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Introduction To evaluate the accuracy of different neuronavigation systems and establish factors that influence their accuracy and their indications for use.

Objective To evaluate the admission brain computed tomography (CT) scan findings in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) to predict long-term neurological outcomes.

Introduction Upper middle-income countries have epidemiological peculiarities that should be considered to identify the main predictive factors of intrahospital mortality regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI) to address modifiable problems.

Objective To describe a tubular retractor technique for brain lesions through a series of cases and to conduct a literature review on intracranial tubular retractors with emphasis on the syringe port system.

Despite the advancements in evidence-based medicine, many hospitals still maintain high rates of patients undergoing prolonged preoperative fasting. The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of prolonged fasting time among patients undergoing elective surgeries at a Brazilian university hospital and its associations with clinical and sociodemographic variables. This cross-sectional study was conducted between May and November 2019 and included patients of all ages undergoing elective surgeries. Out of the 293 patients analyzed, 64.2% were male, with ages ranging from 1 to 85 years, and 93.9% were classified as ASA I or II. The prevalence of preoperative fasting exceeding 8 h was 89.4%. An average fasting time exceeding 11 h was observed across all age groups. Patients who underwent procedures in the afternoon had an average fasting time that was 24% longer than those in the morning period (14.9 vs. 12 h, p < 0.001). Surgery time (r = 0.134, p < 0.03) and anesthesia times (r = 0.121, p < 0.04) demonstrated a weak correlation with fasting time. Despite the international consensus on preoperative fasting time, our study demonstrated low adherence to current recommendations. Therefore, healthcare professionals should ensure the comprehension of fasting guidelines, and further studies should aim to identify effective solutions to mitigate prolonged fasting.

Abstract The precise location in the scalp of specifically planned points can help to achieve less invasive approaches. This study aims to develop a smartphone app, evaluate the precision and accuracy of the developed tool, and describe a series of cases using the referred technique. The application was developed with the React Native framework for Android and iOS. A phantom was printed based on the patient's CT scan, which was used for the calculation of accuracy and precision of the method. The points of interest were marked with an "x" on the patient's head, with the aid of the app and a compass attached to a skin marker pen. Then, two experienced neurosurgeons checked the plausibility of the demarcations based on the anatomical references. Both evaluators marked the frontal, temporal and parietal targets with a difference of less than 5 mm from the corresponding intended point, in all cases. The overall average accuracy observed was 1.6 ± 1.0 mm. The app was used in the surgical planning of trepanations for ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts and for drainage of abscesses, and in the definition of craniotomies for meningiomas, gliomas, brain metastases, intracranial hematomas, cavernomas, and arteriovenous malformation. The sample consisted of 88 volunteers who exhibited the following pathologies: 41 (46.6%) had brain tumors, 17 (19.3%) had traumatic brain injuries, 16 (18.2%) had spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages, 2 (2.3%) had cavernomas, 1 (1.1%) had arteriovenous malformation (AVM), 4 (4.5%) had brain abscesses, and 7 (7.9%) had a VP shunt placement. In cases approached by craniotomy, with the exception of AVM, straight incisions and minicraniotomy were performed. Surgical planning with the aid of the NeuroKeypoint app is feasible and reliable. It has enabled neurological surgeries by craniotomy and trepanation in an accurate, precise, and less invasive manner.

ABSTRACT Objective: The objectives of the present study were to develop a method for longitudinally measuring tooth rotation, inclination and angulation on digital models, and to test the method validity and reliability. Methods: The initial and final planned models of 14 patients treated with Invisalign® (386 teeth) were exported from ClinCheck®. The rotation, inclination and angulation values were assessed for the incisors, canines, premolars and molars, in both models, using trigonometry. An application was developed in Python 2.7 to automate the measurements. The ∆planned (variation in the position between the initial and final planned models) was obtained for each tooth and each type of movement. To test the validity, the degree of agreement between the ∆planned and the values available in the Invisalign® Table of Movements was assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. For intra and inter-rater reliabilities, the ∆planned was obtained again. Results: Excellent ICCs (> 0.9) and limits of agreement with narrow and clinically acceptable discrepancies were obtained for the rotation of all teeth (except maxillary canines, which had broader limits: -3.47 - 5.43) and for the inclination of premolars and molars. The inclination of anterior teeth and angulation of all teeth had ICCs and limits that were not indicative of great agreement. The reliability was high for the three movements (discrepancy

