Artur Delgado - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Artur Delgado

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation and Nutritional Support in Critically Ill Infants. 5

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional risk and anthropometric evaluation in pediatric liver transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transpl... more OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transplantation and the relationship with short-term clinical outcome. METHOD: Anthropometric evaluations of 60 children and adolescents after orthotopic liver transplantation, during the first 24 hours in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. Nutritional status was determined from the Z score for the following indices: weight/age, height/age or length/age, weight/height or weight/length, body mass index/age, arm circumference/age and triceps skinfold/age. The severity of liver disease was evaluated using one of the two models which was adequated to the patients' age: 1. Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease, 2. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease. RESULTS: We found 50.0% undernutrition by height/age; 27.3% by weight/age; 11.1% by weight/height or weight/ length; 10.0% by body mass index/age; 61.6% by arm circumference/age and 51.0% by triceps skinfold/age. There was no correlation between nutritional status and Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease or mortality. We found a negative correlation between arm circumference/age and length of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Children with chronic liver diseases experience a significant degree of undernutrition, which makes nutritional support an important aspect of therapy. Despite the difficulties in assessment, anthropometric evaluation of the upper limbs is useful to evaluate nutritional status of children before or after liver transplantation.

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional risk and anthropometric evaluation in pediatric liver transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transpl... more OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transplantation and the relationship with short-term clinical outcome. METHOD: Anthropometric evaluations of 60 children and adolescents after orthotopic liver transplantation, during the first 24 hours in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. Nutritional status was determined from the Z score for the following indices: weight/age, height/age or length/age, weight/height or weight/length, body mass index/age, arm circumference/age and triceps skinfold/age. The severity of liver disease was evaluated using one of the two models which was adequated to the patients' age: 1. Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease, 2. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease. RESULTS: We found 50.0% undernutrition by height/age; 27.3% by weight/age; 11.1% by weight/height or weight/ length; 10.0% by body mass index/age; 61.6% by arm circumference/age and 51.0% by triceps skinfold/age. There was no correlation between nutritional status and Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease or mortality. We found a negative correlation between arm circumference/age and length of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Children with chronic liver diseases experience a significant degree of undernutrition, which makes nutritional support an important aspect of therapy. Despite the difficulties in assessment, anthropometric evaluation of the upper limbs is useful to evaluate nutritional status of children before or after liver transplantation.

Research paper thumbnail of When Is the Appropriate Time for Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Classification?

Critical Care Medicine, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Iatrogenic pneumothorax: What can we do?

Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Síndrome do intestino curto na criança: tratamento com nutrição parenteral domiciliar

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus: case report and literature review

Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva, 2014

A case of fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus. This case report descri... more A case of fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus. This case report describes the patient's clinical course and emphasizes the importance of bedside echocardiography as an aid in the early diagnosis and management of children with severe myocardial dysfunction. It also discusses aspects relevant to the treatment and prognosis of fulminant myocarditis. The patient was a female, 4 years and 8 months old, previously healthy and with a history of flu symptoms in the past two weeks. The patient was admitted to the emergency room with signs of hemodynamic instability, requiring ventilatory support and vasoactive drugs. The laboratory tests, chest X-ray and echocardiogram suggested the presence of myocarditis. The test for H1N1 in nasopharyngeal secretions was positive. The patient evolved to refractory cardiogenic shock despite the clinical measures applied and died 48 hours after admission to the intensive care unit. The H1N1 influenza virus is an etiological agent associated with acute myocarditis, but there are few reported cases of fulminant myocarditis caused by the H1N1 virus. The identification of signs and symptoms suggestive of fulminant progression should be immediate, and bedside echocardiography is a useful tool for the early detection of myocardial dysfunction and for therapeutic guidance. The use of immunosuppressive therapy and antiviral therapy in acute myocarditis of viral etiology is controversial; hence,the treatment is based on hemodynamic and ventilatory support. The use of hemodynamic support by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation emerges as a promising treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Hospital malnutrition and inflammatory response in critically ill children and adolescents admitted to a tertiary intensive care unit

