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Background The number of academic societies has been growing significantly in Brazilian universities, offering an extra opportunity for the development of educational activities and research. Because organ donation and transplantation is an area still insufficiently approached during the graduation of health professionals, we evaluated how academic societies might be a valuable tool. Methods Participants of the course promoted by the Organ Transplantation Academic Society of the Hospital Dom Vicente Scherer were evaluated through the use of a questionnaire and cognitive tests with 16 multiple-choice questions about topics approached during the course, before and after the lectures. Topics approached consisted of a general introduction about transplantation in Brazil, brain death, organ allocation and removal, post-transplant follow-up, and clinical cases. Results Of the 45 participants, 30 answered the tests at both times. The subjects were students of medicine, nursing, and phonoaudiology; 93.3% were organ donors, 84.6% said their families knew about this decision, and 65% had relatives who were organ donors. The mean score of correct answers was 7.63 of 16 before the activities and 12.54 after activities, demonstrating a 64.4% improvement. Conclusions The improvement in performance suggests that academic societies are a useful resource for educational purposes and for students to get a deeper insight about organ donation and transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the quantitative computed tomography (QCT) phenotypes, airflow limitations, and exacerbation-like episodes in heavy smokers in Southern Brazil., Methods: We enrolled 172 smokers with a smoking history ≥30 pack-years who underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and CT scan for lung cancer screening. Patients were classified regarding airflow limitation (FEV1/FVC <0.7 forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity) and the presence of emphysema on the QCT. The QCT were analyzed in specialized software and patients were classified in two disease-predominant phenotypes: emphysema-predominant (EP) and non-emphysema-predominant (NEP). EP was determined as ≥6% of percent low-attenuation areas (LAA%) with less than -950 Hounsfield units. NEP was defined as having a total LAA% of less than 6%., Results: Most of our patients were classified in the EP phenotype. The EP group had significantly worse predicted FEV1 (60.6 ±22.9 vs. 89.7 ±15.9, p <0.001), higher rates of airflow limitation (85.7% vs. 15%; p <0.001), and had more exacerbation-like episodes (25.8% vs. 8.3%, p <0.001) compared to the NEP group. Smoking history, ethnicity, and BMI did not differ between the groups. The total LAA% was the QCT parameter with the strongest correlation to FEV1 (r = -0.669) and FEV1/FVC (r = -0.787)., Conclusions: Heavy smokers with the EP phenotype on QCT were more likely to have airflow limitation, worse predicted FEV1, and a higher rate of exacerbation-like episodes than those with the NEP phenotype. Approximately 23% of patients with no airflow limitation on PFTs were classified in EP phenotype., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Purpose: To investigate the factors associated with a higher risk of noncompliance to tuberculosis (TB) treatment in Porto Alegre, Brazil., Methods: We identified 478 adult patients for this case-control study undergoing treatment for confirmed pulmonary TB. Cases (noncompliance) were defined as patients who stopped treatment for more than 30 consecutive days (n = 118). Controls were defined as all patients who completed treatment and were cured (n = 360). Factors associated with noncompliance were calculated with unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR)., Results: The rate of noncompliance in our study was 25%. The factors of noncompliance after adjustments in the overall population were, in order of magnitude, living in an area of lower income (OR = 4.35, 95%CI: 2.50-7.58), abuse of drugs (OR = 2.73, 95%CI: 1.47-5.09), nonadherence to a previous treatment regimen (OR = 2.1, 95%CI: 1.28-3.45), and history of smoking (OR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.00-3.00). Age, race, gender, level of education, HIV infection or diabetes status were not associated with a higher risk of noncompliance. In the subgroup of re-treatment cases, poverty (OR = 2.65; 95%CI = 1.06-6.66), smoking history (OR = 2.94; 95%CI = 1.09-7.92), male gender (OR = 3.25; 95%CI = 1.32-8.0), and younger age (OR = 4.3; 95%CI = 1.15-16.07) were also associated with a higher risk of dropout., Conclusion: Predictors of poor compliance to TB treatment were low income, abuse of drugs, re-treatment cases and history of smoking., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.