Background: Tuberculosis is an ancient disease, which still remains one of the major ills faced by mankind in the 21st century. In recent decades, new technologies employing the knowledge gained from molecular biology studies have allowed for more accurate detection of tuberculosis and increased investigation of the etiology and epidemiology of the disease. Aim: Evaluating the degree of similarity among strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis provided by the Phthisiology Sector of Centro de Saúde Navegantes (Navegantes Health Clinic) in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Method: A retrospective study was performed involving RFLP typing of 55 sputum samples from outpatients examined at the Centro de Saúde Navegantes. The results of the genotyping were correlated to the conventional epidemiology data. Results: A single pattern was seen in 39 (70.9%) of the isolates, whereas 16 isolates (29.1%) showed clustering patterns and were grouped into 8 clusters of 2 patients each. An epidemiological link was found for 6 (37.5%) of the 16 patients in the clusters. Conclusion: The appropriate combination of conventional epidemiology and genotyping of M. tuberculosis contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of tuberculosis transmission even when such a study is performed in a single, isolated health clinic.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Transmission. Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length. Epidemiology.

Objective: To determine whether the guidelines put forth in the III Brazilian Consensus on Asthma Management are being applied in a population of asthma patients treated at a public hospital that is a referral center for asthma in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Methods: All adult asthma patients who began their treatment between 1999 and 2002 were evaluated. The treatment given was classified as consistent or inconsistent with the Consensus guidelines. The clinical features of asthma and the frequency of treatment provided by a specialist were compared between the two groups (those receiving guideline-consistent treatment and those receiving guideline-inconsistent treatment). Results: The charts of 357 patients were evaluated. The study sample consisted of 106 males (29.9%) and 251 females (70.3%). The mean age was 41 years, and 33 (9.2%) of the patients were smokers. The treatment was considered inconsistent with the Consensus guidelines in 246 cases (70%). Of those 246, 174 (71%) had presented persistent asthma and were not treated with an inhaled corticosteroid. Normal forced expiratory volume in one second, being from 12 to 18 years of age, and having intermittent asthma were more frequently observed among the patients receiving guideline-consistent treatment (p < 0.01). No correlations were found between guideline-inconsistent treatment and being treated by a pulmonologist, severity of persistent asthma or number of emergency room visits. Conclusion: Most of the asthma patients treated at the public referral center in Porto Alegre did not receive treatment that was consistent with the Consensus guidelines. Undertreatment with inhaled corticosteroids was the principal source of that inconsistency.

Keywords: Asthma/therapy; Guidelines; Comparative study

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in autopsies and its rate of antemortem suspicion at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). Design: Cohort study with historical data. Setting: School hospital with 728 beds. Patients and methods: The adult autopsy reports were studied from 1985 to 1995 as well as the records of patients whose autopsies diagnosed PTE. Antemortem suspicion of PTE was considered from explicit notes on patients records, from requests of lung scan, or from full anticoagulation. Results: In the period mentioned, 9,607 deaths occurred, and 767 (7.98%) autopsies were performed. Significant PTE (> 1 pulmonary subsegment) in 30 (3.9%) patients. In 3 (10%) patients, PTE was considered the effective cause of death. Clinic suspicion was present in 5 (16.6%) patients; in 25 (83.4%) patients, there were only postmortem findings. Conclusion: PTE rates in autopsies were similar to those found in international literature. The rates of clinical suspicion were half of the ones mentioned in school hospitals in the United States and Europe. PTE was subsuspected in life in patients hospitalized at HCPA.

Keywords: Venous thromboembolism. Deep venous thrombosis. Pulmonary artery. Pulmonary infarction.

Introduction: A considerable increase in asthma and atopy prevalence has been noticed worldwide through the last decades, however, in our country, epidemiological data are still insufficient. Objective: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of asthma and atopy in a group of students, and compare these data with those found in two previous studies undertaken in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Methods: Asthma prevalence was identified through a questionnaire applied to 855 students from five schools of Porto Alegre. The students submitted to skin tests who presented, at least, one positive reaction were considered atopic. The signature of an informed consent from one of the parents was required for the skin test performance. Results: Prevalence was found to be 42.5% and 22% of cumulative and active asthma, respectively, with predominance in females. Atopy was identified in 50.1% of the sample. These results were significantly higher than the 6.7% (1980) and 16% (1989) of cumulative asthma, 10.9% (1989) of active asthma and 15.8% (1980) of atopy found in the two previous studies. Conclusion: A high prevalence of asthma and atopy was identified in our students. Future studies should be performed to elucidate the phenomenon herein demonstrated.

