São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Maternal Streptococcus agalactiae colonization and early-onset neonatal sepsis have aroused interest in the worldwide literature. Streptococcal neonatal disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the perinatal period, especially among premature neonates. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of maternal streptococcal colonization by using combined swab cultures, compared with swab collection from a single site. ⋯ In combined swab cultures collected from three collection sites, the prevalence of maternal Streptococcus agalactiae colonization was higher than in swabs collected from a single site.
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Review Meta Analysis
Specific immunotherapy using Hymenoptera venom: systematic review.
The only effective treatment for patients who have severe reactions after Hymenoptera stings is venom immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to review the literature to assess the effects of venom immunotherapy among patients presenting severe reactions after Hymenoptera stings. ⋯ Specific immunotherapy should be recommended for adults and children with moderate to severe reactions, but there is no need to prescribe it for children with skin reactions alone, especially if the exposure is very sporadic. On the other hand, the risk-benefit relation should always be assessed in each case.
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Comparative Study
Correlations between radiographic, magnetic resonance and histological examinations on the degeneration of human lumbar intervertebral discs.
There is controversy regarding which imaging method is best for identifying early degenerative alterations in intervertebral discs. No correlations between such methods and histological finds are presented in the literature. The aim of this study was to correlate the thickness of intervertebral discs measured on simple radiographs with the degree of degeneration seen on magnetic resonance images and the histological findings relating to nerve ends inside the discs. ⋯ Reduced disc thickness is unrelated to increased presence of nerve ends in intervertebral discs, or to the degree of disc degeneration.
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Preeclampsia is a gestational disease that occurs mainly among nulliparous women after the 20th week of gestation, and frequently close to delivery. The effects of preeclampsia on women's blood pressure over the long term are still controversial. Patients with recurrent preeclampsia or preeclampsia in the early stages of pregnancy appear to present higher risk of hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for cardiovascular disease among women with preeclampsia 10 years earlier. ⋯ The patients with preeclampsia 10 or more years earlier had significantly higher diastolic blood pressure, BMI and abdominal circumference than did the control group. This emphasizes the importance of long-term follow-up assessment for cardiovascular risk factors among patients with preeclampsia.
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Writer's cramp is a kind of focal hand dystonia that appears when individuals are writing. Since pharmacological treatment has not shown the desired therapeutic response, a study on immobilization of the damaged musculature was performed on two individuals with writer's cramp, using splints with the objective of reducing the handwriting abnormalities. ⋯ Two patients presenting writer's cramp who had previously undergone different therapies, including botulinum toxin, without an adequate response, participated in a body awareness program, followed by immobilization of the hand musculature damaged by dystonia, by means of splints, with handwriting training. At the end of the procedure, objective and subjective improvements in the motor pattern of writing could be observed. The immobilization of the dystonic musculature of the hand by means of splints and the motor training of handwriting helped to improve and consequently to reduce the dystonic component observed in the writer's cramp.