Clinics, 2008

Delgado AF, Okay TS, Leone C, Nichols B, Del-Negro GM, Costa-Vaz FA. Hospital malnutrition and in... more Delgado AF, Okay TS, Leone C, Nichols B, Del-Negro GM, Costa-Vaz FA. Hospital malnutrition and inflammatory response in critically ill children and adolescents admitted to a tertiary intensive care unit. Clinics. 2008;63:357-62. Critical illness has a major impact on the nutritional status of both children and adults. A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the incidence of hospital malnutrition at a pediatric tertiary intensive care unit (PICU). Serum concentrations of IL-6 in subgroups of well-nourished and malnourished patients were also evaluated in an attempt to identify those with a potential nutritional risk. MeTHODS: A total of 1077 patients were enrolled. Nutritional status was evaluated by Z-score (weight for age). We compared mortality, sepsis incidence, and length of hospital stay for nourished and malnourished patients. We had a subgroup of 15 patients with severe malnutrition (MN) and another with 14 well-nourished patients (WN). Cytokine IL-6 determinations were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ReSULTS: 53% of patients were classified with moderate or severe malnutrition. Similar amounts of C-reactive protein (CRP) were observed in WN and MN patients. Both groups were able to increase IL-6 concentrations in response to inflammatory systemic response and the levels followed a similar evolution during the study. However, the mean values of serum IL-6 were significantly different between WN and MN patients across time, throughout the study (p = 0.043). DISCUSSION: a considerable proportion of malnourished patients need specialized nutritional therapy during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Malnutrition in children remains largely unrecognized by healthcare workers on admission. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of malnutrition was very high. Malnourished patients maintain the capacity to release inflammatory markers such as CRP and IL-6, which can be considered favorable for combating infections On the other hand, this capacity might also have a significant impact on nutritional status during hospitalization.

Research paper thumbnail of Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a child with Crohn disease

Objective: To report a case of Wernicke encephalopathy associated with Crohn disease in childhood... more Objective: To report a case of Wernicke encephalopathy associated with Crohn disease in childhood. Case description: A five year-old boy with Crohn dis - ease, diagnosed by colonoscopy and biopsy one year ago; he has been treated with many different medications without results. During the past year, the patient was diagnosed with pancreatites and has received parenteral nutrition since then.

Research paper thumbnail of A multiplex nested PCR for the detection and identification of Candida species in blood samples of critically ill paediatric patients

BMC Infectious Diseases, 2014

Background: Nosocomial candidaemia is associated with high mortality rates in critically ill paed... more Background: Nosocomial candidaemia is associated with high mortality rates in critically ill paediatric patients; thus, the early detection and identification of the infectious agent is crucial for successful medical intervention. The PCR-based techniques have significantly increased the detection of Candida species in bloodstream infections. In this study, a multiplex nested PCR approach was developed for candidaemia detection in neonatal and paediatric intensive care patients. Methods: DNA samples from the blood of 54 neonates and children hospitalised in intensive care units with suspected candidaemia were evaluated by multiplex nested PCR with specific primers designed to identify seven Candida species, and the results were compared with those obtained from blood cultures. Results: The multiplex nested PCR had a detection limit of four Candida genomes/mL of blood for all Candida species. Blood cultures were positive in 14.8% of patients, whereas the multiplex nested PCR was positive in 24.0% of patients, including all culture-positive patients. The results obtained with the molecular technique were available within 24 hours, and the assay was able to identify Candida species with 100% of concordance with blood cultures. Additionally, the multiplex nested PCR detected dual candidaemia in three patients.

Research paper thumbnail of Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn

Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 2009

Page 1. Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a chi... more Page 1. Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a child with Crohn disease Felippe Borlot1, Marcela Rodríguez de Freitas1, Lívia Meirelles de Araujo2, Artur Figueiredo Delgado3 ...

