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Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, autoimmune, demyelinating, progressive disease with an unpredictable course. The MS outpatient unit in Joinville, Santa Catarina, followed 110 patients (58.7% female, 41.3% male) and from this, the need for nursing consultations was identified. Consequently, a protocol, the nursing process, was adapted and implemented with systematic and interrelated actions aimed at improving care. This objective of this study was to analyze the impact of nursing care on the treatment of patients with MS. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was developed and applied to the MS patients, divided into two groups: a) Before March 2011 b) After March 2011, the latter being the period after which the nursing activities began in the MS outpatient unit. Questionnaires were completed at the time of consultation or, in some cases, via telephone. A table with four identified problems was created: 1 - Delay in preparation of the medications application via the SUS (Brazilian public health system) process; 2 - Interim time between the request process and receipt of the product; 3 - Waiting time before first application of the drug; 4 - Difficulty in accessing information regarding clarification of drug-related adverse events (actions that contribute to treatment adherence). Results: Analysis of the responses revealed the following: 1 - Delay in the preparation of the SUS application process was reduced from 40 days to 7 days (95% CI). 2 - The time for receiving medication was reduced from 120 days to 45 days; 3 - Waiting time for the first application of the drug decreased from 15 days to 1 day; 4 - After commencement of the nursing care provision in the MS outpatient unit, patients were able to communicate with a nurse via telephone or by scheduling an appointment in order to address any questions related to the treatment. Discussion and Conclusion: Although the introduction of the nursing care plan is unlikely to change the course of the disease, the results of this research demonstrated that the waiting time for the initiation of treatment was reduced. This would indicate that the implementation of the nursing care protocol contributed to the success of treatment and, therefore, improved patient quality of life. The practice of nursing consultation allowed reflection on the potential benefits of this service as a part of our patient care strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) varies considerably around the world. To our knowledge, no population-based study related to MS has been carried out and published in Brazil. Therefore, the aim of this research was to measure the incidence of MS in the city of Joinville, in southern Brazil. Materials and Methods: All new patient cases diagnosed with MS between 2010 and 2014 in the city of Joinville were recorded. Individuals diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and already in conversion before 2013 were recorded as MS cases. Tire revised 2010 McDonald criteria were applied for the clinical diagnosis of MS and CIS. The rates were adjusted to the Brazilian and world population. Results: The definite and probable age-adjusted MS incidence was 3.2 (95%CI, 1.9-5.1) per 100,000 inhabitants. Seven patients were diagnosed with CIS over the four year period. Of these, three patients (43%) converted to MS in 2013. The median conversion time from CIS to MS was six months. Discussion and Conclusion: The incidence of MS in Joinville, located in tropical Latin America, was similar to the 1.76 (95%CI, 1.1-2.8) per 100,000 inhabitants found in Argentina (southern Latin America). Taking into consideration that the time for evolution of CIS to MS is 3-4 years, this present study demonstrated a conversion of 43% of patients in 1 year. The CIS to MS conversion time found was also similar tosome other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unsustainable increases in healthcare expenses and waste have motivated the migration of reimbursement strategies from volume to value. Value-based healthcare requires detailed comprehension of cost information at the patient level. This study introduces a clinical risk- and outcome-adjusted cost estimate model for stroke care sustained on time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). In a cohort and multicentre study, a TDABC tool was developed to evaluate the costs per stroke patient, allowing us to identify and describe differences in cost by clinical risk at hospital arrival, treatment strategies and modified Rankin Score (mRS) at discharge. The clinical risk was confirmed by multivariate analysis and considered patients' National Institute for Health Stroke Scale and age. Descriptive cost analyses were conducted, followed by univariate and multivariate models to evaluate the risk levels, therapies and mRS stratification effect in costs. Then, the risk-adjusted cost estimate model for ischaemic stroke treatment was introduced. All the hospitals collected routine prospective data from consecutive patients admitted with ischaemic stroke diagnosis confirmed. A total of 822 patients were included. The median cost was I$2210 (interquartile range: I$1163-4504). Fifty percent of the patients registered a favourable outcome mRS (0-2), costing less at all risk levels, while patients with the worst mRS (5-6) registered higher costs. Those undergoing mechanical thrombectomy had an incremental cost for all three risk levels, but this difference was lower for high-risk patients. Estimated costs were compared to observed costs per risk group, and there were no significant differences in most groups, validating the risk and outcome-adjusted cost estimate model. By introducing a risk-adjusted cost estimate model, this study elucidates how healthcare delivery systems can generate local cost information to support value-based reimbursement strategies employing the data collection instruments and analysis developed in this study., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Decision-making in the field of healthcare is a very complex activity. Several tools have been developed to support the decision-making process. DMN, a modeling technique focused on decisions, is among these and has been gaining prominence in both, literature and business, as has the multi-criteria method PROMETHEE II that helps decision-makers with multi-criteria in analyses. Thus, this research targets combining these two techniques and analyzing the decision support that these two tools afford together. The diagnostic stage of stroke patients was used to perform this work. The research demonstrated that this proposal can drive major gains in efficiency and assertiveness in decision-making in time-sensitive hospital processes. After all, there is a noticeable dearth of hospitals with specialized teams as well as a shortfall of adequate infrastructure for this treatment.

