Polypill and RiskOMeter to Prevent StrOke and CogniTive ImpairmEnt in Primary Health Care (PROMOTE) Randomized Clinical Trial: Rationale and Design.

Introduction: Stroke and dementia have common modifiable risk factors. Current prevention strategies primarily focus on high-risk populations, leaving a gap in addressing the broader population. We report the protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to evaluate the feasibility, tolerability, and effectiveness of a polypill (valsartan 80mg, amlodipine 5mg, and rosuvastatin 10mg), with and without use of the Stroke Riskometer app, on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors at 9 months after randomization in a population of low to borderline CVD risk.

Informative statements to communicate the findings of systematic reviews of interventions: Cross-cultural translation of GRADE plain language into Portuguese language.

Objective: Transparent and easy-to-understand communication can enhance the dissemination of systematic reviews (SR) results to interest-holders. The GRADE Working Group developed an approach to improve the communication of results from SR of interventions in the English language. Here, we present the cross-cultural translation into Brazil Portuguese language of this approach.

Long-Term Cardiopulmonary Function After COVID-19-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate long-term pulmonary function, cardiopulmonary exercise capacity, chest CT findings, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in survivors of COVID-19 complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Design, Setting, And Patients: This is a multicentric case-control study conducted from February 2023 to December of 2023. Pulmonary function tests, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), chest CT, and HRQoL (using EuroQol 5D three-level [EQ-5D-3L]) were performed at least 12 months after hospital discharge among cases (COVID-19 complicated by ARDS) and at the time of inclusion among controls (family members/friends matched for sex and age).

Brazilian Public Health System protocol for the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical monitoring of acute ischemic stroke.

The Brazilian Ministry of Health has issued new recommendations for the management of patients with acute ischemic stroke. The protocol covers aspects related to diagnosis, treatment, and patient monitoring, expanding the available treatment options for patients treated within the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS, in Portuguese). This article discusses some of the recommendations presented in the current Clinical Practice Protocol, aiming to spread awareness of the document's updates and assist healthcare professionals and services in implementing these recommendations.

Incidence, associated factors and impact of the post-COVID-19 condition in Brazil: Study protocol of an observational cohort during the Omicron phase.

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a significant impact in Brazil, with over 37 million cases and 690,000 deaths. Survivors often experience prolonged symptoms, termed post-COVID-19 condition or long COVID, affecting various aspects of life. Data on post-COVID-19 in Brazil, particularly amid the Omicron variant, are limited.

Real-world accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection compared with qPCR: A cross-sectional study in Toledo - PR, Brazil.

Rapid Antigen Tests (Ag-RDTs) for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 is an important diagnostic tool for containing virus spread. However, their accuracy ‒ the proportion of correct results (both true positives and true negatives) ‒ still needs to be proven when used in a real large-scale context. Accordingly, we provide data from a cross-sectional study conducted in Toledo - PR, Brazil, on the accuracy of rapid tests compared with qPCR within the Brazilian Unified Health System.

Risk Factors for Functional Decline and Relationship With Quality of Life.

Certain aspects of intensive care unit admission and care, including patient acuity and treatments to manage acute critical illnesses, can intensify loss of functionality and decrease quality of life after hospital discharge. We sought to identify the risk factors associated with functional decline following critical illness and explore its impact on health-related quality of life in a post hoc analysis of a prospective multi-center cohort study. The study involved 1,301 critically ill subjects who were assessed 3 months after their discharge from the ICU.

Corrigendum to Association between vaccination and persistent COVID-19-related symptoms among patients with mild Omicron infection: A prospective cohort study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.

Association between vaccination and persistent COVID-19-related symptoms among patients with mild Omicron infection: A prospective cohort study.

Background: While COVID-19 vaccination has been shown to reduce the risk of severe illness, its impact on the occurrence of persistent symptoms in patients with mild Omicron infection remains uncertain. Our objective was to investigate whether COVID-19 vaccination reduces the occurrence of persistent COVID-19-related symptoms 3 months after mild Omicron infection.

Methods: Multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted in Brazil between January 2022 and June 2023 when Omicron was predominant.

Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) negatively affects quality of life and places a substantial financial burden on health care systems due to treatment costs and increased demand for services. To estimate the worldwide prevalence of AD, the proportion of severe cases worldwide and explore sources of heterogeneity. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Global Index Medicus from January 2012 up until August 30, 2022.

Antisense therapy to block the Kallikrein-kinin pathway in COVID-19: The ASKCOV randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To assess the effect of antisense therapy to block kallikrein-kinin pathway in COVID-19 patients.

Material And Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, controlled trial enrolling hospitalized COVID-19 patients that required supplementary oxygen to sustain peripheral oxygen saturation. Key exclusion criteria included use of mechanical ventilation or vasopressors, and patients with more than 10 days since symptom onset or more than 48 h of oxygen use.

Long term cognitive dysfunction among critical care survivors: associated factors and quality of life-a multicenter cohort study.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence and associated factors of cognitive dysfunction, 1 year after ICU discharge, among adult patients, and it´s relation with quality of life.

Methods: Multicenter, prospective cohort study including ICUs of 10 tertiary hospitals in Brazil, between May 2014 and December 2018. The patients included were 452 adult ICU survivors (median age 60; 47.

Real-world effectiveness of original BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 against symptomatic Omicron infection among children 5-11 years of age in Brazil: A prospective test-negative design study.

