Alterações oculares na hanseníase, observadas em pacientes ambulatoriais do serviço de referência da cidade de Rio Branco, Acre -Brasil Objetivo: Determinar a prevalência das alterações oculares em pacientes de hanseníase ativa ou inativa, acompanhados em serviço de referência. Métodos: O estudo transversal constou de exame ocular e levantamento de dados demográficos e clínico-epidemiológicos, em serviço de referên-cia da cidade de Rio Branco (Acre), no período de outubro de 2001 a abril de 2002. Resultados: Foram examinados 254 pacientes, com média de idade de 41,9 anos; 70,1% do sexo masculino e 29,9% do feminino; 73,6% residentes da área urbana e 76,8% de formas multi e 23,2% de paucibacilares. Anormalidades de anexos oculares foram descritas em 49,6% (n=126) dos casos e do globo ocular em 39,4% (n=100) dos casos, sendo as mais freqüentes: hipoestesia corneana, catarata, madarose, manchas hipercrô-micas, hipolacrimejamento e ceratite ponteada. As lesões oculares (74,4%) tiveram freqüências desiguais (ρ<0,0001), predominando entre aqueles com mais de 40 anos de idade (48,4% versus 26,0% nos de 40 anos ou menos), nos casos multibacilares (76,8% versus 23,2%), e nas pessoas com mais de cinco anos de duração da hanseníase (ρ<0,001). As alterações de globo ocular foram mais observadas em pacientes com tratamento específico concluído (ρ<0,05). Conclusões: A freqüência da morbidade ocular na hanseníase, em quase três quartos (74,4%) dos casos, foi semelhante à descrita na literatura para pacientes ambulatoriais de serviço de referên-cia, e foi mais prevalente nas formas multibacilares da doença e em pacientes acima de 40 anos de idade.

Purpose: To study the aerobic bacterial microbiota of the conjunctiva in diabetic patients with regard to the management of diabetes, assessed using glycated hemoglobin levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using conjunctival smears of diabetic patients from both sexes and with different ages, residing in two different Brazilian cities (Sorocaba and Rio Branco). A control group of non-diabetic patients was also included. The diabetic patients were considered to have controlled diabetes when their glycated hemoglobin level was ≤7% and blood glucose level was ≤126 mg/dL. Patients with non-controlled diabetes were those with glycated hemoglobin levels >7% and blood glucose levels >126 mg/dL. The samples obtained were inoculated in Brain-Heart Infusion broth and in culture media for aerobic bacteria (blood and chocolate agars); bacterial growth was evaluated in a microbiology laboratory. Results: A total of 120 eyes of 120 patients were included in the present study. The percentage of cultures in which bacterial growth was observed was greater in diabetic patients, although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.103). There was a greater trend toward bacterial growth in the conjunctiva of diabetic patients with altered fasting blood glucose. There was no difference in the frequency of bacterial growth on the conjunctiva between diabetic patients with normal or altered glycated hemoglobin levels. In Sorocaba, conjunctival bacterial growth was similar to that observed in Rio Branco. The microorganism most frequently detected in the present study was Staphylococcus epidermidis, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, and Escherichia coli. Conclusions: There was no difference between diabetic patients with normal or altered glycated hemoglobin levels. The microorganisms found were similar to those found in studies investigating the conjunctival bacterial flora of diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

Introduction: People with visual impairment (VI) have loss of vision that causes impact on their daily living activities. Synonymous of VI are blindness, low vision, subnormal vision, visual incapacity, although there are peculiarities among them. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) provides the body with dynamic adaptation, moment by moment, according to changes in the internal and/or external body environment. As VI is an adverse condition, it is expected to be associated with changes in systemic autonomic activity, such as heart rate (HR) variability. Objective: To analyze the blindness stress by monitoring the activity of the ANS in the heart in subjects submitted acutely to low vision and also in subjects with chronic visual deficiency. Method: This is a randomized trial experimental study. In this clinical trial, initially, patients will undergo an ophthalmologic medical evaluation, along with monitoring of HR and systolic blood pressure /diastolic blood pressure. Volunteers with normal vision (Group i); and people with VI (Group ii) will be evaluated, all of them inhabitants of Rio Branco City, capital of Acre State, Brazilian Amazon. The intervention will consist of simulating blindness by sealing both eyes of each participant with good eyesight, using a sleep mask and allowing maximum occlusion for 45 minutes, split into 3 periods of 15 minutes each. Still blindfolded, participants will be requested to perform different tasks as walking, serve themselves water and/or cookies, and engaging in playful-pedagogical activity. Identical procedure will be done with the group with VI. The HR will be recorded by the Polar RS800 HR monitor. All findings with a value of P < .05 will be considered statistically significant. As a risk measure the odds ratio will be calculated, adjusted, and not adjusted with their respective 95% confidence intervals. The odds ratio = 1 of lowest risk for the outcome of interest will be considered as the base category for each independent variable. Ethics and dissemination: This study will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines that regulate human research in Resolution No. 466/12 of the National Health Council. We obtained the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the ABC Medical School/Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, with CAAE: 73945017.0.0000.0082, and Opinion No. 2,275,101. All individuals who agreed to participate in the study will sign the free and informed consent form (FICF). The FICF is also available in audio and Braille versions. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles and conferences. This study is registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials under the number RBR-9sm9dp.

No abstract