Also known as Devic's disease, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system, considerably similar to multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to compare the similarities of the clinical feature presented with similar cases found in the medical literature, addressing the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. This is a descriptive, retrospective, and qualitative study, done through the technique of direct observation. An adolescent male patient came to our service complaining of weakness in the lower limbs and urinary retention and, subsequently, urinary incontinence, during hospitalization. After undergoing magnetic resonance imaging of the skull, a large lesion with a demyelinating characteristic was evident through the T2 and FLAIR sequences, hyperintense in the white matter of the right cerebral hemisphere, with the exuberant enhancement of the contrasted image. Subsequently, he presented weakness in the left dimidium of the body, with progressive worsening in some days, with the impossibility of walking. The treatment was initiated with pulse therapy of methylprednisolone and interferon beta, obtaining an excellent clinical control of the disease. Thus, diagnostic confirmation was only possible thanks to the identification of a single brain white matter lesion through imaging and serological examination, which constituted a tool of great importance for the differential diagnosis that made it possible to exclude multiple sclerosis and allowed the establishment of timely treatment for neuromyelitis optica.

Scorpion envenomation is a serious public health problem in tropical regions due to its high frequency and severity. This research aimed to estimate the prevalence of human cases of scorpion stings reported at Cura D'ars Hospital, Machacalis, Brazil, between 2016 and2017, in addition to identifying the epidemiological and clinical aspects. This was a descriptive and retrospective study, using the database of the Information System for Notifiable Diseases in Brazil as a reference. Of the five municipalities evaluated, Machacalis had the highest number of cases, although Bertópolis recorded the highest prevalence. A total of 84 cases of scorpion stings were identified, corresponding to 91% of all cases of involvement with poisonous animals. Regarding the sociodemographic profile, the proportion was higher in males (52.0%), people with brown skin (67.0%), people aged 7-14 years (26.0%), and people from rural areas (68.0%). Regarding the epidemiological characteristics, 50.0% of the individuals were assisted between 1 and 3 h after the sting. The main anatomical region affected was the hand (26.0%), and 30.0% used specific serotherapy. For cases classified clinically according to severity, 70.2% were mild, 21.5% moderate, and 8.3% severe. The study allowed us to establish the profile of the victims of scorpion envenomation treated in this area of hospital coverage, as well as to evaluate the approach of the health teams in response to the demand that this neglected condition imposes.

A cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (HPLC) acoplada à espectrometria de massas (EM) constitui-se como uma das mais importantes técnicas analíticas utilizadas na determinação de compostos não voláteis ou instáveis termicamente. A combinação de ambas une a excelência da separação do analito de interesse na matriz através da técnica da cromatografia líquida de alto desempenho, juntamente com a técnica da espectrometria de massas que confirma a identificação química. Dentre as alternativas disponíveis, a espectrometria de massas é a que melhor fornece as informações estruturais necessárias. O acoplamento entre estas duas técnicas dá origem a uma ferramenta analítica robusta, versátil e de grande potencial na análise qualitativa e quantitativa em toxicologia de alimentos. O presente artigo apresenta uma revisão de literatura que tem o objetivo de apresentar os fundamentos da aplicação do acoplamento da Cromatografia Líquida e Espectrometria de Massas na área de análise de alimentos.