Keywords: Asthma. Epidemiology. Atopy.

Objective: To describe the outcomes of retreatment in tuberculosis patients receiving the regimen known, in Brazil, as regimen 3 (streptomycin, ethambutol, ethionamide, and pyrazinamide for 3 months + ethambutol and ethionamide for 9 months) after treatment failure with the basic regimen (rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide for 2 months + rifampin and isoniazid for 4 months). Methods: A descriptive, uncontrolled, historical cohort study involving adult tuberculosis patients treated with regimen 3. We evaluated adverse drug effects, recurrence, treatment outcomes, and associated factors. Results: The study included 229 patients. The overall cure rate was 62%. For the patients who used the medications regularly and those who did not, the cure rate was 88% and 31%, respectively. Adverse events occurred in 95 patients (41.5%), and most of those events were related to the gastrointestinal tract. In the five-year follow-up period, relapse occurred in 17 cases (12.0%). Conclusions: Overall, the outcomes of treatment with regimen 3 were unsatisfactory, in part because this regimen was administered to a selected population of patients at high risk for noncompliance with treatment, as well as because it presents high rates of adverse effects, especially those related to the gastrointestinal tract, which might be caused by ethionamide. However, for those who took the medications regularly, the cure rate was satisfactory. The recurrence rate was higher than that recommended in international consensus guidelines, which might be attributable to the short (12-month) treatment period. We believe that regimen 3, extended to 18 months, represents an option for patients with proven treatment compliance.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/therapy; Treatment outcome; Retreatment.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among tuberculosis patients in a major Brazilian city, evaluated via the Second National Survey on Antituberculosis Drug Resistance, as well as the social, demographic, and clinical characteristics of those patients. Methods: Clinical samples were collected from tuberculosis patients seen between 2006 to 2007 at three hospitals and five primary health care clinics participating in the survey in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The samples were subjected to drug susceptibility testing. The species of mycobacteria was confirmed using biochemical methods. Results: Of the 299 patients included, 221 (73.9%) were men and 77 (27.3%) had a history of tuberculosis. The mean age was 36 years. Of the 252 patients who underwent HIV testing, 66 (26.2%) tested positive. The prevalence of MDR-TB in the sample as a whole was 4.7% (95% CI: 2.3-7.1), whereas it was 2.2% (95% CI: 0.3-4.2) among the new cases of tuberculosis and 12.0% (95% CI: 4.5-19.5) among the patients with a history of tuberculosis treatment. The multivariate analysis showed that a history of tuberculosis and a longer time to diagnosis were both associated with MDR-TB. Conclusions: If our results are corroborated by other studies conducted in Brazil, a history of tuberculosis treatment and a longer time to diagnosis could be used as predictors of MDR-TB.

Keywords: Tuberculosis/diagnosis; Drug resistance; HIV.

Background: In recent decades, the prevalence of asthma has increased. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of asthma symptoms in children and adolescents from 2 to 14 years of age living in Porto Alegre (in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and to determine any potential correlations with socioeconomic profile, treatment and smoking in the home. Methods: A transversal study based on interviews of all families seeking medical attention in June of 2000. Results: The prevalence of asthma symptoms was 49.5%. In 66.8% of families, total income was less than four times the minimum wage, and in more than 50% of homes, the parents had had less than five years of schooling. In 98.5%, prophylactic asthma treatment was not used. In the 174 families studied, 38.7% of mothers and 43.7% of fathers were smokers (32.7% overall). Correlations were found between the following variables: exposure to smoking in the home and number of asthma attacks in the last year (p = 0.02; RR = 2.9; CI: 1.1 - 4.5); maternal level of education and number of attacks in the last year (p = 0.03; RR = 2.03; CI: 1.01 - 4.19); close living quarters and number of attacks in the last year among children exposed to second-hand smoke (p = 0.04; RR = 2.7; CI: 1.4 - 5.1); hospitalization and number of attacks in the last year (p = 0.004; RR = 1.46; CI: 1.15 -1.86); hospitalization and close living quarters (p = 0.03; RR = 1.47; CI: 1.15 -1.86). In children below the age of five, there was correlation between maternal smoking and number of attacks in the last year (p = 0.03; RR = 1.79; CI: 1.04 - 3.08). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma symptoms was high. The community studied has limited socioeconomic resources, and there is therefore a lack of adequate treatment for asthma. Our results demonstrate the need for prioritized, standardized treatment programs that would give healthcare workers access to the appropriate materials and means of evaluation necessary for asthma control.