Objective: To estimate original wild-type BNT162b2 effectiveness against symptomatic Omicron infection among children 5-11 years of age.

Methods: This prospective test-negative, case-control study was conducted in Toledo, southern Brazil, from June 2022 to July 2023. Patients were included if they were aged 5-11 years, sought care for acute respiratory symptoms in the public health system, and were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Impact on pulmonary, cardiac, and renal function and long-term quality of life after hospitalization for acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19: Protocol of the Post-COVID Brazil 3 study.

Rationale: Evidence about long-term sequelae after hospitalization for acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19 is still scarce.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in pulmonary, cardiac, and renal function and in quality of life after hospitalization for acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19.

Methods: This will be a multicenter case-control study of 220 participants.

The impact of an online course on agreement rates of the certainty of evidence assessment using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation Approach: a before-and-after study.

Background And Objective: The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach is a systematic method for assessing the certainty of evidence (CoE) and strength of recommendations in health care. We aimed to verify the effects of an online-based GRADE course on multirater consistency in the evaluation of the CoE in systematic reviews (SRs) analysis.

Study Design And Settings: Sixty-five Brazilian methodologists and researchers participated in an online course over 8 weeks.

Epidemiology, patient journey and unmet needs related to hemophilia in Brazil: a scoping review with evidence map.

Introduction: Brazil is one of the countries with the largest population of people with hemophilia (PwH) worldwide. In this scoping review, we aim to investigate the Brazilian context for hemophilia regarding three predefined concepts: (i) clinical-epidemiological profile, (ii) burden of disease and (iii) patient journey and unmet needs.

Methods: Three questions in each concept guided the screening of references retrieved by systematic searches carried out in MEDLINE, LILACS and the Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

The II Brazilian Guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Joint Guidelines of the Associação Brasileira de Medicina de Emergência, Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira, Associação Médica Brasileira, Sociedade Brasileira de Angiologia e Cirurgia Vascular, Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia, Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia and Sociedade Brasileira de Reumatologia.

Objective: To update the recommendations to support decisions regarding the pharmacological treatment of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Brazil.

Methods: Experts, including representatives of the Ministry of Health and methodologists, created this guideline. The method used for the rapid development of guidelines was based on the adoption and/or adaptation of existing international guidelines (GRADE ADOLOPMENT) and supported by the e-COVID-19 RecMap platform.

Evidence-Based Checklist to Delay Cardiac Arrest in Brain-Dead Potential Organ Donors: The DONORS Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The effectiveness of goal-directed care to reduce loss of brain-dead potential donors to cardiac arrest is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based, goal-directed checklist in the clinical management of brain-dead potential donors in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Donation Network to Optimize Organ Recovery Study (DONORS) was an open-label, parallel-group cluster randomized clinical trial in Brazil.

A multimethods randomized trial found that plain language versions improved adults understanding of health recommendations.

Objectives: To make informed decisions, the general population should have access to accessible and understandable health recommendations. To compare understanding, accessibility, usability, satisfaction, intention to implement, and preference of adults provided with a digital "Plain Language Recommendation" (PLR) format vs. the original "Standard Language Version" (SLV).

Long-term Health-Related Quality of Life and Outcomes after Hospitalization for COVID-19 in Brazil: Post-COVID Brazil 1 Study Protocol.

Background: The long-term impact of hospitalization for COVID-19 on patients' physical, mental, and cognitive health still needs further assessment.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate factors associated with quality of life and cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular outcomes 12 months after hospitalization for COVID-19.

Methods: This prospective multicenter study intends to enroll 611 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 (NCT05165979).

Health-Related Quality of Life and Long-Term Outcomes after Mildly Symptomatic COVID-19: The Post-COVID Brazil Study 2 Protocol.

Background: The long-term effects of mild COVID-19 on physical, cognitive, and mental health are not yet well understood.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol for the ongoing "Post-COVID Brazil" study 2, which aims to evaluate the factors associated with health-related quality of life and long-term cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular outcomes one year after a mild episode of symptomatic COVID-19.

Methods: The "Post-COVID Brazil" study 2 is a prospective multicenter study that plans to enroll 1047 patients (NCT05197647).

Equity issues rarely addressed in the development of COVID-19 formal recommendations and good practice statements: a cross-sectional study.

Background And Objective: To identify COVID-19 actionable statements (e.g., recommendations) focused on specific disadvantaged populations in the living map of COVID-19 recommendations (eCOVIDRecMap) and describe how health equity was assessed in the development of the formal recommendations.

Pan-American Guidelines for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: a joint evidence-based guideline of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI) and the Pan-American Association of Infectious Diseases (API).

Background: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, therapeutic options for treating COVID-19 have been investigated at different stages of clinical manifestations. Considering the particular impact of COVID-19 in the Americas, this document aims to present recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 specific to this population.

Methods: Fifteen experts, members of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI) and the Pan-American Association of Infectious Diseases (API) make up the panel responsible for developing this guideline.

BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 against symptomatic Omicron infection following a mass vaccination campaign in southern Brazil: A prospective test-negative design study.

Background: Evidence regarding effectiveness of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron in Latin America is limited. We estimated BNT162b2 effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 in Brazil when Omicron was predominant.

Methods: This prospective test-negative, case-control study was conducted in Toledo, Brazil, following a mass COVID-19 vaccination with BNT162b2.