Medical assistance to stroke patients must start as early as possible; however, several changes have impacted healthcare services during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aimed to identify the stroke onset-to-door time during the Covid-19 pandemic considering the different paths a patient can take until receiving specialized care. It is a retrospective study based on process mining (PM) techniques applied to 221 electronic healthcare records of stroke patients during the pandemic. The results are two process models representing the patient's path and performance, from the onset of the first symptoms to admission to specialized care. PM techniques have discovered the patient journey in providing fast stroke assistance.

Background: The RESILIENT trial demonstrated the clinical benefit of mechanical thrombectomy in patients presenting acute ischemic stroke secondary to anterior circulation large vessel occlusion in Brazil., Aims: This economic evaluation aims to assess the cost-utility of mechanical thrombectomy in the RESILIENT trial from a public healthcare perspective., Methods: A cost-utility analysis was applied to compare mechanical thrombectomy plus standard medical care (n = 78) vs. standard medical care alone (n = 73), from a subset sample of the RESILIENT trial (151 of 221 patients). Real-world direct costs were considered, and utilities were imputed according to the Utility-Weighted modified Rankin Score. A Markov model was structured, and probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of results., Results: The incremental costs and quality-adjusted life years gained with mechanical thrombectomy plus standard medical care were estimated at Int$ 7440 and 1.04, respectively, compared to standard medical care alone, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of Int$ 7153 per quality-adjusted life year. The deterministic sensitivity analysis demonstrated that mRS-6 costs of the first year most affected the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. After 1000 simulations, most of results were below the cost-effective threshold., Conclusions: The intervention's clear long-term benefits offset the initially higher costs of mechanical thrombectomy in the Brazilian public healthcare system. Such therapy is likely to be cost-effective and these results were crucial to incorporate mechanical thrombectomy in the Brazilian public stroke centers.

Objective: To describe a method of analysis for understanding the health care process, enriched with information on the clinical and profile characteristics of the patients. To apply the proposed technique to analyze an ischemic stroke dataset., Materials and Methods: We analyzed 4,830 electronic health records (EHRs) from patients with ischemic stroke (2010-2017), containing information about events realized during treatment and clinical and profile information of the patients. The proposed method combined process mining techniques with data analysis, grouping the data by primary care units (PCU - units responsible for the primary care of patients residing in a geographical area)., Results: A novel method, named process, data, and management (PDM) analysis method was used for ischemic stroke data and it provided the following outcomes: health care process for patients with ischemic stroke with time statistics; analysis of potential factors for slow hospital admission indicating an increase in the time to hospital admission of 3.4 h (mean value) for patients with an origin at the urgent care center (UCC) - 30% of patients; analysis of PCUs with distinct secondary stroke rates indicating that the social class of patients is the main difference between them; and the visualization of risk factors (before the stroke) by the PCU to inform the health manager about the potential of prevention., Discussion: PDM analysis describes a step-by-step method for combining process analysis with data analysis considering a management focus. The results obtained on the stroke context can support the definition of more refined action plans by the health manager, improving the stroke health care process and preventing new events., Conclusion: When a patient is diagnosed with ischemic stroke, immediate treatment is needed. Moreover, it is possible to prevent new events to some degree by monitoring and treating risk factors. PDM analysis provides an overview of the health care process with time, combining elements that affect the treatment flow and factors, which can indicate a potential for preventing new events. We also can apply PDM analysis in different scenarios, when there is information about activities from treatment flow and other characteristics related to the treatment or the prevention of the analyzed disease. The management focus of the results aids in the formulation of service policies, action plans, and resource allocation., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, doctors and public authorities have demonstrated concern about the reduction in quality of care for other health conditions due to social restrictions and lack of resources. Using a population-based stroke registry, we investigated the impact of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in stroke admissions in Joinville, Brazil., Methods: Patients admitted after the onset of COVID-19 restrictions in the city (defined as March 17, 2020) were compared with those admitted in 2019. We analyzed differences between stroke incidence, types, severity, reperfusion therapies, and time from stroke onset to admission. Statistical tests were also performed to compare the 30 days before and after COVID-19 to the same period in 2019., Results: We observed a decrease in total stroke admissions from an average of 12.9/100 000 per month in 2019 to 8.3 after COVID-19 ( P =0.0029). When compared with the same period in 2019, there was a 36.4% reduction in stroke admissions. There was no difference in admissions for severe stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score >8), intraparenchymal hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage., Conclusions: The onset of COVID-19 was correlated with a reduction in admissions for transient, mild, and moderate strokes. Given the need to prevent the worsening of symptoms and the occurrence of medical complications in these groups, a reorganization of the stroke-care networks is necessary to reduce collateral damage caused by COVID-19.

