To describe the clinical and epidemiological features of patients with and without sepsis at critical care units of a public hospital. A cross-sectional study was carried out from May 2012 to April 2013. Clinical and laboratory data of patients with and without sepsis in the intensive care units were reviewed of medical records. We evaluated 466 patients, 58% were men, median age was 40 years, and 146 (31%) of them were diagnosed with sepsis. The overall mortality was 20% being significantly higher for patients with sepsis (39%). The factors associated with intensive care unit mortality were the presence of sepsis (OR: 6.1, 95%CI: 3.7-10.5), age (OR: 3.6, 95%CI: 1.4-7.2), and length of hospital stay (OR: 0.96, 95%CI: 0.94-0.98). Pulmonary (49%) and intra-abdominal (20%) infections were most commonly identified sites, and coagulase-negative staphylococci and enteric Gram negative bacilli the most frequent (66%) pathogens isolated. Although the impact of sepsis on mortality is related to patients' clinical and epidemiological characteristics, a critical evaluation of these data is important since they will allow the direct implementation of local policies for managing this serious public health problem.

We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Curitiba, Brazil. Upper respiratory samples from 1077 HCWs were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction from June 16, 2020 to December 9, 2020. Overall, 32.7% of HCWs were infected. The positivity rates in symptomatic and asymptomatic HCWs were 39.2% and 15.9%, respectively. Hospital departments categorized as high-risk for exposure had the highest number of infected HCWs. Early diagnosis and isolation of infected HCWs remain key in controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission because HCWs in close contact with COVID-19 patients are more likely to be infected than those who are not.

INTRODUÇÃO: O papilomavírus humano (HPV) é o principal fator de risco para as neoplasias intra-epiteliais cervicais (NIC) e o câncer cervical. OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar se há associação entre a carga viral de HPV oncogênico (alto risco), determinada por meio do teste molecular captura híbrida II (CH II), e o diagnóstico de lesões de alto grau (NIC II/III). MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas 982 amostras cervicovaginais de exames ginecológicos de rotina, obtidas pelos métodos Papanicolaou convencional e/ou citologia em base líquida (DNA-Citoliq-Digene). Os resultados foram confirmados utilizando-se o método de captura híbrida (CH [Digene]) para detecção de DNA/HPV de alto grau. Os resultados com valor > 1 pg/ml foram considerados positivos, e esses foram divididos em dois grupos: 1. carga viral < 100 pg/ml, e 2. carga viral > 100 pg/ml. RESULTADOS: Dos 210 (21,4%) casos diagnosticados como NIC I, 152 (72,4%) foram positivos para HPV de alto risco por CH II. Desses, 101 (66,4%) apresentaram carga viral > 100 pg/ml. O diagnóstico de NIC II ou III foi confirmado por CH II de alto risco em 86 (43,6%) casos, contudo, entre esses, em 53 (61,6%) a carga viral detectada foi > 100 pg/ml. DISCUSSÃO E CONCLUSÃO: Nossos resultados demonstram que há uma clara associação entre o valor da carga viral determinada pelo método CH II (versão 1) e o grau das lesões precursoras de câncer. Pacientes com carga viral superior a 100 µg/ml devem ser monitoradas periodicamente.

Pregnant women (PW) are at a higher risk of diseases and hospitalization from viral respiratory infections, particularly influenza and SARS-CoV-2, due to cardiopulmonary and immunological changes. This study assessed the impact of viral respiratory infections on PW hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a cross-sectional study with 42 PW and 85 non-pregnant women (NPW) admitted with SARI to two tertiary hospitals between January 2015 and December 2019. The rates of virus prevalence, SARI hospitalization, length of hospital stay, oxygen supplementation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death were comparable between PW and NPW. A multivariate analysis showed that PW had a higher rate of viral SARI hospitalizations (OR = 2.37; 95% CI = 1.02–5.48) as compared to NPW, with the influenza virus being the most prevalent (aOR = 7.58; 95% CI = 1.53–37.66). The length of hospital stays (aOR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.73–0.95) and admissions to the ICU (aOR = 0.028; 95% CI = 0.004–0.25) were lower in PW as compared to hospitalized NPW. The influenza virus had a greater impact on the frequency of SARI in the group of PW, and these had a better outcome than NPW due to the earlier antiviral treatment they received.