Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
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Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. · Jan 2020
ReviewCare for frontline health care workers in times of COVID-19.
The spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has generated the collapse of health care systems and significant impacts on the health of the workers involved in combatting the disease worldwide. ⋯ A sensitive view of the health care worker's care is urgently needed to maintain the quality of health service offered to the population and preserve the health of frontline workers.
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Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. · Sep 2017
Review Case ReportsColonic basidiobolomycosis with liver involvement masquerading as gastrointestinal lymphoma: a case report and literature review.
Basidiobolomycosis is an unusual fungal skin infection that rarely involves the gastrointestinal tract. This study reported a 5-year-old boy with gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis that had been misdiagnosed as gastrointestinal lymphoma. He was treated by surgical resection and a combination of posaconazole and amphotericin B deoxycholate with an acceptable response and no recurrence.
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Scorpion stings are currently the leading cause of venom-related injury to humans in Brazil and are a significant public health problem globally. Only scorpions of the Tityus genus are of medical importance in Brazil, and Tityus serrulatus is responsible for the most serious envenomations and deaths. The toxic effects of scorpion envenomation are due to a massive release of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurotransmitters; the severity is related to cardiac and hemodynamic changes, with cardiogenic shock and pulmonary edema contributing to the main causes of death. ⋯ The efficiency of antivenom serum treatment is controversial in the literature. Our experience in Brazil is that the management of patients with systemic manifestations of scorpion stings is based on three approaches, all of which are extremely important. These include symptomatic treatment, antivenom serum, and cardiorespiratory support.
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Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. · Nov 2015
ReviewVenomous and poisonous arthropods: identification, clinical manifestations of envenomation, and treatments used in human injuries.
This review presents the main species of venomous and poisonous arthropods, with commentary on the clinical manifestations provoked by the toxins and therapeutic measures used to treat human envenomations. The groups of arthopods discussed include the class Arachnida (spiders and scorpions, which are responsible for many injuries reported worldwide, including Brazil); the subphylum Myriapoda, with the classes Chilopoda and Diplopoda (centipedes and millipedes); and the subphylum Hexapoda, with the class Insecta and the orders Coleoptera (beetles), Hemiptera (stink bugs, giant water bugs, and cicadas), Hymenoptera (ants, wasps, and bees), and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).
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Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. · Jan 2015
ReviewSnakebites as a largely neglected problem in the Brazilian Amazon: highlights of the epidemiological trends in the State of Amazonas.
Envenoming snakebites are thought to be a particularly important threat to public health worldwide, especially in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. The true magnitude of the public health threat posed by snakebites is unknown, making it difficult for public health officials to optimize prevention and treatment. The objective of this work was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to gather data on snakebite epidemiology in the Amazon region and describe a case series of snakebites from epidemiological surveillance in the State of Amazonas (1974-2012). ⋯ The incidence reported by the epidemiological surveillance in the State of Amazonas, reaching up to 200 cases/100,000 inhabitants in some areas, is among the highest annual snakebite incidence rates of any region in the world. The majority of the cases were reported in the rainy season with a case-fatality rate of 0.6%. Snakebite envenomation is a great disease burden in the State of Amazonas, representing a challenge for future investigations, including approaches to estimating incidence under-notification and case-fatality rates as well as the factors related to severity and disabilities.