Background: It is unknown if improvements in ischemic stroke (IS) outcomes reported after cerebral reperfusion therapies (CRT) in developed countries are also applicable to the "real world" scenario of low and middle-income countries. We aimed to measure the long-term outcomes of severe IS treated or not with CRT in Brazil., Methods: Patients from a stroke center of a state-run hospital were included. We compared the survival probability and functional status at 3 and 12 months in patients with severe IS treated or not with CRT. From 2010 to 2011, we performed intravenous reperfusion when patients arrived within 4.5 h time-window (IVT group) and after 2011, mechanical thrombectomy (MT) combined or not with intravenous alteplase (IAT group). Those who arrived >4.5 h in 2010-2011 and >6 h in 2012-2017 did not undergo CRT (NCRT group)., Results: From 2010 to 2017, we registered 917 patients: 74% (677/917) in the NCRT group, 19% (178/917) in the IVT group and 7% (62/917) in the IAT group. Compared to the NCRT group, IVT patients had a 28% higher (HR: 0.72; 95% CI 0.53-0.96) 3-month adjusted probability of survival and risk of functional dependence was 19% lower (adjusted RR: 0.81; 95% CI 0.73-0.91). For those who underwent MT, the adjusted probability of survival was 59 % higher (HR: 0.41; 95% CI 0.21-0.77) and the risk of functional dependence was 21% lower (adjusted RR: 0.79; 95% CI 0.66-094). These outcomes remained significantly better throughout the first year., Conclusion: CRT led to better outcomes in patients with severe IS in Brazil., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Objective: Few studies from low- and middle-income countries have assessed stroke and cerebral reperfusion costs from the private sector. To measure the in-hospital costs of ischemic stroke (IS), with and without cerebral reperfusion, primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PIH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and transient ischemic attacks (TIA) in two private hospitals in Joinville, Brazil., Methods: Prospective disease-cost study. All medical and nonmedical costs for patients admitted with any stroke type or TIA were consecutively determined in 2016-17. All costs were adjusted to the gross domestic product deflator index and purchasing power parity., Results: We included 173 patients. The median cost per patient was US$3,827 (IQR: 2,800-8,664) for the 131 IS patients; US$2,315 (IQR: 1,692-2,959) for the 27 TIA patients; US$16,442 (IQR: 5,108-33,355) for the 11 PIH patients and US$28,928 (IQR: 12,424-48,037) for the four SAH patients (p < 0.00001). For the six IS patients who underwent intravenous thrombolysis, the median cost per patient was US$11,463 (IQR: 8,931-14,291), and for the four IS patients who underwent intra-arterial thrombectomy, the median cost per patient was US$35,092 (IQR: 31,833-37,626; p < 0.0001). A direct correlation was found between cost and length of stay (r = 0.67, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Stroke is a costly disease. In the private sector, the costs of cerebral reperfusion for IS treatment were three-to-ten times higher than for usual treatments. Therefore, cost-effectiveness studies are urgently needed in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: Low- and middle-income countries face tight health care budgets, not only new resources, but also costly therapeutic resources for treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). However, few prospective data about stroke costs including cerebral reperfusion from low- and middle-income countries are available. To measure the costs of stroke care in a public hospital in Joinville, Brazil., Methods: We prospectively assessed all medical and nonmedical costs of inpatients admitted with a diagnosis of any stroke or transient ischemic attack over one year, analyzed costs per type of stroke and treatment, length of stay (LOS) and compared hospital costs with government reimbursement., Results: We evaluated 274 patients. The total cost for the year was US$1,307,114; the government reimbursed the hospital US$1,095,118. We found a significant linear correlation between LOS and costs (r = 0.71). The median cost of 134 IS inpatients who did not undergo cerebral reperfusion (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] median = 3 ) was US$2,803; for IS patients who underwent intravenous (IV) alteplase (NIHSS 10), the median was US$5,099, and for IS patients who underwent IV plus an intra-arterial (IA) thrombectomy (NIHSS > 10), the median cost was US$10,997. The median costs of a primary intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and transient ischemic attack were US$2,436, US$8,031 and US$2,677, respectively., Conclusions: Reperfusion treatments were two-to-four times more expensive than conservative treatment. A cost-effectiveness study of the IS treatment option is necessary.