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional follow-up of critically ill infants receiving short term parenteral nutrition

Revista do Hospital das Clínicas, 2000

Few studies have tried to characterize the efficacy of parenteral support of critically ill infan... more Few studies have tried to characterize the efficacy of parenteral support of critically ill infants during short period of intensive care. We studied seventeen infants during five days of total parenteral hyperalimentation. Subsequently, according to the clinical conditions, the patients received nutritional support by parenteral, enteral route or both up to the 10th day. Evaluations were performed on the 1st, 5th, and 10th days. These included: clinical data (food intake and anthropometric measurements), haematological data (lymphocyte count), biochemical tests (albumin, transferrin, fibronectin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein) and hormone assays (cortisol, insulin, glucagon). Anthropometric measurements revealed no significant difference between the first and second evaluations. Serum albumin and transferrin did not change significantly, but mean values of fibronectin (8.9 to 16 mg/dL), prealbumin (7.7 to 18 mg/dL), and retinol-binding protein (2.4 to 3. 7 mg/dL) increased significantly (p < 0.05) from the 1st to the 10th day. The hormonal study showed no difference for insulin, glucagon, and cortisol when the three evaluations were compared. The mean value of the glucose/insulin ratio was of 25.7 in the 1st day and 15. 5 in the 5th day, revealing a transitory supression of this hormone. Cortisol showed values above normal in the beginning of the study. We conclude that the anthropometric parameters were not useful due to the short time of the study; serum proteins, fibronectin, prealbumin, and retinol-binding protein were very sensitive indicators of nutritional status, and an elevated glucose/insulin ratio, associated with a slight tendency for increased cortisol levels suggest hypercatabolic state. The critically ill patient can benefit from an early metabolic support.

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiologic Challenges in Sepsis to the Developing Countries

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges of nutritional assessment in pediatric ICU

Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 2009

The nutritional assessment of children in the pediatric ICU is unique in view of the metabolic ch... more The nutritional assessment of children in the pediatric ICU is unique in view of the metabolic changes of the underlying disease. This review addresses the use and limitations of anthropometry and laboratorial and body composition markers in the diagnosis of the nutritional status of such patients. The presence of inflammatory activity leads to body composition changes (lean mass reduction) and undernutrition. Nutritional assessment in pediatric ICU must prioritize anthropometric and laboratory markers that can differentiate body composition to detect specific macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies and assessment of the inflammatory activity. Nutritional assessment is one of the main aspects of the pediatric intensive care patient and is the most important tool to avoid hospital undernutrition. There is currently no gold standard for nutritional assessment in the pediatric ICU. The results of anthropometric and laboratory markers must be jointly analyzed, but individually interpreted according to disease and metabolic changes, in order to reach a correct diagnosis of the nutritional status and to plan and monitor the nutritional treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Focused cardiac ultrasound: a training course for pediatric intensivists and emergency physicians

BMC Medical Education, 2014

Background: Focused echocardiographic examinations performed by intensivists and emergency room p... more Background: Focused echocardiographic examinations performed by intensivists and emergency room physicians can be a valuable tool for diagnosing and managing the hemodynamic status of critically ill children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the learning curve achieved using a theoretical and practical training program designed to enable pediatric intensivists and emergency physicians to conduct targeted echocardiograms. Methods: Theoretical and practical training sessions were conducted with 16 pediatric intensivist/emergency room physicians. The program included qualitative analyses of the left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) functions, evaluation of pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade and valvular regurgitation and measurements of the distensibility index of the inferior vena cava (dIVC), ejection fraction (EF) and cardiac index (CI). The practical training sessions were conducted in the intensive care unit; each student performed 24 echocardiograms. The students in training were evaluated in a practical manner, and the results were compared with the corresponding examinations performed by experienced echocardiographers. The evaluations occurred after 8, 16 and 24 practical examinations.

Research paper thumbnail of On the professional socialization of black residents in psychiatry

Academic Medicine, 1979

Residents in psychiatry, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge and skills, undergo the pro... more Residents in psychiatry, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge and skills, undergo the process of professional socialization during which they assimilate the values, attitudes, and normative behavior of their professional group. The socialization of any group of trainees is fostered by the clarity and precision of a socialization structure and by the visibility and contribution of certain specific agents of socialization. The authors outline the areas of this process that create problems for black residents in psychiatry and suggest alternatives to the present experience encountered in most training programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Nutrition in Pediatric/Neonatology Patients Submitted to Mechanical Ventilation

Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation and Nutritional Support in Critically Ill Infants. 5

