Factors Associated with Prenatal Care and Seeking Assistance in Public Hospitals in Vitória,Espírito Santo,Brazil

Adequate prenatal care provides an opportunity for counseling and reducing the complications associated with pregnancy and delivery. Our objective was to describe the demographic, behavioral, and clinical profile of the pregnant women hospitalized at public maternity hospitals and to identify factors associated with six or more prenatal consultations in Vitória, Brazil. A cross-sectional study of 1,380 women was conducted in public maternity hospitals in Vitória, Brazil. Sixty-seven percent of participants had ≥6 prenatal consultations. Reasons for hospitalization were vaginal delivery (55.7%), cesarean section (32.9%), clinical treatment (7.7%), and abortion/miscarriage (3.7%). Having ≥9 years of schooling (odds ratio, OR = 1.8; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.1–3.1), being married (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2–2.9) and delivering at term (OR = 3.6; 95% CI: 1.6–8.2) were significantly independently associated with having ≥6 prenatal consultations. Although higher education, being married, and delivering at term were associated with ≥6 prenatal consultations in this population, the high rate of Cesarean sections demonstrates the need for ongoing educative strategies among health professionals.     

Occurrence of two autochthonous cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in the neighborhood of Caju,city of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

American cutaneous leishmaniasis is in full geographic expansion in Brazil and it is considered among the infectious and parasitic diseases of utmost importance worldwide, not only by its frequency, but mainly by therapeutic difficulties, deformities and sequelae that may result. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, the first autochthonous case of American cutaneous leishmaniasis was registered by Rabello in 1913. The authors report two cases of the disease in the region around the Cemetery São Francisco Xavier, in the Caju neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro city, and emphasize the need for actions that aim to early diagnosis and treatment of American cutaneous leishmaniasis cases.     

Neutrophil Depletion and Chemokine Response after Liver Ischemia and Reperfusion

Hepatic surgery in mice is challenging because of the delicate nature of the liver, lack of intravenous access, and risk of hemorrhage. In order to study the ability of the liver to regenerate after surgical resection, we developed a novel, rapid, and safe technique for partial hepatectomy in mice. We determined the relative contributions of the seven lobes of the mouse liver and resected the three most anterior lobes for a 68% hepatectomy. We used general anesthesia, a small upper midline incision, silk suture to tie off the lobes to be resected, warming pads and lights, as well as subcutaneous saline injection to ensure minimal morbidity. We have performed a safe two-thirds hepatic resection in 288 of 300 C57BL6 mice (96%). Perioperative mortality was due to technical error. Minimal long-term morbidity was appreciated. This technique may be applied to any type of hepatic resection in mice. In addition, the general operative technique and perioperative management of these mice may be applied to all types of murine intra-abdominal procedures used for surgical research.