Browsing by Author "Azevedo, L"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Congenital or Early Acquired Deafness: An Overview of the Portuguese Situation, from Diagnosis to Follow-UpPublication . Oliveira, C; Machado, M; Zenha, R; Azevedo, L; Monteiro, L; Bicho, ACongenital deafness or early acquired deafness affects 1 to 3 out of 1000 newborns without risk factors and 20 to 40 out of 1000 newborns with risk factors. The universal newborn hearing screening enables its early identification. Children with congenital deafness/early acquired deafness have a higher prevalence of other conditions, especially ophthalmologic and neurodevelopmental ones, and at least 30% to 40% have at least one associated comorbidity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional, multicenter study in which 83% (n = 30) of the hospitals/maternity hospitals of the National Health Service participated. RESULTS: All surveyed hospitals/maternity hospitals routinely performed universal newborn hearing screening to all newborns before discharge; 63% referred children with risk factors for hearing loss to Otorhinolaryngology. All children with congenital deafness/early acquired deafness are referred to: Pediatrics in 23% hospitals/maternity hospitals. In 23 hospitals/maternity hospitals, all children with congenital deafness/early acquired deafness are referred to: Speech Therapy in 44% hospitals/ maternity hospitals; Ophthalmology in 17% hospitals/maternity hospitals; National System of Early Intervention in Childhood in 30% hospitals/maternity hospitals; 22% of hospitals/maternity hospitals refer all children with congenital deafness/early acquired deafness, with no identified cause, to Clinical Genetics clinics. The number of diagnoses of deafness in the years 2014 and 2015 was 2.5 and 1.5 per 1000 newborns, respectively, in 15 hospitals/maternity hospitals. DISCUSSION: Awareness of universal newborn hearing screening seems to be widely spread in the National Health Service. The number of children with SC / SPA, as well as the percentage of different types of deafness diagnosed, were identical to those found in other studies and shows its importance. The assessment / follow-up of these children by specialties other than the otolaryngology was heterogeneous in different health entities and revealed that not all children with risk factors for deafness follow up advised by existing standards. CONCLUSION: Results show that Portugal made an important path in the screening and follow-up of children with SC / SPA. It is important, with the ultimate aim of continually improving the care of these children, to reflect on the involvement of specialties other than otolaryngology, such as the National Early Childhood Intervention System in the follow-up of these children.
- Crohn's disease in a southern European country: Montreal classification and clinical activityPublication . Magro, F; Portela, F; Lago, P; Ramos de Deus, J; Vieira, A; Peixe, P; Ministro, P; Cremers, I; Cotter, J; Cravo, M; Tavares, L; Reis, J; Gonçalves, R; Lopes, H; Caldeira, P; Carvalho, L; Azevedo, L; Costa-Pereira, ABACKGROUND: Given the heterogeneous nature of Crohn's disease (CD), our aim was to apply the Montreal Classification to a large cohort of Portuguese patients with CD in order to identify potential predictive regarding the need for medical and/or surgical treatment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was used based on data from an on-line registry of patients with CD. RESULTS: Of the 1692 patients with 5 or more years of disease, 747 (44%) were male and 945 (56%) female. On multivariate analysis the A2 group was an independent risk factor of the need for steroids (odds ratio [OR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-2.3) and the A1 and A2 groups for immunosuppressants (OR 2.2; CI 1.2-3.8; OR 1.4; CI 1.0-2.0, respectively). An L3+L3(4) and L(4) location were risk factors for immunosuppression (OR 1.9; CI 1.5-2.4), whereas an L1 location was significantly associated with the need for abdominal surgery (P < 0.001). After 20 years of disease, less than 10% of patients persisted without steroids, immunosuppression, or surgery. The Montreal Classification allowed us to identify different groups of disease severity: A1 were more immunosuppressed without surgery, most of A2 patients were submitted to surgery, and 52% of L1+L1(4) patients were operated without immunosuppressants. CONCLUSIONS: Stratifying patients according to the Montreal Classification may prove useful in identifying different phenotypes with different therapies and severity. Most of our patients have severe disease.
- LOCUS (LOng Covid–Understanding Symptoms, events and use of services in Portugal): A three-component study protocolPublication . Dinis Teixeira, JP; Santos, MJ; Soares, P; Azevedo, L; Barbosa, P; Vilas-Boas, A; Cordeiro, JV; Dias, S; Fonseca, M; Goes, AR; Lobão, MJ; Moniz, M; Nóbrega, S; Peralta-Santos, A; Ramos, V; Rocha, JV; da Silva, AC; Brazão, ML; Leite, A; Nunes, CApproximately 10% of patients experience symptoms of Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC) after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Akin acute COVID-19, PCC may impact a multitude of organs and systems, such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and neurological systems. The frequency and associated risk factors of PCC are still unclear among both community and hospital settings in individuals with a history of COVID-19. The LOCUS study was designed to clarify the PCC's burden and associated risk factors. LOCUS is a multi-component study that encompasses three complementary building blocks. The "Cardiovascular and respiratory events following COVID-19" component is set to estimate the incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory events after COVID-19 in eight Portuguese hospitals via electronic health records consultation. The "Physical and mental symptoms following COVID-19" component aims to address the community prevalence of self-reported PCC symptoms through a questionnaire-based approach. Finally, the "Treating and living with Post COVID-19 Condition" component will employ semi-structured interviews and focus groups to characterise reported experiences of using or working in healthcare and community services for the treatment of PCC symptoms. This multi-component study represents an innovative approach to exploring the health consequences of PCC. Its results are expected to provide a key contribution to the optimisation of healthcare services design.
- Ulcerative colitis in a Southern European country: a national perspectivePublication . Portela, F; Magro, F; Lago, P; Cotter, J; Cremers, I; Deus, J; Vieira, A; Lopes, H; Caldeira, P; Barros, L; Reis, J; Carvalho, L; Gonçalves, R; Campos, MJ; Ministro, P; Duarte, MA; Amil, J; Rodrigues, S; Azevedo, L; Costa-Pereira, ABACKGROUND: The incidence, prevalence, and even the clinical behavior of ulcerative colitis (UC) are highly variable in different world regions. In previous studies, Portugal was reported as having a milder clinical behavior. The aim of this study was to apply the Montreal Classification in a large group of UC Portuguese patients in order to describe their clinical characteristics and evaluate variables potentially useful for outcome prediction. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on data collected from a nationwide online registry was undertaken. RESULTS: In all, 2863 patients with UC were included. Twenty-one percent had ulcerative proctitis, 52% left-sided colitis, and 28% extensive colitis. Sixty percent of patients had taken steroids, 14% immunosuppressors, 1% biologicals, and 4.5% were submitted to surgery. Patients with extensive colitis had more severe activity, needing more steroids, immunosuppressors, and surgery. At the time of diagnosis 61% were less than 40 years old and 5% less than 16. Younger patients also had a more aggressive initial course. Thirty-eight percent of patients had only taken salicylates during the disease course and were characterized by a lower incidence of systemic symptoms at presentation (3.8% versus 8.8%, P < 0.001), fewer extraintestinal manifestations (7.7% versus 24.0%, P < 0.001), and a higher prevalence of proctitis (32.1% versus 10.0%). CONCLUSIONS: A more aggressive phenotype was found in extensive colitis and in the initial course of younger patients, with an increased need for steroids and immunosuppressors. In addition, a significant percentage of patients, particularly with proctitis, showed a milder clinical evolution and were maintained in remission only with salicylates.