FUNDAMENTO: O teste ergométrico (TE), inicialmente indicado para diagnóstico e estratificação de risco da doença arterial coronariana (DAC), apresenta baixa sensibilidade, o que pode implicar em falha na detecção de pacientes com risco aumentado de eventos adversos. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a ecocardiografia sob estresse físico (EEF) na predição de eventos cardíacos maiores (ECM) e óbitos por todas as causas em pacientes com probabilidade pré-teste intermediária de DAC e TE normal. MÉTODO: Trata-se de estudo retrospectivo em que foram estudados 397 pacientes, com probabilidade pré-teste intermediária de DAC pelo método de Morise e TE normal, submetidos à EEF. Dividiu-se em dois grupos: EEF negativo (G1) ou positivo (G2) para isquemia miocárdica. Os desfechos avaliados foram mortalidade por qualquer causa e ECM, definidos como óbito cardíaco e infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM) não fatal. RESULTADOS: O grupo G1 constituiu-se de 329 (82,8%) pacientes. A idade média foi de 57,37 ± 11 anos e 44,1% eram do gênero masculino. Durante o seguimento médio de 75,94 ± 17,24 meses, ocorreram 13 óbitos, dentre eles três por causas cardíacas (IAM), além de 13 IAM não fatais. Isquemia miocárdica permaneceu como preditor independente de ECM (RR 2,49; [IC] 95% 1,74-3,58). As variáveis preditoras de mortalidade por qualquer causa foram gênero masculino (RR 9,83; [IC] 95% 2,15-44,97) e idade > 60 anos (RR 4,57; [IC] 95% 1,39-15,23). CONCLUSÃO: A EEF positiva é preditora de ECM na amostra estudada, o que auxilia na identificação de um subgrupo de pacientes sob maior risco de eventos adversos, apesar de apresentarem TE normal.

INTRODUCTION: Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are encapsulated basidiomycetous yeasts with worldwide distribution. They cause cryptococcosis with features of systemic infection, affecting the central nervous system, lungs and skin in humans and animals. These fungi present numerous virulence factors that allow them to invade the host and multiply, among which extracellular enzyme capacity and microbial adaptation to different temperatures are worth mentioning. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the production of protease and investigate possible differences in thermotolerance and urease activity in clinical and environmental yeast isolates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Culture methods and Pz analysis were applied to assess urease and protease, whereas the optical density method was used to analyze biological activity in thermotolerance. RESULTS: There was no significant results as to microbial growth at the tested temperatures (25º, 37º and 42ºC). It was observed that clinical specimens grew better than environmental ones at elevated temperatures. As to C. neoformans, the moderate production of urease enzyme prevailed in both clinical and environmental isolates within 24h or 48h. Moreover, there was significant production on the seventh day of reading. The best reading time for viewing protease production in both isolates and species was the seventh day: 96% clinical samples and 94% environmental isolates. CONCLUSION: Further studies are required in order to investigate the virulence factors of C. neoformans and C. gattii cerebrospinal isolates from patients with meningoencephalitis and environmental samples from Sergipe. Furthermore, a higher technical accuracy and statistical precision are indispensable.

