Hemophilia care in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the developing countries of the world, few people with hemophilia receive adequate care. Nevertheless, Brazil has made significant advances in the treatment of hemophilia over the last decade. The provision of factor concentrates imported by the Government of Brazil is gradually increasing, and patients receive the concentrates for free. A national register was established as well as a coordinated program for comprehensive care. Of the 6 297 persons with hemophilia in Brazil who were registered as of January 2001, 689 of them (11.1%) were registered in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Of those 689, 664 of them were being monitored at the state's coordinating blood transfusion center, which is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Among those 664, factor VIII inhibitors were identified in 81 of them (12.2%). Among 653 of the Rio de Janeiro patients who were tested for transfusion-transmitted diseases, the overall prevalence found was 41.5%, with the specific rates being 13.3% for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 2.9% for hepatitis B virus (HBV), and 39.4% for hepatitis C virus (HCV). The state of Rio de Janeiro has adopted a comprehensive hemophilia management approach that includes medical, psychological, and social care. As a result, the quality of life of hemophilia patients has improved noticeably. For example, the rate of hospitalization among patients fell by 30% between 1998 and 2001, and there has also been a decline in the school and work activities that they have missed.     

Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of patients from psychiatric hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro]

Knowledge on the characteristics of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals is essential to adequate care, yet such information is not always available. A survey was conducted on patients in the 20 psychiatric hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This paper presents demographic and socioeconomic data on the study population: 3223 persons (66.0% male; 52.6% under 40) on October 24, 1995. 73.8% had not finished elementary school; 25.5% were illiterate. 71.6% of the males and 61.1% of the females were single. Both groups had the same divorce percentage (13%). 43.1% of patients had jobs at the time of first admission, but only half had kept them by the time of this survey. Some 50% of the patients only received visits at extended intervals or not at all. This finding, plus the fact that 37.4% had been hospitalized for more than one year and 65. 1% did not leave the hospital during holidays or weekends, provides a picture of their social isolation. The findings are discussed based on epidemiological data, and hypotheses are suggested to explain some of the results.     

Drug adverse events in hospitals in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: The occurrence of drug adverse events in hospital settings is high and generates cost excess. The purpose of the study was to identify drug-related events during hospital admissions and to estimate their prevalence. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Hospitalizations from the Brazilian Health System's national hospital database during the period between 1999 and 2002 were assessed. Admitted cases including suspected drug adverse event cases with ICD-10 (2000) coding in the main diagnosis and/or secondary diagnosis fields were included in the study. Means and standard deviations of continuous variables as well as the statistical significance of differences were estimated using variance analysis (ANOVA with a 95% confidence interval). RESULTS: There were identified 3,421 drug-related adverse events, and a prevalence of 1.8 cases per 1,000 hospitalizations was estimated. Most cases occurred in males (64.5%) admitted in contracted (34.9%) and local public hospitals (23.1%) in the departments of psychiatry (51.4%) and internal medicine (45.2%), of them, 84.1% were discharged. Most of them were adverse drug reactions or drug poisoning, and there were significant difference (p<0.000) regarding age and length of stay between these categories. Patients having adverse events were younger (35.8 vs 40.5 years old) and stayed longer in hospital (26.5 vs 5.0 days). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of drug adverse events, although lower than those findings of international studies, is significant. National hospital admission database was considered useful in the study of drug-related events.     

Quality of birth care in maternity hospitals of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of birth care based on the World Health Organization guidelines. METHODS: A case-control study was carried out in a public and a private maternity hospitals contracted by the Brazilian Health System in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from October 1998 to March 1999. The sample comprised 461 women in the public maternity hospital (230 vaginal deliveries and 231 Cesarean sections) and 448 women in the private one (224 vaginal deliveries and 224 Cesarean sections). Data was collected through interviews with puerperal women and review of medical records. A summarization score of quality of delivery care was constructed. RESULTS: There was low frequency of practices that should be encouraged, such as having an accompanying person (1% in the private hospital for both vaginal delivery and C-sections), freedom of movements throughout labor (9.6% of C-sections in the public hospital and 9.9% of vaginal deliveries in the private hospital) and breastfeeding in the delivery room (6.9% of C-sections in the public hospital and 8.0% of C-sections in the private hospital). There was a high frequency of known harmful practices such as enema administration (38.4%); routine pubic shaving; routine intravenous infusion (88.8%); routine use of oxytocin (64.4%), strict bed rest throughout labor (90.1%) and routine supine position in labor (98.7%) in vaginal deliveries. The best summarizing scores were seen in the public maternity hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The two maternity hospitals have a high frequency of interventions during birth care. In spite of providing care to higher risk pregnant women, the public maternity hospital has a less interventionist profile than the private one. Procedures carried out on a routine basis should be pondered based on evidence of their benefits.     

Evolution of neonatal mortality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This paper reports the results of a study on neonatal mortality in the State of Rio de Janeiro (1979-1993), according to major causes of death, by age and region of residence. The authors suggest criteria for grouping neonatal deaths according to causes, taking into consideration frequency and preventability. For deaths which occurred in the first day of life, immaturity and fetal growth retardation were the only causes of death that showed significant decline. An increase in deaths due to respiratory affections of the fetus and newborns was observed. Causes of death said to be reducible by "adequate control of pregnancy and attention at delivery" and "early diagnosis and treatment" remained unaltered. The authors noted that a decrease in death rates took place starting with the 1-6 day age group. The comparison with other countries called attention to the high rates of neonatal death in Rio de Janeiro. It also pointed out an increase in the proportion of deaths classified as "respiratory problems of the newborn", demonstrating lack of specificity in defining the basic cause of death.     

