Repositório Científico do Hospital de Braga
Institution's Scientific Repository
Bem vindo ao Repositório Científico do Hospital de Braga
Missão:
Repositório institucional do Hospital de Braga foi constituído com o objectivo de armazenar, centralizar, divulgar e dar acesso à produção científica da instituição em formato digital.
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Recent Submissions
Prevalence of Portuguese Children Exposed to Secondhand Smoke at Home and in the Car
Publication . Precioso, J; Rocha, V; Sousa, I; Araújo, AC; Machado, JC; Antunes, H
Introduction: Children’s exposure to secondhand smoke is a cause of serious health problems and infant morbidity. This is the first nationally representative study conducted in Portugal to describe the prevalence of children exposed to secondhand smoke at home and in the car. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 2396 Portuguese children aged 0 to 9 years old, stratified by age and administrative region NUTS II. Questionnaires were administered between January and September 2016.
Results: Results showed that 6.1% of mothers and 11.2% of fathers reported smoking at home. It was found that 4.5% of mothers and 8.3% of fathers reported smoking in the car. Results also showed that 5.4% of children were double exposed to secondhand smoke at home and in the car. Children whose parents were smokers and had a lower level of education were more exposed to secondhand smoke at home. Discussion: Children’s exposure to secondhand smoke has been decreasing in Portugal. Parental smoking and a low educational level were risk factors for children’s exposure to secondhand smoke at home.
Conclusion: The main source of children’s exposure to secondhand smoke is parental smoking. As such, it is crucial to implement effective measures to control parental smoking. It is necessary to promote smoking cessation among parents and to ban smoking inside the car.
The correlation between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumor VEGF receptor 3 in colorectal cancer
Publication . Goulart, A; Ferreira, C; Rodrigues, A; Coimbra, B; Sousa, N; Leão, P
PURPOSE:
Despite plasma biomarkers offering a number of advantages over tissue-based markers, the relationship between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor (VEGF-R) tumor expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. This study was designed to establish the relationship between the concentration of serum VEGF and tumor VEGF-R expression in patients with CRC.
METHODS:
A prospective study of consecutive patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery during 1 year. Preoperative VEGF was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and VEGF-R3 by immunochemistry.
RESULTS:
The initial sample included 134 patients with CRC diagnosis. Results showed significant association of serum values of VEGF with VEGF-R3 expression (P < 0.001), even in the presence of confounders (sex, age, body mass index, tumor location, and surgical approach). The estimated effect size was high (η2 = 0.35).
CONCLUSION:
Serum VEGF has a significant correlation with tumoral VEGF-R3 expression in CRC.
Linseed essential oil - Source of Lipids as Active Ingredients for Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals
Publication . Campos, J; Severino, P; Ferreira, C; Zielinska, A; Santini, A; Souto, S; Souto, EB
Linseed - also known as flaxseed -, is known for its beneficial effects on animal health attributed to its composition, comprising omega-6 (linoleic) and omega-3 (α-linolenic) fatty acids, various dietary fibers and lignans, which have health benefits in reducing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, lowering the levels of LDL-cholesterol and relaxing the smooth muscle cells in arteries increasing the blood flow. Essential fatty acids from flax participate in several metabolic processes of the cell, not only as structuring components of the cell membrane, but also as storage lipids. Flax is consumed in the form of seeds (whole, milled or roasted), as an oil and as flour to provide basic nutrition. Flax can be considered a functional food. Several formulations containing flax are available on the market in the form of e.g. capsules and microencapsulated powders having potential as nutraceuticals for their beneficial effects on health. This paper revises the different lipid classes found in flaxseeds and their genomics. It also discusses the beneficial effects of flax and flaxseed oil and their biological advantages as ingredients in pharmaceuticals and in nutraceuticals products.
Eosinophilic fasciitis: an atypical presentation of a rare disease
Publication . Cabral, C; Novais, A; Araujo, D; Mosca, A; Lages, A; Knock, A
Eosinophilic fasciitis, or Shulman's disease, is a rare disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by peripheral eosinophilia, hypergammaglobulinemia, and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The diagnosis is confirmed by a deep biopsy of the skin. The first line of treatment is corticotherapy. We present a rare case of eosinophilic fasciitis in a 27-year-old woman with an atypical presentation with symmetrical peripheral edema and a Groove sign. The patient responded well to treatment with corticosteroids at high doses and, in this context, was associated with hydroxychloroquine and azathioprine. After two and a half years, peripheral eosinophilia had increased, and more of her skin had hardened. At that time, the therapy was modified to include corticoids, methotrexate, and penicillamine. It is of great importance to publicize these cases that allow us to gather experience and better treat our patients.
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for the Treatment of Superficial Epithelial Gastric Neoplasia in a Portuguese Centre
Publication . Costa, RS; Ferreira, A; Leal, T; Costa, D; Rolanda, C; Gonçalves, R
BACKGROUND:
The emergence of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) made possible en bloc resection of neoplastic gastric lesions, regardless of lesion size, with reduced rates of complications and recurrence. This technique has become the preferred method for curative resection, instead of conventional endoscopic mucosal resection and surgery, when distant metastases have negligible risk. In Western countries experience with this technique has evolved quickly, with an increasing number of case series reported in the literature. This study aims to report the short- and long-term outcomes of ESD in gastric epithelial neoplastic lesions by a single operator in a Portuguese centre.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis of all gastric ESDs in a tertiary specialised unit during a 5-year period, between May 2012 and September 2017, was performed.
RESULTS:
A total of 114 ESDs of gastric epithelial lesions were performed during this period; 96.5% of them were removed en bloc and 87.6% with R0 resection. A curative treatment was achieved in 83.2% of the cases. Complications occurred in 13.2% of the procedures, including early and delayed bleeding in 12 patients (10.5%) and one perforation (0.9%). With a median follow-up period of 12 months (interquartile range [IQR] = 18), 6 cases of recurrence at the previous ESD site were diagnosed: 4 residual lesions and 2 local recurrences in previous R0 resections. Residual lesions occurred more often in patients with larger lesions (median = 40.0 mm, IQR = 26 vs. median = 20.0 mm, IQR = 15, p = 0.008) and with positive horizontal margins (HMs) after resection (50.0 vs. 0.0%, Fisher exact test, p < 0.001). The cumulative incidence of metachronous gastric lesions at 34 months was 16.1%. All new lesions were effectively treated using an endoscopic technique. The disease-specific survival at 12 months was 100%.
CONCLUSION:
This study showed that ESD is an effective resection technique for gastric lesions with a good safety profile, confirming other European series. Regardless, high en bloc resection positive HM is still a problem in some specimens resected by ESD. Endoscopic surveillance can detect local recurrence and new lesions during early stages, potentially treatable by endoscopy.