Background: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdomen. Approximately 7% of the population will be affected by this condition during full life. The development of AIR score may contribute to diagnosis associating easy clinical criteria and two simple laboratory tests. Aim: To evaluate the score AIR (Appendicitis Inflammatory Response score) as a tool for the diagnosis and prediction of severity of acute appendicitis. Method: Were evaluated all patients undergoing surgical appendectomy. From 273 patients, 126 were excluded due to exclusion criteria. All patients were submitted o AIR score. Results: The value of the C-reactive protein and the percentage of leukocytes segmented blood count showed a direct relationship with the phase of acute appendicitis. Conclusion: As for the laboratory criteria, serum C-reactive protein and assessment of the percentage of the polymorphonuclear leukocytes count were important to diagnosis and disease stratification.

Background : About 20% of cases of acute pancreatitis progress to a severe form, leading to high mortality rates. Several studies suggested methods to identify patients that will progress more severely. However, most studies present problems when used on daily practice. Objective : To assess the efficacy of the PANC 3 score to predict acute pancreatitis severity and its relation to clinical outcome. Methods : Acute pancreatitis patients were assessed as to sex, age, body mass index (BMI), etiology of pancreatitis, intensive care need, length of stay, length of stay in intensive care unit and mortality. The PANC 3 score was determined within the first 24 hours after diagnosis and compared to acute pancreatitis grade of the Revised Atlanta classification. Results : Out of 64 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, 58 met the inclusion criteria. The PANC 3 score was positive in five cases (8.6%), pancreatitis progressed to a severe form in 10 cases (17.2%) and five patients (8.6%) died. Patients with a positive score and severe pancreatitis required intensive care more often, and stayed for a longer period in intensive care units. The PANC 3 score showed sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 100%, accuracy of 91.4%, positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 90.6% in prediction of severe acute pancreatitis. Conclusion : The PANC 3 score is useful to assess acute pancreatitis because it is easy and quick to use, has high specificity, high accuracy and high predictive value in prediction of severe acute pancreatitis.

Septic shock is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and it is the leading cause of death in intensive care units. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is an immunosuppressant that has been shown to be effective in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of MMF in a mouse model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was evaluated. ALI was induced by intrapleural injection of LPS (250 ng/cavity). The leukocyte migration, exudation, myeloperoxidase and adenosine deaminase activities, nitric oxide products, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) levels, as well as mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, were evaluated. This study showed that MMF significantly decreased all parameters studied in a manner comparable to treatment with dexamethasone. In conclusion, MMF has important anti-inflammatory effects that may be useful as an auxiliary treatment for septic shock.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ambulatory open surgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome with local anesthesia and without tourniquet ischemia, sedation by an anesthesiologist, or hospitalization. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 60 consecutive cases performed during 1 year was conducted, excluding other compressive or noncompressive neuropathies. The criteria for treatment efficacy were improvements in symptoms and recurrence rates, and the safety criterion was the presence of complications. Results: The mean patient age was 53.39 years, with 91.7% of women and 8.3% of men. The right side was more frequently affected (65% of the cases). The anesthetic and surgical procedures were well tolerated by patients. No complications during the procedures or postsurgical recurrences were observed. Conclusions: Consistent with previous data, the results of this study corroborate that the proposed treatment is effective, safe, and of low cost, resulting in great savings and increased productivity for the public health system.