Background: Studies regarding long-term outcomes of ischemic stroke subtypes are scarce in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to measure the five-year prognosis of ischemic stroke subtypes in Joinville, Brazil., Methods: All first-ever ischemic strokes that occurred in Joinville in 2010 were followed-up for five years., Results: We included 334 ischemic stroke patients. Over five years, 156 died, 51 had a recurrent stroke, and 128 were free of recurrent stroke. The overall cumulative risk of death was 17% (95% CI, 13% to 22%) at 30 days and 47% (95% CI, 41% to 52%) after five years. Undetermined with incomplete investigation ischemic stroke had a significantly worse survival probability (β -4.91; 95% CI, -6.31 to -3.50; p  < 0.001), followed by cardioembolic ischemic stroke (β -3.07; 95% CI, -4.32 to -1.83; p  < 0.001) and large artery disease ischemic stroke (β -1.95; 95% CI, -3.30 to -0.60; p  = 0.005). The survival probability of undetermined with negative investigation or cryptogenic ischemic stroke did not differ significantly from small artery disease ischemic stroke (β -1.022; 95% CI, -3.37 to -1.43; p  = 0.414). The five-year mortality for small artery disease ischemic stroke was 30% (95% CI, 22% to 39%) and 47% (95% CI, 35% to 60%) for large artery ischemic stroke. The risk of stroke recurrence was 2% in the first year and 5% in the second year. The proportion of disability among survivors in the first month ranged from 8% (95% CI, 3-15) for small artery disease ischemic stroke to 40% (95% CI, 30-52) for cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients., Conclusions: Cardioembolic and undetermined with incomplete investigation ischemic stroke sub-types have a poor long-term prognosis. An alarming finding was that our patients with both small and large artery ischemic stroke had higher five-year mortality rates compared with subjects from high-income countries.

Background Information about long-term outcomes after stroke in developing countries provided by population-based methodologies is scarce. Aim This study aimed to know outcomes five years after a first-ever stroke in Joinville, Brazil. Methods Data were extracted from the Joinville Stroke Registry about all patients who had strokes in Joinville in 2010 and were followed up to 2015. Stroke recurrence, Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities, functional outcomes, and causes of death were ascertained at 30 days, six months, one and five years. Results A total of 399 strokes were studied. The mean age was 64 (standard deviation 16) years. After five years, 52% (95% confidence interval: 47-57%) survived and 20% (95% confidence interval: 15-26%) of the survivors had modified Rankin scale scores >2. More than half of these patients were institutionalized in nursing or home care settings. The average risk of death per year was ≈7%. Survival rates were significantly lower for subarachnoid hemorrhage and primary intracerebral hemorrhage than for ischemic stroke. The five-year recurrence rate was 12% (95% confidence interval: 9-15%). The index stroke was the cause of death in three quarters of the patients. Conclusions The results showed that 68% of the patients with stroke were either dead or disabled five years after first-ever stroke. This percentage is similar to proportions of other recent cohorts from developed countries, despite the lower age of the patients in this study.

