High frequency of Fredrickson's phenotypes IV and IIb in Brazilians infected by human immunodeficiency virus

Background  

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is very prevalent in Brazil. HIV therapy has been recently associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). Dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for CHD that is frequently described in HIV positive patients, but very few studies have been conducted in Brazilian patients evaluating their lipid profiles.     

Acute Sildenafil Use Reduces 24‐Hour Blood Pressure Levels in Patients With Resistant Hypertension: A Placebo‐Controlled,Crossover Trial

The authors previously demonstrated that acute administration of sildenafil—a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor—improves hemodynamic parameters in patients with resistant hypertensive (RH), but its effect on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is unknown. This interventional, nonrandomized, single‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, crossover trial included 26 patients with RH. A dose of sildenafil (187.5mg) was given, and after a washout period of 14 days the patients received a single oral dose of placebo and the protocol was repeated. The patients underwent 24‐hour ABPM recordings the day before and immediately after the protocols. The reduction of systolic (−8.8±1.4 vs 1.3±1.2 mm Hg, P=.02), diastolic (−5.3±3.3 vs 1.8±1.1 mm Hg, P=.03), and mean (−7.9±3.6 vs 0.8±0.9 mm Hg, P=.01) 24‐hour BP were found after the use of sildenafil compared with placebo. Improvement in daytime BP levels was also observed (systolic −6.0±4.7 vs 4.4±1.5 mm Hg [P=.02] and mean −4.8±3.9 vs 3.5±1.4 mm Hg [P=.02] for sildenafil vs placebo, respectively). Considering its antihypertensive effect, sildenafil may represent a therapeutic option for RH treatment.

The pathogenesis of resistant hypertension (RH) is multifactorial,¹ impacting a worse prognosis when compared with controlled hypertension.² The mechanisms of resistance to antihypertensive therapy are not completely understood and can be modulated by several interrelated factors such as (1) hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous and renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system,³, ⁴ (2) volume expansion,⁵ (3) endothelial dysfunction,⁶, ⁷ (4) inflammatory processes,⁸ and (5) increased peripheral vascular resistance.⁹ Although there is little evidence related to populations with RH, effective blood pressure (BP) control reduces the risk of cardiovascular events in general hypertensive patients and should be targeted.¹⁰ New drug therapies have been proposed, but BP control remains a challenge for patients with RH.¹¹ Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors are safe and effective drugs presenting vasodilatory effects that provide office BP reductions in untreated¹² and resistant hypertensive patients.¹³ Recently, our group has shown an improvement in hemodynamic parameters after acute administration of sildenafil in patients with RH.¹⁴ Although ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is superior to casual BP for predicting organ damage in hypertensive patients,¹⁵, ¹⁶ the influence of sildenafil on ABPM was never assessed in patients with RH.The present study sought to evaluate the effects of sildenafil on ABPM in patients with RH. We hypothesized that acute administration of sildenafil—a PDE5 inhibitor—compared with placebo improves 24‐hour BP levels in patients with resistance to antihypertensive therapy.     

Evaluation of residual hearing in cochlear implants candidates using auditory steady-state response

Conclusion: The correlations between behavioral and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) thresholds were significant at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. ASSR presented high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of residual hearing in cochlear implant candidates when compared with warble-tone audiometry. Objectives: To assess residual hearing in cochlear implant candidates by comparing the electrophysiological thresholds obtained in dichotic single-frequency ASSR with behavioral thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. Methods: This was a comparative study between ASSR and warble-tone audiometry thresholds in 40 cochlear implant candidates (80 ears) before cochlear implantation with bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Results: Thresholds were obtained in 62.5% of all frequencies evaluated in warble-tone audiometry and in 63.1% in the ASSR. ASSR sensitivity was 96% and specificity was 91.6%. Mean differences between behavioral and ASSR thresholds did not reach significance at any frequencies. Strong correlations between behavioral and ASSR thresholds were observed in 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz and moderate in 4000 Hz, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.65 to 0.81. On 90% of occasions, ASSR thresholds were acquired within 10 dB of behavioral thresholds.     

Perforated duodenal diverticulum: Surgical treatment and literature review

INTRODUCTION

Duodenum is the second most frequent location for a diverticulum in the digestive tract. Complications are rare and perforation was only reported in less than 200 cases.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A 79-year-old female was admitted to Emergency Department with abdominal pain and vomiting for the last 24 h. A CT scan was performed and moderated extra-luminal air was identified. During surgery a fourth portion perforated duodenal diverticulum was diagnosed and duodenal resection was performed.

DISCUSSION

First reported in 1710, the incidence of duodenal diverticula can be as high as 22%. Nevertheless complications are extremely rare and include haemorrhage, inflammation, compression of surrounding organs, neoplastic progression, cholestasis and perforation.As perforations are often retroperitoneal, symptoms are nonspecific and rarely include peritoneal irritation, making clinical diagnose a challenge.CT scan will usually present extra-luminal retroperitoneal air and mesenteric fat stranding, providing clues for the diagnosis.Although non-operative treatment has been reported in selected patients, standard treatment is surgery and alternatives are diverse including diverticulectomy or duodenopancreatectomy.

CONCLUSION

Perforated diverticula of the fourth portion of the duodenum are extremely rare and current evidence still supports surgery as the primary treatment modality.