Long-Term Endoscopic Gastrostomy Enteral Feeding of Neurosurgical Patients: A Reference Center Experience.

Nutritional support in neurosurgical patients is challenging due to severe brain injury, neurological disease, or post-surgical complications. This study aimed to assess outcomes of long-term enteral nutrition via endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in these patients over a 22-year period. A single-center retrospective (2001-2023) study was conducted on patients referred for PEG.

Effect of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation on ventilation dynamics and small airway dysfunction in people with post-tuberculosis lung disease.

Background: As the world moves toward eliminating tuberculosis (TB), there is a large population of TB survivors who still face a significant burden of TB complications. However, basic pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) packages for this population are currently lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of home-based PRP (HBPRP) on lung mechanics, exercise capacity, and quality of life (QoL) in people with PTLD (pwPTLD).

F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scans for thoracic tuberculosis: current evidence and future perspectives.

The advent of positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) in the field of inflammatory/infectious diseases heralds an era of personalised disease management using these noninvasive technologies. This nuclear medicine technique can be a useful tool in tuberculosis (TB) for assessing the extent of extrapulmonary disease, evaluating treatment response and identifying patients at higher risk of disease relapse. The fusion of functional imaging provided by PET with the anatomical and morphological details captured by CT has enabled clinicians to better understand the dynamics of the pathophysiology and natural course of infection.

Controversies in NEN: An ENETS Position Statement on nutritional support in neuroendocrine neoplasms.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) themselves and also their treatment may cause malnutrition, inducing changes in physiological behaviour and eventually leading to increased rates of morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition is a common, under-recognised and under-treated condition in patients with NEN, and there are limited data available on the role of optimising nutrition in this setting. There are no formal evidence-based European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) guidelines on nutrition evaluation and management in patients with NEN to date.

When Peritoneal Tuberculosis Mimics Carcinomatosis: A Diagnostic Enigma.

Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) can present with the involvement of the peritoneum, stomach, intestinal tract, hepatobiliary tree, pancreas, perianal area, or lymph nodes. Peritoneal TB is one of the most challenging forms to diagnose and usually occurs through reactivation of latent TB infection or through hematogeneous spread in the setting of active pulmonary TB. A 25-year-old male from Guinea-Bissau, with multiple visits to the emergency department in the last month due to several daily soft stools and generalized abdominal pain.

Correlations between exercise oxygen consumption, lung function, image findings, and quality of life in adults with post-tuberculosis lung disease.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlations of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) with lung mechanics, radiographic abnormalities, and quality of life (QoL) in adults with post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD). This is a cross-sectional study in which 60 adults with PTLD underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). Additionally, the following assessments were performed: spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS), chest X-ray (CXR), and QoL using the WHOQOL-BREF.

Microencapsulation of Pitanga extract (Eugenia uniflora L.) by ionic gelation: Effect of wall material and fluidized bed drying.

Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) is a fruit native to Brazil with a large amount of bioactive compounds, antioxidant properties and attractive color. However, it is not yet well studied, despite its high availability.

The role of neutrophil response in lung damage and post-tuberculosis lung disease: a translational narrative review.

It is estimated that more than 150 million individuals alive in 2020 had survived tuberculosis (TB). A portion of this large population continues to experience chronic respiratory abnormalities, with or without symptoms, due to previous active pulmonary TB. This condition known as Post-TB Lung Disease (PTLD), involves a complex interaction between pathogen, host and environmental factors.

Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy in the 21st Century-An Overview of 1415 Consecutive Dysphagic Adult Patients.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is recommended for long-term enteral nutrition in dysphagic patients. This study aims to characterize conditions motivating PEG, assess nutritional status on the gastrostomy day, evaluate survival and search for survival predictors. Retrospective study of adult patients who underwent PEG in a tertiary hospital from 2001 to 2023.

Chronic Intestinal Failure and Short Bowel Syndrome in Adults: Principles and Perspectives for the Portuguese Health System.

Background: Short bowel syndrome is a devastating malabsorptive condition and the most common cause of chronic intestinal failure (CIF). Patients need parenteral support for months or years. Ideally, it should be delivered at home, reducing limitations in everyday life activities.

Effects of photobiomodulation therapy (660-nm laser) on median nerve function in Wistar rats.

This study investigates the effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) with a 660-nm laser on nerve regeneration and muscle morphometry following median nerve axonotmesis in rats. Sixteen Wistar rats were divided into a control group and laser-treated group, with the latter receiving 10 applications of PBM (660 nm; 20 mW; 10 J/cm; 0.4 J; and 20 s) over 2 weeks.

