June 2017. Epidemiological, clinical, and socioeconomic variables were collected, visiting their homes and confirming data from their medical records. Controls were children without microcephaly identified in the vicinity of the residence of each case. Logistic regression models were used to control confounding., Findings: We evaluated 58 cases and 116 controls. The odds of having a baby with microcephaly was 14 times higher among mothers who had zika virus infection (p &lt; 0.001), after multivariate analysis. Arboviruses infections symptoms, as fever (p = 0.220), skin change (p &lt; 0.001), and joint pain (p = 0.002) also demonstrated an association with microcephaly., Conclusions: Maternal infection zika virus was associated with a diagnosis of microcephaly. Our study contributes to the investigation of the epidemiological factors associated with the diagnosis of microcephaly., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2019 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.)

200 million pre-school age children are not developing properly. Delays in child development are associated with multiple factors. This study aims to analyze if vitamin A supplementation is associated with improved development and how this effect could be mediated by nutritional status. Population-based study surveyed a representative sample of 8000 households, 1232 children 0-35 months, in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The variables analysed included child developmental status, nutritional determinants and confounding factors. The main effects and interactions were evaluated using Cox regressive models. Vitamin A supplementation showed protective effect to delay in cognitive and motor development modified by interaction with nutritional status. While well-nourished supplemented children presented a 67% lower risk of cognitive delay (adjusted PRR = 0·33 [0·21-0·53]), stunted children had no benefit from supplementation (adjusted PRR = 0·97 [0·39-2·40]). Vitamin A supplementation has a protective effect on child development, but not in stunted children. This suggests that supplementation is effective in promoting child development, especially if associated to a joint effort to improve the nutritional status of children, given the importance of this mediator.

To determine the influence of breastfeeding duration in the clinical activity of low-income juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Ninety-one JIA patients followed in Fortaleza-CE, Brazil, were cross-sectionally evaluated from May 2015 to April 2016. Breastfeeding duration was obtained by interviewing mothers. Mean age was 14.6 ± 5.2 years with 10.31 ± 3.7 years of disease duration. Polyarticular category predominated, with 39 (42.8%) patients, followed by 23 (25.3%) oligoarticular and 17 (18.7%) enthesitis-related. Forty-seven (61.8%) were receiving methotrexate isolated or combined to leflunomide, which was used by 12 (15.4%); 30 (32.9%) were on biologic DMARD with 16 (53.3%) etanercept, 8 (26.7%) adalimumab, 3 (10%) tocilizumab, and 1 (3.3%) each on infliximab, abatacept, and canakinumab. Mean(SD) CHAQ and JADAS27 were 0.37 ± 0.36 and 5.03 ± 6.1, respectively and 22 (24%) had permanent joint deformities. No family declared monthly income over US$900.00 and 32 (37.2%) earned less than US$300.00. Eighty-three (91%) were ever breastfed; over two-thirds were breastfed for more than 3 months. Those breastfed for more than 6 months had less joint deformities and a tendency to lower JADAS27 and CHAQ scores using minimally adjusted general linear or logistic models, as appropriate. Parental smoking or literacy and family income did not differ regarding breastfeeding time. This is a low-income JIA cohort with the highest breastfeeding prevalence ever reported. Breastfeeding over 6 months was associated with less disease activity.Key Point• Long-term breastfeeding benefits juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of the nutraceuticals omega-6/3 and omega-9/6 on endometriosis-associated infertility and pain., Methods: Controlled experimental study, with each group composed of eight female rats. Fertility groups: sham-operated control (0.9% saline solution); control with endometriosis (0.9% saline); omega-6/3 (1.2 g/kg/day); omega-9/6 (1.2 g/kg/day); and meloxicam (0.8 mg/kg/day). Pain groups: sham-operated control (0.9% saline); control with endometriosis (0.9% saline); omega-6/3 (1.2 g/kg/day); omega-9/6 (1.2 g/kg/day); medroxyprogesterone acetate (5 mg/kg/every 3 days); and meloxicam (0.8 mg/kg/day). Peritoneal endometriosis was surgically induced. Pain was evaluated with the writhing test. Fertility was evaluated by counting the number of embryos in the left hemi-uterus., Results: The mean number of writhings was as follows: sham-operated, 11.1 ± 2.9; control with endometriosis, 49.3 ± 4.4; omega-6/3, 31.5 ± 2.7; omega-9/6, 34.1 ± 4.5; medroxyprogesterone acetate, 2.1 ± 0.8; meloxicam, 1 ± 0.3. There was a significant difference between both controls and all drugs used for treatment. Regarding fertility, the mean values were as follows: sham-operated, 6.8 ± 0.6; control with endometriosis, 4.2 ± 0.7; omega-6/3, 4.7 ± 1; omega-9/6, 3.8 ± 0.9; and meloxicam, 1.8 ± 0.9., Conclusions: The omega-6/3 and omega-9/6 nutraceuticals decreased pain compared to the controls. There was no improvement in fertility in any of the tested groups.

Background: Comparison between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using stents and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) remains controversial., Objective: To conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis of PCI using Stents versus CABG in randomized controlled trials., Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify randomized trials comparing PCI using Stents versus CABG for multi-vessel and unprotected left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD). 15 trials were found and their results were pooled. Differences between trials were considered significant if p < 0.05., Results: In the pooled data (n = 12,781), 30 days mortality and stroke were lower with PCI (1% versus 1.7%, p = 0.01 and 0.6% versus 1.7% p < 0.0001); There was no difference in one and two year mortality (3.3% versus 3.7%, p = 0.25; 6.3% versus 6.0%, p = 0.5). Long term mortality favored CABG (10.6% versus 9.4%, p = 0.04), particularly in trials of DES era (10.1% versus 8.5%, p = 0.01). In diabetics (n = 3,274) long term mortality favored CABG (13.7% versus 10.3%; p < 0.0001). In six trials of LMCAD (n = 4,700) there was no difference in 30 day mortality (0.6%versus 1.1%, p = 0.15), one year mortality (3% versus 3.7%, p = 0.18), and long term mortality (8.1% versus 8.1%) between PCI and CABG; the incidence of stroke was lower with PCI (0.3% versus 1.5%; p < 0.001). Diabetes and a high SYNTAX score were the subgroups that influenced more adversely the results of PCI., Conclusion: Compared with CABG, PCI using Stents showed lower 30 days mortality, higher late mortality and lower incidence of stroke. Diabetes and a high SYNTAX were the subgroups that influenced more adversely the results of PCI.

Purpose: To create a checklist to evaluate the performance and systematize the gastroenterostomy simulated training., Methods: Experimental longitudinal study of a quantitative character. The sample consisted of twelve general surgery residents. The training was divided into 5 sessions and consisted of participation in 20 gastroenterostomys in synthetic organs. The training was accompanied by an experienced surgeon who was responsible for the feedback and the anastomoses evaluation. The anastomoses evaluated were the first, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth. A 10 item checklist and the time to evaluate performance were used., Results: Residents showed a reduction in operative time and evolution in the surgical technique statistically significant (p<0.01). The correlation index of 0.545 and 0,295 showed a high linear correlation between time variables and Checklist. The average Checklist score went from 6.8 to 9 points., Conclusion: The proposed checklist can be used to evaluate the performance and systematization of a simulated training aimed at configuring a gastroenterostomy.