Keywords: Key words: Asthma. Prevalence. Smoking in the home. Treatment between episodes of asthma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae and to identify its phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. Methods: Strains of S. pneumoniae isolated in the city of Porto Alegre between May 2002 and August 2004 from samples collected from different anatomical sites were analyzed. For the agar diffusion test, disks of erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin and clindamycin were used. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of erythromycin were determined for macrolide-resistant isolates by the agar dilution method. Macrolide-resistant isolates were phenotyped by agar diffusion test and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction. Results: A total of 229 pneumococcal strains were evaluated, 12 (5.2%) of which were macrolide-resistant. Among the 12 resistant strains, 9 (75%) presented the MLSB phenotype, and 3 (25%) presented the M phenotype. Polymerase chain reaction testing indicated that 8 MLSB phenotype isolates harbored the ermB gene only, whereas the mefE gene was present in all 3 M phenotype isolates. One MLSB phenotype isolate presented both genes. Conclusion: In Porto Alegre, the S. pneumoniae resistance to macrolides is still low since such resistance is due primarily to the presence of the ermB gene expressing the MLSB phenotype.

Objective: To compare clinical, radiological, and laboratory characteristics of individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis co-infected or not with HIV. Methods: A cross-sectional study, in which signs and symptoms were assessed by anamnesis and physical examination in patients hospitalized with pulmonary tuberculosis. The results of sputum smear microscopy and culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as hemoglobin levels and CD4+ T-cell counts, were obtained from medical records, and chest X-ray reports were consulted. Results: We included 50 pulmonary tuberculosis patients, who were divided into two groups (HIV-positive and HIV-negative; n = 25 per group). The mean age of the participants was 38.4 ± 10.5 years; 46 (92%) were males; and 27 (54%) were White. Expectoration was presented by 21 (84%) and 13 (52%) of the patients in the HIV-negative and HIV-positive groups, respectively (p = 0.016). Radiological findings of cavitation were present in 10 (43%) and 2 (10%) of the patients in the HIV-negative and HIV-positive groups, respectively (p = 0.016), whereas an interstitial pattern was observed in 18 (78%) and 8 (40%), respectively (p = 0.012). The mean hemoglobin level was 11.1 ± 2.9 g/dL and 9.3 ± 2.2 g/dL in the HIV-negative and HIV-positive groups, respectively (p = 0.015). Conclusions: In our sample of tuberculosis patients, expectoration was less prevalent, hemoglobin levels were lower, and cavitation was less common, as was an interstitial pattern, among those co-infected with HIV than among those without HIV co-infection.

Keywords: HIV; Tuberculosis; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

New scientific articles about tuberculosis (TB) are published daily worldwide. However, it is difficult for health care workers, overloaded with work, to stay abreast of the latest research findings and to discern which information can and should be used in their daily practice on assisting TB patients. The purpose of the III Brazilian Thoracic Association (BTA) Guidelines on TB is to critically review the most recent national and international scientific information on TB, presenting an updated text with the most current and useful tools against TB to health care workers in our country. The III BTA Guidelines on TB have been developed by the BTA Committee on TB and the TB Work Group, based on the text of the II BTA Guidelines on TB (2004). We reviewed the following databases: LILACS (SciELO) and PubMed (Medline). The level of evidence of the cited articles was determined, and 24 recommendations on TB have been evaluated, discussed by all of the members of the BTA Committee on TB and of the TB Work Group, and highlighted. The first version of the present Guidelines was posted on the BTA website and was available for public consultation for three weeks. Comments and critiques were evaluated. The level of scientific evidence of each reference was evaluated before its acceptance for use in the final text.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium infections; Diagnosis; Tuberculosis, multidrug-resistant.