Chronic Intestinal Failure and Short Bowel Syndrome in Adults: The State of the Art.

Background: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a devastating malabsorptive condition and the most common cause of chronic intestinal failure (CIF). During the intestinal rehabilitation process, patients may need parenteral support for months or years, parenteral nutrition (PN), or hydration/electrolyte supplementation, as a bridge for the desired enteral autonomy.

Summary: Several classification criteria have been highlighted to reflect different perspectives in CIF.

Home Parenteral Support in Chronic Intestinal Failure-First Results from a Pioneer Portuguese Intestinal Failure Center.

Background/objectives: Home parenteral support (HPS) is the core of chronic intestinal failure (IF) treatment. For legal reasons, HPS in Portugal lags behind other European countries, and only a few patients were taken care of at home by nurses. Now, the legislation has changed, allowing patient self-care.

Experience of Labour and Childbirth in a Sample of Portuguese Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background/objectives: Childbirth is a profoundly personal experience that often does not align with expectations. The World Health Organization has established guidelines for best practises; in this sense, it is crucial to understand the childbirth experiences of Portuguese women in comparison with these guidelines.

Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted to achieve this.

Water Resistance Therapy in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Session-by-Session Analysis of the Vocal Quality.

Objectives: Verify session-by-session effects of the water resistance therapy (WRT) on the vocal quality of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: This is a retrospective analytical study. Then, the samples were acquired from a database composed of 10 men aged between 50 and 90 years old diagnosed with PD.

Reanalysis and validation of the transcriptional pleural fluid signature in pleural tuberculosis.

Introduction: Pleural tuberculosis (PlTB), the most common site of extrapulmonary TB, is characterized by a paucibacillary nature and a compartmentalized inflammatory response in the pleural cavity, both of which make diagnosis and management extremely challenging. Although transcriptional signatures for pulmonary TB have already been described, data obtained by using this approach for extrapulmonary tuberculosis and, specifically, for pleural tuberculosis are scarce and heterogeneous. In the present study, a set of candidate genes previously described in pulmonary TB was evaluated to identify and validate a transcriptional signature in clinical samples from a Brazilian cohort of PlTB patients and those with other exudative causes of pleural effusion.

Brazilian Thoracic Association recommendations for the management of post-tuberculosis lung disease.

Historically, all efforts against tuberculosis were focused on rapid diagnosis and effective treatment to break the chain of transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, in the last few years, more and more evidence has been found on the dramatic consequences of the condition defined as post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD). Approximately one third of patients surviving pulmonary tuberculosis face considerable ongoing morbidities, including respiratory impairment, psychosocial challenges, and reduced health-related quality of life after treatment completion.

Low-Frequency TENS in Women With Behavioral Dysphonia: Preliminary Data From a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: To verify the effectiveness of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) simultaneously applied to the performance of vocal exercises in women with behavioral dysphonia.

Methods: This is a randomized, blinded clinical trial (Register Number: RBR-5k95vs). Twelve adult women with vocal nodules, randomly divided into three groups (G1: 4 participants - 12 sessions - application of placebo TENS simultaneously to the execution of vocal exercises; G2: 5 participants - 12 sessions - application of low-frequency TENS (frequency at 10 Hz, 200 μs duration phase, motor threshold, with electrodes placed on the thyroid cartilage lamina, bilaterally); and G3: 3 participants - 12 sessions - application of low-frequency TENS (same condition as G2) simultaneously to the execution of vocal exercises), participated in this study.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among health care workers in a reference hospital in Brazil.

Health care workers (HCW) are the frontline workforce for COVID-19 patient care and, consequently, are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to close contact to infected patients. Here, we evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCW from an infectious disease hospital, reference center for COVID-19 care in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo city, Brazil. Among 2,204 HCW, 1,417 (64.

European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) 2023 guidance paper for appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours (aNET).

The aim of the present guidance paper is to update the previous ENETS guidelines on well differentiated appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours (NET), providing practical guidance for the diagnosis and management of appendiceal NET (aNET); poorly differentiated neoplasms are dealt with in a separate guidance paper. This paper is structured on a question-answer format in order to also address controversial issues and areas where uncertainty regarding the management and follow-up of aNET exists. All recommendations are offered on the basis of the best available evidence, along with the authors' experiences in managing these neoplasms.