Purpose: Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears as the main pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) involved in recurrent pneumonia and pulmonary exacerbations. The type III secretion system (T3SS) is one of its main determinants of virulence and is associated with poor clinical progression and increased mortality. This study determined the relationship of clinical features of patients with CF and P. aeruginosa T3SS virulotypes. Materials and Methods: From January 2018 to March 2019, P. aeruginosa were isolated from sputum and/or oropharyngeal swabs. T3SS markers (exoS, exoU, exoT and exoY) were detected by PCR. Clinical severity according to Shwachman-Kulckycki score and spirometry data were associated with T3SS virulotypes. Results: A total of 49 patients had positive cultures for P. aeruginosa. T3SS virulence-related markers were detected as follows: exoS 97.9% (n=48), exoU 63.2% (n=31), exoT 95.9% (n=47) and exoY 97.9% (n=48). The prevalence of exoS⁺/exoU⁺ virulotype was higher than previously reported in CF settings, being detected in 61.2% of the evaluated isolates, present in 70% of intermittent infections and with a significantly higher frequency in cases of exacerbations. The presence of exoU in chronic infection was not associated with poor clinical results. In chronic infections, the exoS⁺/exoU⁻ virulotype prevailed (77.8%) and was associated to worse clinical results according to the Shwachman-Kulckycki score and spirometric. Conclusion: Our findings revealed a high prevalence of the atypical exoS⁺/exoU⁺ virulotype among P. aeruginosa isolates from patients with CF, which was associated with intermittent infection and early clinical alterations, while the exoS⁺/exoU⁻ virulotype was associated with chronic infection and worse clinical results. Finally, the presented data highlight the relevance of T3SS virulence markers in the clinical progression and disease severity in CF patients.

Purpose: To describe the anatomy of the swine urinary system using computed tomography and to discuss the role of this animal as an experimental model for urological procedures. Methods: Three male Landrace pigs underwent computed tomography and the anatomy of the urinary system and renal circulation was analyzed and described. Results: In all animals, 2 kidneys, 2 ureters and one bladder were identified. Each kidney presented a single renal artery vascularization, with a mean diameter on the right of 4.45 and 5.31 mm on the left (p < 0.0001) and single renal vein drainage, with a mean diameter on the right of 5.78 and 5.82 mm on the left (p = 0.0336). The average renal length was 9.85 cm on the right and 10.30 cm on the left (p < 0.0001). The average renal volume was 113.70 cm3 on the right and 109.70 cm3 on the left (p < 0.0001). The average length of the ureter was 19.78 cm on the right and 22.08 cm on the left (p < 0.0001). The average bladder volume was 423.70 cm3. Conclusions: The data obtained show similarities with human anatomy, suggesting the viability of the swine model for planning preclinical trials, basic research, refinement in experimental surgery and surgical training for urological procedures.

Resumo Contexto Modelos com animais de médio e grande porte permitem que pesquisadores avaliem a eficácia e a segurança de procedimentos cardiovasculares em sistemas que se assemelham à anatomia humana e podem ser usados para simular cenários para fins de treinamento. Embora modelos suínos tenham sido extensivamente utilizados, muitos fatores fisiológicos e anatômicos permanecem desconhecidos ou apenas superficialmente descritos. Objetivos Descrever a anatomia vascular do suíno por tomografia computadorizada, compará-la à anatomia humana e discutir a aplicação dos modelos porcinos em procedimentos abertos e endovasculares. Métodos Três porcos machos da raça Landrace foram submetidos a tomografia computadorizada. A anatomia vascular de pescoço, tórax, abdome e membros foi analisada e descrita; foram destacadas similaridades e divergências relevantes entre a anatomia vascular de suínos e de humanos e as implicações em procedimentos vasculares nos suínos. Resultados O território carotídeo, o arco aórtico e os ramos terminais da aorta em suínos apresentaram diferenças marcantes quando comparados aos de humanos. Foram detectadas compressões de veias renal e ilíaca comum, ambas à esquerda, semelhantes às encontradas nas síndromes humanas de Nutcracker e May-Thurner. Medidas vasculares (diâmetro, comprimento e ângulos) de diferentes topografias de suínos foram fornecidas. Conclusões Os dados fornecidos podem ser úteis para o planejamento de ensaios pré-clínicos e pesquisa básica, bem como para o refinamento do treinamento cirúrgico usando modelos suínos no campo da cirurgia vascular.

