The occurrence of chronic myeloid leukemia in pregnancy is rare and its management poses a clinical challenge for physicians treating these patients. We report a 30-year-old woman with chronic myeloid leukemia who became pregnant twice successfully. Philadelphia-positive CML in its chronic phase was diagnosed at 16 weeks of her first gestation. At that time, she received no treatment throughout her pregnancy. At 38 weeks of gestation, a normal infant was delivered by cesarean section. At six weeks postpartum, the patient underwent imatinib mesylate therapy but she could not tolerate the treatment. The treatment was then changed to nilotinib at 400 mg orally b.i.d. Two years later, she became pregnant again while she was on nilotinib 200 mg b.i.d. The unplanned pregnancy was identified during her 7.4 weeks of gestation. Because the patient elected to continue her pregnancy, nilotinib was stopped immediately, and no further treatment was given until delivery. Neither obstetrical complications nor structural malformations in neonates in both pregnancies were observed. Both babies' growth and development have been normal. Although this experience is limited to a single patient, the success of this patient demonstrates that the management of chronic myeloid leukemia in pregnant women may be individualized based on the relative risks and benefits of the patient and fetus.

Background HIV test-seeking behavior among blood donors has been observed worldwide and may pose a threat to the safety of the blood supply. We evaluated current test-seeking motivations and prior alternative HIV testing experiences among blood donors in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods All candidate or potential blood donors were consecutively approached and recruited to participate in the study upon presentation at Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro, the largest blood bank in Brazil. Participants were recruited between August 2012 and May 2013 after they were screened for donor eligibility. Questionnaires were administered through audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI). Results Among 11,867 donors, 38% previously tested for HIV apart from blood donation, of whom 47.7% tested at public facilities and 2.7% acknowledged getting tested for HIV as the primary reason for donating. Dissatisfaction with prior alternative testing experience was reported by 2.5% of donors. Current test-seeking motivation was associated with dissatisfaction with prior alternative testing experience and testing at a public alternative facility. The most common reasons for dissatisfaction were too long of a wait to get tested and for results, counseling was too long, lack of privacy, and low confidence in the equipment and accuracy of the test. Conclusion Lack of awareness about the availability of free and confidential public HIV testing services as well as dissatisfaction with past HIV testing and counseling experiences motivate some individuals to test at blood banks. Test-seeking behavior among blood donors may be best addressed by improving alternative testing programs, particularly with respect to time delays, privacy and perceptions about test accuracy. Educational campaigns on safe blood donation and HIV testing for diagnosis, risk counseling and referral to care are also needed for the general public and for health care providers.

Objective: To evaluate and compare basic indicators of the health of children under 5 years old in the urban area of Rio Grande, RS, Brazil, for 1995 and 2004.Methods: Two cross-sectional population studies were carried out in the city. Interviewers were previously trained and applied standardized questionnaires during visits to families with children under 5 years old. The following variables were investigated: family income, maternal education, type of construction of home (wooden/ masonry etc.), availability of toilet, running water, sewage system and domestic appliances. Data collected on the children themselves included number of antenatal consultations and age at first antenatal, type of delivery and medical care received during delivery, breastfeeding and dietary patterns, morbidity and health services utilization. Children were weighed and measured for height/length. Comparisons of frequencies between the two datasets were made using the chi-square test.Results: In 1995, 395 children were studied and in 2004 there were 384. During the intervening period improvements had taken place in type of construction, number of homes with flush toilet, the availability of running water and in breastfeeding pattern and duration. The frequency of diarrhea reduced, while rates of basic vaccination coverage, growth monitoring, patients in possession of their own medical cards and reporting of birth weights all increased. There was a deterioration in families purchasing power and in the mean number of antenatal consultations. The prevalence of childhood obesity increased by 92%, while the incidence of malnutrition remained practically unchanged. Conclusions:Comparing health indicators from the two periods revealed that, in addition to improvements in the majority of the indicators assessed, there had been a substantial increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Background In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in a blood bank in São Paulo, we tested the hypotheses that offering client-centered HIV counseling and testing to blood donors would: 1) reduce the risk of HIV contamination in the blood supply by diverting higher risk, test-seeking donors away from donation, and 2) increase return for results and referrals to care. Study Design and Methods We randomly selected weeks between August, 2012 and May, 2013 when donors were offered HIV counseling and testing (N=6,298), leaving usual procedure weeks as control (N=5,569). Results Few candidate donors chose HIV testing (N=81, 1.3%). There was no significant difference in HSV-2 prevalence (a marker of sexual risk) among donors during intervention weeks compared to control (10.4% vs 11.1%, p=0.245). No donor choosing testing was HIV-infected, and there was no difference in HSV-2 prevalence between testers and donors (9.9% vs. 10.4%, p=0.887). Returning for positive results did not differ between testers and donors (3 of 3 vs. 58 of 80, p=0.386). A higher proportion of donors acknowledged that HIV testing was a strong motivation to donate during intervention weeks compared to control (2.6% vs. 2.0%, p=0.032). Conclusion The evidence of our RCT is that offering HIV counseling and testing at the time of donation would not change the risk of contamination in the blood supply, nor improve results disclosure and referral to care.

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