São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Quality of life assessment among patients with brain tumors is important, given that new treatments have increased patient survival. The aim of this study was to translate the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain (FACT-Br) questionnaire (version 4) into Portuguese, carry out cross-cultural adaptation and assess its reproducibility. ⋯ The translated version of the FACT-Br questionnaire (version 4) adapted to the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture proved to be easily understood and achieved very good reproducibility among patients with diagnoses of brain tumors.
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The health technology assessment (HTA) process has been developed locally. The aim of this study was to describe, analyze and compare the opinions of participants in international health economics symposia about the HTA process used in Brazil. ⋯ The HTA concept is well known. Healthcare system players feel that the process has methodological limitations. Additional surveys are needed to track the HTA process and its application in Brazil.
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Breast cancer accounts for approximately one quarter of all cancers in females. Estrogen and progesterone receptor testing has become an essential part of the clinical evaluation of breast carcinoma patients, and accurate results are critical in identifying patients who may benefit from hormone therapy. The present study had the aim of investigating the concordance of the results from hormone receptor tests between a reference laboratory and local (or community) laboratories in Brazil. ⋯ Technical and result interpretation issues may explain most of the discordances in hormone receptor testing in local laboratories. Validation of estrogen and progesterone receptor tests at local laboratories, with rigorous quality control measures, is strongly recommended in order to avoid erroneous treatment of breast cancer patients.
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Brain metastases are common complications of cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the main diagnostic imaging method in these cases, rarely shows cystic images. ⋯ From immunohistochemical analysis, it was concluded that this was a metastasis of breast carcinoma. Even when the MRI is not characteristic of cerebral metastasis, this hypothesis needs to be ruled out in patients with a previous history of cancer.
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Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a complication of ascites, especially in cirrhosis. Ascitic fluid with 250 or more neutrophils/mm³ is an acceptable criterion for diagnosis, even when bacterial fluid cultures are negative. The aims here were to estimate SBP frequency among emergency room patients based on cellular criteria and evaluate the biochemical profile of these fluids. ⋯ Among the ascitic fluid samples with clinically suspected SBP, 31.7% fulfilled the cellular diagnostic criteria. Positive bacterial isolation was found in 33.8% of the cultured samples from the presumed SBP group.