Occupational lung diseases represent an important and serious public health problem. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the risks associated with the exposure to fertilizer production an environmental and epidemiological cross-sectional study was performed among workers of this industry in Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. The ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire was applied, a thoracic radiological study was carried out, and the pulmonary function testing was evaluated through spirometry in 413 employees, 305 being the exposed group and 108 the non-exposed group. The exposed workers were all men, 74.1% had attended elementary school (at least some years), mean age was 38 (± 7.6) and mean time of exposure was 11.8 years (± 6.7). As to cigarette smoking, 126 (41.3%) were smokers, 76 (24.9%) former smokers, and 103 (33.8%) non-smokers. The exposed group was divided into four work sections according to the specific risks of their occupational exposure. The environmental evaluation showed the presence of free silica, gaseous fluorides, and gaseous ammonia in concentrations above the tolerance limits. Results of the exposed workers were: 30.5% of them answered positively to cough, 14.7% to chronic cough, 8.5% to chronic bronchitis, 43.3% to rhinitis, and 35.4% to conjunctivitis. The multivariate analysis, after adjustment for smoking, showed statistically significant association between exposure and cough as a whole, rhinitis and conjunctivitis. The thoracic radiological studies did not point to any considerable abnormality of pneumoconiosis in the exposed workers. Most of them presented normal pulmonary function testing, not different from the controls.

Keywords: Epidemiology. Lung diseases. Respiratory tract diseases. Occupational diseases. Fertilizer industry. Evaluation. Environment.

Objective: To investigate dyspnea in individuals with Class II or III obesity and look for correlations among the respiratory data related to such individuals. Methods: This study involved 49 subjects with a body mass index >35 kg/m2, divided into two groups (those with dyspnea and those without). The baseline dyspnea index was evaluated, as were spirometry findings, maximal respiratory pressures and arterial blood gas analysis. Results: Of the 49 subjects evaluated, 37 reported dyspnea and 12 reported no dyspnea. The baseline dyspnea index differed between the two groups. The mean values were within the range of normality for all subjects and all parameters, except for the following: ratio of residual volume to total lung capacity; expiratory reserve volume; and the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient. The subjects with dyspnea presented significantly lower values for expiratory reserve volume, maximal expiratory pressure and arterial pH. In all subjects, body mass index correlated significantly with the following: baseline dyspnea index; the residual volume/total lung capacity ratio; the forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio; forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity; arterial oxygen tension; the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient; and arterial carbon dioxide tension. The baseline dyspnea index was found to correlate significantly with the following parameters: residual volume/total lung capacity ratio; expiratory reserve volume; arterial oxygen tension; the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient; and arterial carbon dioxide tension. Conclusion:  Dyspnea is a common complaint in individuals with class II or III obesity. Such individuals present a pronounced reduction in expiratory reserve volume and an increase in the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient. The correlations found suggest that obese individuals present dysfunction of the lower airways, and that obesity itself plays a role in the genesis of dyspnea.

Keywords: Obesity/complications; Dyspnea/epidemiology; Dyspnea/physiopathology; Respiratory function tests

Objective: The PACIFIC trial established standard therapy for patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC who did not progress after platinum-based concurrent chemoradiation therapy. However, real-world data, particularly from Latin America, remain limited. The LACOG 0120 study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of consolidation therapy with durvalumab in a real-world setting in Brazil. Methods: Patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC who received chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab consolidation therapy through an expanded access program were evaluated. The primary objective was to assess progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), treatment compliance, and safety, with a focus on the incidence and severity of immune-mediated adverse events (NCT04948411). Results: Thirty-one patients from seven centers were evaluated. Median follow-up was 50.3 months (95% CI: 48.6–54.4). Median PFS was 9.9 months (95% CI: 7.3–52.4), with a 36 month-PFS of 34.5% (95% CI: 17.7–52.1). Median OS was 34.9 months (95% CI: 26.0–NR), and the 36 month-OS was 46.3% (95% CI: 25.7–64.6). Durvalumab was administered for a median of 17 cycles (10 to 24), with 45.2% of patients completing the planned therapy. The main reason for discontinuation was disease progression. Treatment-related adverse events of any grade occurred in 12 patients (38.7%), with grade 3 events reported in two (6.5%). Pneumonitis was observed in 4 patients (12.9%) – grade 3 in 1 patient. Conclusions: PFS was lower in this analysis compared to the PACIFIC trial; however, OS was similar, indicating comparable efficacy in a real-world setting among Brazilian patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC. No new safety concerns were identified.