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional risk and anthropometric evaluation in pediatric liver transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transpl... more OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transplantation and the relationship with short-term clinical outcome. METHOD: Anthropometric evaluations of 60 children and adolescents after orthotopic liver transplantation, during the first 24 hours in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. Nutritional status was determined from the Z score for the following indices: weight/age, height/age or length/age, weight/height or weight/length, body mass index/age, arm circumference/age and triceps skinfold/age. The severity of liver disease was evaluated using one of the two models which was adequated to the patients' age: 1. Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease, 2. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease. RESULTS: We found 50.0% undernutrition by height/age; 27.3% by weight/age; 11.1% by weight/height or weight/ length; 10.0% by body mass index/age; 61.6% by arm circumference/age and 51.0% by triceps skinfold/age. There was no correlation between nutritional status and Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease or mortality. We found a negative correlation between arm circumference/age and length of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Children with chronic liver diseases experience a significant degree of undernutrition, which makes nutritional support an important aspect of therapy. Despite the difficulties in assessment, anthropometric evaluation of the upper limbs is useful to evaluate nutritional status of children before or after liver transplantation.

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional risk and anthropometric evaluation in pediatric liver transplantation

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transpl... more OBJECTIVE: To analyze the nutritional status of pediatric patients after orthotopic liver transplantation and the relationship with short-term clinical outcome. METHOD: Anthropometric evaluations of 60 children and adolescents after orthotopic liver transplantation, during the first 24 hours in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit. Nutritional status was determined from the Z score for the following indices: weight/age, height/age or length/age, weight/height or weight/length, body mass index/age, arm circumference/age and triceps skinfold/age. The severity of liver disease was evaluated using one of the two models which was adequated to the patients' age: 1. Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease, 2. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease. RESULTS: We found 50.0% undernutrition by height/age; 27.3% by weight/age; 11.1% by weight/height or weight/ length; 10.0% by body mass index/age; 61.6% by arm circumference/age and 51.0% by triceps skinfold/age. There was no correlation between nutritional status and Pediatric End-stage Liver Disease or mortality. We found a negative correlation between arm circumference/age and length of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Children with chronic liver diseases experience a significant degree of undernutrition, which makes nutritional support an important aspect of therapy. Despite the difficulties in assessment, anthropometric evaluation of the upper limbs is useful to evaluate nutritional status of children before or after liver transplantation.

Research paper thumbnail of When Is the Appropriate Time for Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Classification?

Critical Care Medicine, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Iatrogenic pneumothorax: What can we do?

Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Síndrome do intestino curto na criança: tratamento com nutrição parenteral domiciliar

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus: case report and literature review

Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva, 2014

A case of fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus. This case report descri... more A case of fulminant myocarditis associated with the H1N1 influenza virus. This case report describes the patient's clinical course and emphasizes the importance of bedside echocardiography as an aid in the early diagnosis and management of children with severe myocardial dysfunction. It also discusses aspects relevant to the treatment and prognosis of fulminant myocarditis. The patient was a female, 4 years and 8 months old, previously healthy and with a history of flu symptoms in the past two weeks. The patient was admitted to the emergency room with signs of hemodynamic instability, requiring ventilatory support and vasoactive drugs. The laboratory tests, chest X-ray and echocardiogram suggested the presence of myocarditis. The test for H1N1 in nasopharyngeal secretions was positive. The patient evolved to refractory cardiogenic shock despite the clinical measures applied and died 48 hours after admission to the intensive care unit. The H1N1 influenza virus is an etiological agent associated with acute myocarditis, but there are few reported cases of fulminant myocarditis caused by the H1N1 virus. The identification of signs and symptoms suggestive of fulminant progression should be immediate, and bedside echocardiography is a useful tool for the early detection of myocardial dysfunction and for therapeutic guidance. The use of immunosuppressive therapy and antiviral therapy in acute myocarditis of viral etiology is controversial; hence,the treatment is based on hemodynamic and ventilatory support. The use of hemodynamic support by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation emerges as a promising treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Hospital malnutrition and inflammatory response in critically ill children and adolescents admitted to a tertiary intensive care unit