FUNDAMENTO: Apesar das inúmeras evidências de aumento da morbimortalidade, a incompetência cronotrópica (IC) ainda não é um diagnóstico rotineiro e bem definido nos protocolos de avaliação cardiológica e sua importância clínica ainda é subestimada. OBJETIVO: Avaliar os parâmetros clínicos e ecocardiográficos associados à IC em pacientes não idosos submetidos à ecocardiografia sob estresse físico (EEF). MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados 1.798 pacientes com idade média de 48,4 ± 7,5 anos submetidos à EEF entre Janeiro/2000 e Agosto/2009. Pacientes com índice cronotrópico menor que 0,8 foram considerados incompetentes cronotrópicos e comparados aos competentes quanto às características clínicas e ecocardiográficas. RESULTADOS: A duração do esforço físico foi em média de 9,3 ± 2,4 minutos. Duzentos e setenta (15%) pacientes eram incompetentes cronotrópicos. O índice cronotrópico de tal grupo foi de 0,7 ± 0,1 vs. 1,0 ± 0,1 para os competentes. A análise de regressão logística multivariada identificou os seguintes parâmetros como independentemente associados à IC: dispneia no exame [odds ratio (OR) = 4,27; p < 0,0001], dor torácica prévia na história clínica (OR = 1,51; p = 0,0111), maiores valores de índice de massa do ventrículo esquerdo nos incompetentes (IMVE) (OR = 1,16; p = 0,0001), equivalentes metabólicos (METs) (OR = 0,70; p = 0,0001), infradesnivelamento do segmento ST (OR = 0,58; p = 0,0003) e elevação da pressão arterial sistólica (ΔPAS) (OR = 0,87; p = 0,0011). Isquemia miocárdica não se associou à IC. CONCLUSÃO: A IC está associada a parâmetros funcionais, tais como: dispneia ao esforço, história de dor torácica e menores valores de METS. Está também associada ao parâmetro estrutural índice de massa do ventrículo esquerdo. Além disso, incompetência cronotrópica não parece aumentar a chance de isquemia miocárdica em pacientes não idosos. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2012; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

FUNDAMENTO: A literatura carece de estudos a respeito do valor prognóstico da ecocardiografia sob estresse pelo esforço físico (EF) em pacientes portadores de bloqueio completo do ramo esquerdo do feixe de His (BRE). OBJETIVO: Avaliar o valor prognóstico da EF em portadores de BRE. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de coorte retrospectiva, em que foram avaliados 135 pacientes portadores de BRE, no período entre janeiro de 2001 e outubro de 2009, dos quais 37,8% eram homens, com média de idade de 63,6 ± 11,5 anos, submetidos à EF segundo o protocolo de Bruce em esteira ergométrica. Foi utilizada a regressão de Cox, considerando-se estes desfechos: óbito por todas as causas e por eventos cardíacos, definidos como infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM), angioplastia percutânea (AP), revascularização miocárdica (RM) e óbito por causas cardíacas. RESULTADOS: A EF positiva foi encontrada em 42 pacientes (31%). O tempo de seguimento médio foi de 45,8 ± 4,7 meses. Nesse período, houve nove óbitos por todas as causas e nove eventos cardíacos (três óbitos por causa cardíaca, três IAM, duas AP e uma RM). A taxa de mortalidade por todas as causas em cinco anos foi de 16,1% no grupo com exame positivo e de 2,5% no grupo com exame negativo (p = 0,171), enquanto a taxa de eventos cardíacos no mesmo período foi de 15,1% no grupo com exame positivo e de 1,6% no grupo com exame negativo (p = 0,009). CONCLUSÃO: A EF mostrou-se preditora de eventos cardíacos em pacientes portadores de BRE.

Abstract Introduction: When an expanded endonasal transsphenoidal surgical approach is performed, intrasphenoid septations must be completely resected. If these structures are close to the internal carotid artery (ICA), then their manipulation might cause vascular injury. Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the frequency of intrasphenoid septations in the internal carotid artery protuberance (ICAp). Methods: Computed tomography (CT) scans of 421 patients were analysed. Intrasphenoid septations (classified as intersphenoid or accessory) and their relationship to the ICAp were described. Additionally, a sphenoid sinus classification was performed based on their degree of pneumatisation to determine whether a difference exists in the frequency of intrasphenoid septations inserted into ICAp with regard to sinus type. Results: The patient mean age was 39 ± 21.4 years. Overall, 219 patients (52%) had septations in the ICAp; 359 patients (85.3%) had intersphenoid septations; of the latter, 135 (37.6%) had septations in the ICAp. This frequency was higher among patients with sphenoid sinus type 4 or 5 (44.7% and 43.5%, respectively). Accessory septations were found in 255 patients (60.6%); 140 of these septations (54.9%) were in the ICAp. Among 351 patients with types 3, 4 or 5 sphenoid sinuses (i.e., only well-pneumatised sphenoid sinuses), 219 (62.4%) had septations in the ICAp. These frequencies are higher than those reported in most previous studies. Conclusion: The frequency of intrasphenoid septations in the ICAp found is considerable. It is higher among patients with more pneumatised sinuses. This finding justifies an appropriate pre-operative study, and careful attention must be paid during transsphenoidal surgery.