Objective: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease presenting with a spectrum of clinical manifestations that correspond to the type of immune response that develops in the host. Factors that may be involved in this process include inflammasomes, cytosolic proteins responsible for the activation of caspase 1, IL-1β and IL-18 secretion, and induction of a type of death called pyroptosis. Patients and methods: We evaluated the expression of inflammasome markers (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 1 [NLRP1], nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 [NLRP3], caspase 1, IL-1β, and IL-18) by immunohistochemistry in 43 samples of skin lesions of leprosy patients from the groups indeterminate (I) leprosy (13 patients), tuberculoid (TT) leprosy (15 patients), and lepromatous leprosy (LL; 15 patients). Results: The evaluated markers were most upregulated in LL lesions, followed by lesions of TT leprosy and I leprosy. Differences were statistically significant between the I leprosy and LL leprosy forms and between the I leprosy and TT leprosy forms. Positive and significant correlations were found between IL-18 and caspase 1 in LL (r=0.7516, P=0.0012) and TT leprosy (r=0.7366, P=0.0017). In I leprosy, correlations were detected between caspase 1 and IL-1β (r=0.6412, P=0.0182), NLRP1 and IL-18 (r=0.5585, P=0.473), NLRP3 and IL-18 (r=0.6873, P=0.0094), and NLRP1 and NLRP3 (r=0.8040, P=0.0009). Conclusion: The expression of inflammasome markers in LL lesions indicates the ineffectiveness of this protein complex in controlling the infection. Caspase 1 may be involved in the pyroptotic cell death in the lepromatous form of the disease. Inflammasomes may act together in the initial phase of I leprosy; this phenomenon may influence the clinical outcome of the disease.

Rotavirus antigenemia and RNAemia (the presence of rotavirus RNA in serum) have been commonly identified among paediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis. In this study we examined the association between rotavirus antigenemia and clinical features, and sought to determine the genotypes of rotaviruses detected in paired stool and serum samples. Paired stool and serum samples were obtained from children hospitalised for acute gastroenteritis in Belém, Brazil, between June 2012 and June 2015. The 20-point Vesikari scoring system was used to assess the disease severity upon a retrospective medical record review. Stool and serum samples were primarily screened for the presence of rotavirus antigen using a commercial ELISA assay. The rotavirus isolates from stool and serum samples were genotyped by using the classical reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and/or through nucleotide sequencing of VP4 and VP7 genes. Viral load was estimated using real-time RT-PCR. In total rotavirus antigen was detected in 109 (24.2%) stool samples from 451 children, whereas antigenemia occurred in 38.5% (42/109) of these patients. We demonstrated that patients positive for rotavirus RNA in paired stool and serum samples were more likely to have a higher frequency of vomiting episodes in a 24-h period (p = 0.0035). Our findings also suggested that children not vaccinated against rotavirus are more likely to develop antigenemia, as compared to those given at least one vaccine dose (p = 0.0151). G12P [8] and G2P [4] genotypes were predominant throughout the study period, accounting for 52.3% (57/109) and 27.5% (30/109) of the typed isolates, respectively. Ten stool-serum pairs could be typed for VP4 and VP7 genes. Seven of these pairs showed concordant results with G2P [4] genotype being detected in stool and serum samples, whereas discrepancies between genotypes (G2P [4]/G2P[NT] and G12P [8]/G2P[NT]) were seen in three pairs. Rotavirus antigenemia and RNAemia occur in a significant number of children hospitalised for acute gastroenteritis in Belém, Brazil, and may contribute to a greater disease severity, particularly translated into a greater number of vomiting episodes. This study documented a high concordance of genotypes detected in a subgroup of paired stool and serum samples.

Resumo O avanço da medicina aprimorou o tratamento de enfermidades, modificando o padrão de morbimortalidade da população, com aumento de doenças crônicas. Esse fenômeno tornou urgente interpretar adequadamente a terminalidade da vida. Considerando essa necessidade, este estudo, de corte transversal, descritivo e analítico, analisou dados sobre a percepção de 111 estudantes do sexto ano de medicina acerca dos cuidados paliativos no fim da vida. Os dados foram coletados entre agosto e novembro de 2016, por meio de questionário e analisados por testes estatísticos com o programa Iramuteq. 37,3% dos estudantes relataram dificuldade em comunicar a morte do paciente à família; 60% sentem-se despreparados ou com dúvidas sobre como lidar com óbitos em serviço de urgência; 25% desconheciam o termo “eutanásia”, 53% “ortotanásia”, e 56% “distanásia”. Os resultados mostram que ainda há lacunas no conhecimento desses estudantes, explicitando a necessidade de que escolas médicas reforcem práticas pedagógicas sobre a morte.