Clinics, 2008

Delgado AF, Okay TS, Leone C, Nichols B, Del-Negro GM, Costa-Vaz FA. Hospital malnutrition and in... more Delgado AF, Okay TS, Leone C, Nichols B, Del-Negro GM, Costa-Vaz FA. Hospital malnutrition and inflammatory response in critically ill children and adolescents admitted to a tertiary intensive care unit. Clinics. 2008;63:357-62. Critical illness has a major impact on the nutritional status of both children and adults. A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the incidence of hospital malnutrition at a pediatric tertiary intensive care unit (PICU). Serum concentrations of IL-6 in subgroups of well-nourished and malnourished patients were also evaluated in an attempt to identify those with a potential nutritional risk. MeTHODS: A total of 1077 patients were enrolled. Nutritional status was evaluated by Z-score (weight for age). We compared mortality, sepsis incidence, and length of hospital stay for nourished and malnourished patients. We had a subgroup of 15 patients with severe malnutrition (MN) and another with 14 well-nourished patients (WN). Cytokine IL-6 determinations were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ReSULTS: 53% of patients were classified with moderate or severe malnutrition. Similar amounts of C-reactive protein (CRP) were observed in WN and MN patients. Both groups were able to increase IL-6 concentrations in response to inflammatory systemic response and the levels followed a similar evolution during the study. However, the mean values of serum IL-6 were significantly different between WN and MN patients across time, throughout the study (p = 0.043). DISCUSSION: a considerable proportion of malnourished patients need specialized nutritional therapy during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Malnutrition in children remains largely unrecognized by healthcare workers on admission. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of malnutrition was very high. Malnourished patients maintain the capacity to release inflammatory markers such as CRP and IL-6, which can be considered favorable for combating infections On the other hand, this capacity might also have a significant impact on nutritional status during hospitalization.

Research paper thumbnail of Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a child with Crohn disease

Objective: To report a case of Wernicke encephalopathy associated with Crohn disease in childhood... more Objective: To report a case of Wernicke encephalopathy associated with Crohn disease in childhood. Case description: A five year-old boy with Crohn dis - ease, diagnosed by colonoscopy and biopsy one year ago; he has been treated with many different medications without results. During the past year, the patient was diagnosed with pancreatites and has received parenteral nutrition since then.

Research paper thumbnail of A multiplex nested PCR for the detection and identification of Candida species in blood samples of critically ill paediatric patients

BMC Infectious Diseases, 2014

Background: Nosocomial candidaemia is associated with high mortality rates in critically ill paed... more Background: Nosocomial candidaemia is associated with high mortality rates in critically ill paediatric patients; thus, the early detection and identification of the infectious agent is crucial for successful medical intervention. The PCR-based techniques have significantly increased the detection of Candida species in bloodstream infections. In this study, a multiplex nested PCR approach was developed for candidaemia detection in neonatal and paediatric intensive care patients. Methods: DNA samples from the blood of 54 neonates and children hospitalised in intensive care units with suspected candidaemia were evaluated by multiplex nested PCR with specific primers designed to identify seven Candida species, and the results were compared with those obtained from blood cultures. Results: The multiplex nested PCR had a detection limit of four Candida genomes/mL of blood for all Candida species. Blood cultures were positive in 14.8% of patients, whereas the multiplex nested PCR was positive in 24.0% of patients, including all culture-positive patients. The results obtained with the molecular technique were available within 24 hours, and the assay was able to identify Candida species with 100% of concordance with blood cultures. Additionally, the multiplex nested PCR detected dual candidaemia in three patients.

Research paper thumbnail of Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn

Revista Paulista de Pediatria, 2009

Page 1. Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a chi... more Page 1. Encefalopatia de Wernicke em criança com doença de Crohn Wernicke encephalopathy in a child with Crohn disease Felippe Borlot1, Marcela Rodríguez de Freitas1, Lívia Meirelles de Araujo2, Artur Figueiredo Delgado3 ...