Objective: There is gap in knowledge about obesity prevalence in stroke patients from low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, we aimed to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity status among patients with incident stroke in Brazil., Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we measured the body mass index (BMI) of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients. The sample was extracted in 2016, from the cities of Sobral (CE), Sertãozinho (SP), Campo Grande (MS), Joinville (SC) and Canoas (RS)., Results: In 1,255 patients with first-ever strokes, 64% (95% CI, 62-67) were overweight and 26% (95%CI, 24-29) were obese. The obesity prevalence ranged from 15% (95%CI, 9-23) in Sobral to 31% (95%CI, 18-45) in Sertãozinho. Physical inactivity ranged from 53% (95%CI, 43-63) in Sobral to 80% (95%CI, 73-85) in Canoas., Conclusions: The number of overweight patients with incident stroke is higher than the number of patients with stroke and normal BMI. Although similar to other findings in high-income countries, we urgently need better policies for obesity prevention.

Aiming to contribute to studies that use detailed clinical and genomic information of biobanks, we present the initial results of the first Latin American Stroke Biobank., Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients included in the Joinville Stroke Registry and four Brazilian cities. Demographic socio-economic data, cardiovascular risk factors, Causative Classification System for Ischemic Stroke, Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment and National Institutes of Health scores, functional stroke status (modified Rankin) and brain images were recorded. Additionally, controls from both geographic regions were recruited. High-molecular-weight genomic DNA was obtained from all participants., Results: A total of 2,688 patients and 3,282 controls were included. Among the patients, 76% had ischemic stroke, 12% transient ischemic attacks, 9% hemorrhagic stroke and 3% subarachnoid hemorrhage. Patients with undetermined ischemic stroke were most common according the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (40%) and Causative Classification System for Ischemic Stroke (47%) criteria. A quarter of the patients were under 55 years of age at the first-ever episode., Conclusions: We established the Joinville Stroke Biobank and discuss its potential for contributing to the understanding of the risk factors leading to stroke.

Background and Purpose: The incidence of stroke is on the rise in young adults in high-income countries. However, there is a gap of knowledge about trends in stroke incidence in young adults from low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to measure trends in incidence of ischemic stroke (IS) and intracerebral hemorrhage (IH) in young people from 2005 to 2015 in Joinville, Brazil., Methods: We retrospectively ascertained all first-ever IS subtypes and IH that occurred in Joinville in the periods of 2005 to 2006, 2010 to 2011, and 2014 to 2015. Poisson regression was used to calculate incidence rate ratios of all strokes, IS, and IH. We also compared the prevalence of risk factors and extension of diagnostic work-up across the 3 periods., Results: For 10 years, we registered 2483 patients (7.5% aged <45 years). From 2005 to 2006 to 2014 to 2015, overall stroke incidence significantly increased by 62% (incidence rate ratios, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.40) in subjects <45 years and by 29% in those <55 years (incidence rate ratios, 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.60). Incidence of IS increased by 66% (incidence rate ratios, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-2.54), but there was no significant change in incidence of IH in subjects <45 years. Smoking rates decreased by 71% (odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.68)., Conclusions: Stroke incidence is rising in young adults in Joinville, Brazil, because of increase in rates of ischemic but not hemorrhagic strokes. We urgently need better policies of cardiovascular prevention in the young., (© 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurological, immune-mediated disease that can worsen in the postpartum period. There is no consensus on the use of immunoglobulin for prevention of disease relapses after delivery. We have shown that the controversial beneficial effect of immunoglobulin given immediately after birth could not be observed in patients with MS.

Objective: Natalizumab is a new and efficient treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). The risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) during the use of this drug has created the need for better comprehension of JC virus (JCV) infection. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of JCV-DNA in Brazilian patients using natalizumab., Method: Qualitative detection of the JCV in the serum was performed with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)., Results: In a group of 168 patients with MS who were undergoing treatment with natalizumab, JCV-DNA was detectable in 86 (51.2%) patients., Discussion: Data on JCV-DNA in Brazil add to the worldwide assessment of the prevalence of the JCV in MS patients requiring treatment with natalizumab.

Objective: To assess whether the month of birth in different latitudes of South America might influence the presence or severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life., Methods: Neurologists in four South American countries working at MS units collected data on their patients' month of birth, gender, age, and disease progression., Results: Analysis of data from 1207 MS patients and 1207 control subjects did not show any significant variation in the month of birth regarding the prevalence of MS in four latitude bands (0-10; 11-20; 21-30; and 31-40 degrees). There was no relationship between the month of birth and the severity of disease in each latitude band., Conclusion: The results from this study show that MS patients born to mothers who were pregnant at different Southern latitudes do not follow the seasonal pattern observed at high Northern latitudes.