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Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate CD56 immunostaining in the stroma of benign and malignant ovarian epithelial neoplasms and associate the CD56 immunostaining with prognostic factors and survival in ovarian cancer., Methods: Patients with ovarian epithelial neoplasia (n=77) were studied with a prospective cohort. The CD56 immunostaining was evaluated in the peritumoral stroma. Two groups were evaluated: benign ovarian neoplasms (n=40) and malignant ovarian neoplasms (n=37). Data were recorded for histological type and grade, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging, molecular subtype, and lymph node metastases. Fisher's exact test and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used, with a significance level of ≤0.05., Results: We found greater CD56 stromal immunostaining in malignant neoplasms when compared to the group of benign neoplasms (p=0.00001). There was no significant difference in relation to the prognostic factors and survival., Conclusion: Malignant ovarian neoplasms showed higher stromal CD56 immunostaining. As the prognostic value of natural killer in ovarian cancer is controversial, knowing the specific function of each cell present both in the tumor tissue and systemically may help guide successful immunotherapies in the near future.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of the aesthetic result of breast reconstruction surgery from the perspective of plastic surgeons compared with physicians who are not specialists in plastic surgery., Methods: Twenty patients who underwent breast reconstruction after mastectomy had their aesthetic results evaluated by 16 plastic surgeons and 16 nonplastic physicians, yielding a total of 620 ratings (320 ratings from plastic surgeons and 320 ratings from other specialists). For all analyses, the level of rejection adopted for the null hypothesis was 5% (p-value <0.05)., Results: Significant differences were observed between the two groups. On average, medical professionals who specialized in plastic surgery always obtained higher scores than other physicians. However, no significant differences were found in the assessment of the aesthetic outcome of breast reconstruction according to the sex of the rating medical professional for any of the assessments considered in this study. A strong positive linear correlation between the time since training in the medical specialty of plastic surgery (r=0.750, p=0.001) and the mean aesthetic outcome score was observed in this study., Conclusion: Plastic surgeons assessed the aesthetic results of breast reconstruction more positively than nonplastic physicians.

Objective: To correlate the number of hypertensive patients with high and very high risk for cardiovascular diseases with socioeconomic and health indicators., Methods: An ecological study carried out from the National Registry of Hypertension and Diabetes (SisHiperDia). The variable "hypertensive patients with high and very high risk" was correlated with the Human Development Index, health care costs and services, average household income per capita, per capita municipal income, number of hospital admissions in SUS, number of medical consultations in the SUS and specific mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system, considering the 27 federative units of Brazil. The data was processed in software IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics, version 22.00. The statistical analysis considered the level of significance p<0.05., Results: Brazilian states with more hypertensive registries in high/very high risk spend more on public health, fewer people reach the elderly age group and more deaths from diseases of the circulatory system (p<0.05). The very high risk stratum correlated with more physicians per population (p<0.05)., Conclusion: Systemic arterial hypertension has a direct impact on life expectancy and also on the economic context, since when it evolves to high and very high risk for cardiovascular diseases, it generates more expenses in health and demand more professionals, burdening the public health system. Monitoring is necessary in order to consolidate public policies to promote the health of hypertensive individuals.

Introduction:: Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas (SPTP) is a rare neoplasm of low malignant potential with uncertain behavior, diagnosed mainly in young women., Method:: Our report comprises a series of cases of SPTP reviewed retrospectively, highlighting clinical, tomographic and immunohistochemical features, treatment performed and outcomes., Results:: Thirteen patients were found to have pancreatic [solid] masses on computed tomography scan measuring a mean diameter of 8.8 cm. All patients underwent complete surgical excision. Immunohistochemistry confirmed diagnosis in all cases., Conclusion:: SPTP occurs more frequently in young women. Diagnostic suspicion lies on the finding of a bulky, solid and cystic pancreatic mass. Imaging findings might provide diagnostic information before resection. Conservative approaches can be used in selected cases and survival rates are usually excellent following complete resection.