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional follow-up of critically ill infants receiving short term parenteral nutrition

Revista do Hospital das Clínicas, 2000

Few studies have tried to characterize the efficacy of parenteral support of critically ill infan... more Few studies have tried to characterize the efficacy of parenteral support of critically ill infants during short period of intensive care. We studied seventeen infants during five days of total parenteral hyperalimentation. Subsequently, according to the clinical conditions, the patients received nutritional support by parenteral, enteral route or both up to the 10th day. Evaluations were performed on the 1st, 5th, and 10th days. These included: clinical data (food intake and anthropometric measurements), haematological data (lymphocyte count), biochemical tests (albumin, transferrin, fibronectin, prealbumin, retinol-binding protein) and hormone assays (cortisol, insulin, glucagon). Anthropometric measurements revealed no significant difference between the first and second evaluations. Serum albumin and transferrin did not change significantly, but mean values of fibronectin (8.9 to 16 mg/dL), prealbumin (7.7 to 18 mg/dL), and retinol-binding protein (2.4 to 3. 7 mg/dL) increased significantly (p < 0.05) from the 1st to the 10th day. The hormonal study showed no difference for insulin, glucagon, and cortisol when the three evaluations were compared. The mean value of the glucose/insulin ratio was of 25.7 in the 1st day and 15. 5 in the 5th day, revealing a transitory supression of this hormone. Cortisol showed values above normal in the beginning of the study. We conclude that the anthropometric parameters were not useful due to the short time of the study; serum proteins, fibronectin, prealbumin, and retinol-binding protein were very sensitive indicators of nutritional status, and an elevated glucose/insulin ratio, associated with a slight tendency for increased cortisol levels suggest hypercatabolic state. The critically ill patient can benefit from an early metabolic support.

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiologic Challenges in Sepsis to the Developing Countries

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Challenges of nutritional assessment in pediatric ICU

Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 2009

The nutritional assessment of children in the pediatric ICU is unique in view of the metabolic ch... more The nutritional assessment of children in the pediatric ICU is unique in view of the metabolic changes of the underlying disease. This review addresses the use and limitations of anthropometry and laboratorial and body composition markers in the diagnosis of the nutritional status of such patients. The presence of inflammatory activity leads to body composition changes (lean mass reduction) and undernutrition. Nutritional assessment in pediatric ICU must prioritize anthropometric and laboratory markers that can differentiate body composition to detect specific macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies and assessment of the inflammatory activity. Nutritional assessment is one of the main aspects of the pediatric intensive care patient and is the most important tool to avoid hospital undernutrition. There is currently no gold standard for nutritional assessment in the pediatric ICU. The results of anthropometric and laboratory markers must be jointly analyzed, but individually interpreted according to disease and metabolic changes, in order to reach a correct diagnosis of the nutritional status and to plan and monitor the nutritional treatment.

Research paper thumbnail of Focused cardiac ultrasound: a training course for pediatric intensivists and emergency physicians

BMC Medical Education, 2014

Background: Focused echocardiographic examinations performed by intensivists and emergency room p... more Background: Focused echocardiographic examinations performed by intensivists and emergency room physicians can be a valuable tool for diagnosing and managing the hemodynamic status of critically ill children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the learning curve achieved using a theoretical and practical training program designed to enable pediatric intensivists and emergency physicians to conduct targeted echocardiograms. Methods: Theoretical and practical training sessions were conducted with 16 pediatric intensivist/emergency room physicians. The program included qualitative analyses of the left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) functions, evaluation of pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade and valvular regurgitation and measurements of the distensibility index of the inferior vena cava (dIVC), ejection fraction (EF) and cardiac index (CI). The practical training sessions were conducted in the intensive care unit; each student performed 24 echocardiograms. The students in training were evaluated in a practical manner, and the results were compared with the corresponding examinations performed by experienced echocardiographers. The evaluations occurred after 8, 16 and 24 practical examinations.

Research paper thumbnail of On the professional socialization of black residents in psychiatry

Academic Medicine, 1979

Residents in psychiatry, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge and skills, undergo the pro... more Residents in psychiatry, in addition to acquiring technical knowledge and skills, undergo the process of professional socialization during which they assimilate the values, attitudes, and normative behavior of their professional group. The socialization of any group of trainees is fostered by the clarity and precision of a socialization structure and by the visibility and contribution of certain specific agents of socialization. The authors outline the areas of this process that create problems for black residents in psychiatry and suggest alternatives to the present experience encountered in most training programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Nutrition in Pediatric/Neonatology Patients Submitted to Mechanical Ventilation

Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews, 2012