Abundance and infection of Biomphalaria glabrata with Schistosoma glabrata in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the spatial distribution, abundance and natural schistosomiasis infection levels in the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni in an area of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS: In the Pamparr?o area, Sumidouro county, RJ, Brazil, snail captures were carried out every other month from June 1991 to November 1995. There were 23 collecting sites along the Pamparr?o stream and its three tributaries (A, B and C). Captured snails were examined in the laboratory for infection. Data analyses were performed using Spearman coefficient (0.5% significance level) and Qui-square test. RESULTS: The abundance of B. glabrata was variable in both time and space. Most of the collection sites showed a negative correlation with rainfall. The tributary B had the highest and most steady infection rates (more than 25% in some sites). There were found significantly more infected snail in the dry season (chi2 = 20.08; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: B. glabrata population in the Pamparr?o valley was negatively influenced by rainfall, especially at the Pamparr?o stream. The dry season seems to promote the infection probably due to the lower water volume, increasing the chance of interaction between the intermediate host and the parasite.     

Highly endemic,waterborne toxoplasmosis in north Rio de Janeiro state,Brazil

In Campos dos Goytacazes, northern Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, reports of uveitis consistent with toxoplasmosis led to a survey of the prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in 1997-1999. The survey population was selected randomly from schools, randomly chosen communities, and an army battalion. Serum samples from 1,436 persons were tested. With results adjusted for age, 84% of the population in the lower socioeconomic group was seropositive, compared with 62% and 23% of the middle and upper socioeconomic groups, respectively (p<0.001). When multivariate analysis was performed, drinking unfiltered water was found to increase the risk of seropositivity for the lower socioeconomic (odds ratio [OR]: 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3 to 6.9) and middle socioeconomic (OR: 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3) populations. We also found a high T. gondii seroprevalence in this Brazilian community. Drinking unfiltered water increased the risk of T. gondii seropositivity, indicating the potential importance of oocyst transmission in water in this region.     

Contraceptive prevalence in the slums of Rio de Janeiro

A community-based family planning operations research project was undertaken in selected low income communities of Rio de Janeiro; project field work began in February 1982. Prevalence data were collected and service delivery strategies were tested, including home visits promoting family planning, home distribution of condoms, and the introduction of community family planning depots. A high baseline contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 70.1 percent was found for nonpregnant women currently in union, as well as substantial use of the private sector for contraceptive supply, despite the presence of free or subsidized sources within the communities. However, the most economically disadvantaged subgroups made the greatest use of the subsidized sources. The provision of additional service delivery sites may have contributed to a small increase in contraceptive prevalence noted over the life of the project; however, the high baseline CPR precluded a large increase in contraceptive use as a result of the program.     

Risk factors for hepatitis B virus infection in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Background  

Despite international efforts to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection through global vaccination programs, new cases are still being reported throughout the world.     

Voronoi s Diagram for defining catchment areas for public hospitals in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro

One of the most important pieces of information for health resources planning is the definition of catchment areas for health units. Voronoi Diagrams are a potential technique for this purpose. They are polygons with the property whereby adjacent polygons have their borders located within the same distance of the respective generator points. One possible adjustment to the catchment areas thus defined is the use of weighted Voronoi Diagrams, which result in an improved representation of a health unit's actual capacity. In this study, the 21 public general hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were used as generator points for Voronoi Diagrams. Non-weighted Voronoi Diagrams were initially implemented and then used as the basis for obtaining weighted Voronoi Diagrams, using as weights the annual admission rates estimated for each unit. In the classic Voronoi Diagram case, some catchment areas had similar sizes, although their respective health units had different characteristics. In the weighted case the areas were modified in a way that appeared closer to the actual functioning of the units. The method appeared simple to implement, used easy-to-access data, and did not rely on geopolitical considerations such as existing administrative areas. It thus provided a more realistic picture of a unit's capacity to support basic health programs.     

Evaluating pharmaceutical services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the city of Rio de Janeiro

This study evaluates access by people living with HIV/AIDS to pharmaceutical care provided by public health care facilities in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, focusing on availability, accessibility, and accommodation. The evaluation was conducted using the implementation analysis approach, assessing the process of producing intervention outcomes, considering its relationship to the organizational context. A case study was performed in 11 public health facilities selected according to: different health program areas; diverse levels of complexity; and more than 100 HIV/AIDS patients registered. The degree of implementation (89%) was considered acceptable. Problems with human resources skills and lack of a quality program were identified. Some limitations of the indicators are discussed. Finally, the study highlights the importance of this kind of evaluation as a methodology for continuous monitoring of quality in pharmaceutical care.     

Characterization of the cases of domestic violence against women assisted in 2 public hospitals of Rio de Janeiro

This paper aims at: (a) to analyze the distribution of the cases of domestic violence against women (adolescent and adult) in relation to emergency care due to external causes; (b) to characterize the victims and the rendered care; (c) to analyze the circumstances in which events happened. In methodological terms, it tries to articulate the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study was developed in two public hospitals of reference placed in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Of the 72 assisted women, most referred to the husband, the partner or the boyfriend as the aggressor (69.4%) and were beaten (70.4%) especially on the face and on the head. The study comes to the conclusion that the health services should provide a good clinical care and promote prevention's actions.