Objective: International data have reported prostate cancer as the most frequent among men, and the third highest in mortality. A rise in incidence has been observed in the course of recent decades, probably influenced by early detection, mainly in asymptomatic men, through regular screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. The purpose of this study was to contribute to information on trends in prostate cancer incidence and mortality using population-based data., Methods: This was an exploratory ecological study of time trends, aiming at describing changes in prostate cancer incidence and mortality in Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil, from 1996 to 2006. Rates were calculated from data of the Registro de Câncer de Base Populacional de Aracaju. Trends were calculated using the Joinpoint Regression Program., Results: For the study period, 1,490 incident cases and 334 deaths were included. Incident cases were more common after 50 years of age, and deaths after 55 years. Age-standardized incidence rates of 46.6 and 50.0/100,000 were observed in the early years of the series, and then progressively increased, with rates higher than 100.0/100,000 in later years. For mortality, age-standardized rates varied from 21.6 and 16.6/100,000 to 24.1 and 28.9/100,000 in later years. Joinpoint analysis identified one joinpoint for the incidence series, resulting in two trends, the first with annual percent change of 34% and the second with 5.8%; for the mortality series no joinpoint was identified, and the annual percent change was 2.1%., Conclusion: There was a sharp increase in incidence rates during the study period, probably due to screening. Mortality rates had a small upward trend, and did not show major changes during the study period.

Objective: To evaluate the presence of immune complexes and the phagocytes by polymorphonuclear neutrophils in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, with and without disease activity., Methods: The peripheral blood of 55 subjects was analyzed. Ten of those subjects had disease activity, 15 had not disease activity, and 30 were healthy. We used radial immune diffusion to detect immune complexes. The phagocytic function was estimated by the ingestion of zymosan by polymorphonuclear neutrophils., Results: In this study we found the presence of immune complexes formatted of IgM, IgG, IgA, and complement component C3 and C4 in LES patients. The arithmetic average of zymosan particles ingested by the neutrophils incubated with homologous human serum and autologous human serum was significantly decreased (p<0.05) in the LES activity patients when we compare with the group without activity, and the control group., Conclusion: We conclude that there are immune complexes in the LES patients with and without disease activity, and there is a reduction in the digestive step of the phagocytes by polymorphonuclear neutrophils in patients with disease activity. The conclusions of the present study are according with the pathogenesis of the disease and with the high mortality in these patients.

A 66 year-old female patient, with severe chronic pain caused by diabetic radiculopathy, treated with association of amitriptiline and carbamazepine, presented severe sinusal bradycardia with hemodynamic disturbances ensuing junctional rhythm, which required installation of temporary pace-maker. The drugs were withdrawn. Reversion to sinusal rhythm occurred 36 hours after the installation of bradycardia. The pace-maker was withdrawn. It was concluded that the use of tricyclic antidepressive drugs, particularly in the elderly, should be carefully monitored.

A number of Brazilian studies have been done on elderly in-patients in a General Hospital but only one studied them in a Internal Medicine Ward. PURPOSE--To analyse morbidity and mortality comparing age and sex in the elderly in-patients in a General Hospital Internal Medicine Infirmary. METHODS--We analysed 163 elderly patients (101 females, 62 males) who represent 42.3% of the total number of in-patients for 100 consecutive days; 84.1% whites and an average age of 71.4 +/- 8.3 years. RESULTS--(p < 0.05): (1) Among elderly females--there was a high rate of heart failure as cause of hospitalization. (2) Among elderly males--stroke was the main cause of hospitalization. (3) Among 60-69 year old patients--diabetes mellitus was the main cause of hospitalization. (4) > or = 70--stroke was found to be the most frequent cause of hospitalization and high frequency of level F and G on the Katz Scale. Circulatory diseases were the cause for 42.3% of hospitalization. Dehydration was the main complication during hospitalization (46.0%). There were 38 deaths (23.3% of the patients), 50.1% were caused by respiratory diseases. CONCLUSION--The elderly are an important group of in-patients in a General Hospital Internal Medicine Ward.