The objective of this study was to provide access to and disseminate a questionnaire used as an instrument to assess the organizational elements and the performance of primary health care clinics regarding TB control in Brazil, comparing selected organizational dimensions by health care clinic, by municipality and by actor (patients, health care workers and managers). The results show that municipalities where the coverage of supervised treatment was more extensive presented more favorable indicators regarding access to TB treatment. The organizational format of the health care clinics involved in TB treatment-family health programs and referral centers with specialized teams in TB control programs (TCPs)-was not a factor that expanded access to diagnosis. The TCPs involving a smaller number of patients presented better performance regarding the health care professional-patient relationship. The majority of the patients faced economic and social difficulties, and most managers were unaware of the amount of resources allocated to TB control activities. The instrument proved to be viable and to have the potential to adequately assess the performance of health care clinics in the urban areas studied.

Keywords: Questionnaires; Patient satisfaction; Primary health care; Family health program; Tuberculosis.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed COPD among individuals with risk factors for the disease treated at primary health care clinics (PHCCs) in the city of Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil. Methods: Inclusion criteria were being ≥ 40 years of age, having a > 20 pack-year history of smoking or a > 80 hour-year history of exposure to biomass smoke, and seeking medical attention at one of the selected PHCCs. All subjects included in the study underwent spirometry for the diagnosis of COPD. Results: We successfully evaluated 200 individuals, mostly males. The mean age was 65.9 ± 10.5 years. The diagnosis of COPD was confirmed in 63 individuals, only 18 of whom had been previously diagnosed with COPD (underdiagnosis rate, 71.4%). There were no significant differences between the subgroups with and without a previous diagnosis of COPD in relation to demographics and risk factors. However, there were significant differences between these subgroups for the presence of expectoration, wheezing, and dyspnea (p = 0.047; p = 0.005; and p = 0.047, respectively). The FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio, expressed as percentages of the predicted values, were significantly lower in the subjects with a previous diagnosis of COPD, which was predominantly mild or moderate in both subgroups. Conclusions: The rate of underdiagnosis of COPD was high at the PHCCs studied. One third of the patients with risk factors for COPD met the clinical and functional criteria for the disease. It seems that spirometry is underutilized at such facilities.

Keywords: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive/diagnosis; Primary health care; Spirometry.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV infection among individuals ≥ 15 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of tuberculosis and treated at family health care clinics in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. We evaluated a random sample of 110 patients with tuberculosis, treated at a total of 26 family health care clinics between January and May of 2009. All of the participants completed a questionnaire regarding sociodemographic and clinical data, and all underwent HIV testing. In this sample, the prevalence of tuberculosis/HIV co-infection was 3.6% (95% CI: 0.2-7.0).

Keywords: Tuberculosis; HIV seroprevalence; Primary health care.

Objective: To evaluate the level of access to health care clinics of a population of patients hospitalized for tuberculosis (TB) at two hospitals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, comparing them with a population of TB patients under outpatient treatment only. Methods: We compiled sociodemographic, clinical and epidemiological data related to patients hospitalized for TB at two hospitals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between January and December of 2007, using a structured questionnaire. We also identified the outpatient clinics to which the patients were referred at discharge. The same variables were evaluated for TB outpatients during the same period, using a database. Results: The study sample consisted of 474 patients (166 inpatients and 308 outpatients: mean age, 41.0 and 39.1 years, respectively). The univariate analysis showed positive associations between hospitalization due to TB and the following variables: 30-39 year age bracket (OR = 2.17); 50-59 year age bracket (OR = 2.17); combination of pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms of TB (OR = 5.31); TB re-treatment (OR = 2.66); seeking treatment at other health care facilities prior to the diagnosis of TB (OR = 2.05); symptom duration of more than 12 weeks (OR = 2.23); and TB diagnosed at hospitals or in emergency rooms (OR = 4.68). The proportion of inpatients who resided in the same regional health district area as that in which the respective hospital was located was 77.6% and 36.8%. The proportion of discharged patients who were referred to outpatient clinics in the same areas was 67.1% and 39.7%, respectively. Conclusions: Patients hospitalized for TB should be monitored from discharge until their admission to the outpatient clinic.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; Health services accessibility; Inpatients; Outpatients.

Our objective was to evaluate the reproducibility of Asthma Control Questionnaire 7 (ACQ-7) in asthma patients, comparing our results against those obtained with the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria. We evaluated 52 patients. Patients completed the ACQ-7, underwent spirometry, and were clinically assessed to determine the level of asthma control according to the GINA criteria, in two visits, 15 days apart. The ACQ-7 cutoff for uncontrolled asthma was a score of 1.5. The ACQ-7 showed good reproducibility, with a correlation coefficient of 0.73. The ACQ-7 identified a greater number of patients with uncontrolled asthma than did the GINA criteria; according to the GINA criteria, 47 patients (90.4%) presented with partially controlled asthma.

Keywords: Asthma/prevention and control; Asthma/classification; Questionnaires.

Objective: To evaluate whether the Portuguese version of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) is a valid instrument to measure asthma control in adult outpatients in Brazil. Methods: We selected 278 outpatients diagnosed with asthma. All of the patients completed the questionnaire, underwent spirometry and were clinically evaluated by a physician in order to characterize the control of the disease in the first visit. The questionnaire was evaluated in three versions, with 5, 6 and 7 questions, respectively, and scores of 0.75 and 1.50 were used as cut-off points. Results: Of the 278 patients, 77 (27.7%) had intermittent asthma, 39 (14.0%) had mild persistent asthma, 40 (14.4%) had moderate persistent asthma and 122 (43.9%) had severe persistent asthma. The sensitivity of ACQ to identify uncontrolled asthma ranged from 77% to 99%, and the specificity ranged from 36% to 84%. The positive predictive value ranged from 73% to 90%, and the negative predictive value ranged from 67% to 95%. The positive likelihood ratio ranged from 1.55 to 4.81, and the negative likelihood ratio ranged from 0.03 to 0.27. In the 5- and 6-question versions of the ACQ, the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.92. These two versions were both responsive to clinical changes in the patients. Conclusions: All three versions of the ACQ satisfactorily discriminated between patients with uncontrolled asthma and those with controlled asthma. The 5- and 6-question versions also presented good reliability and responsiveness. Therefore, the ACQ is a valid tool for evaluating asthma control in adult outpatients in Brazil.

Keywords: Asthma; Therapeutics; Diagnosis; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of results.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, using tuberculin skin test, among community health agents (CHAs) monitoring TB patients in the city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil. Methods: We included 30 CHAs acting in the Family Health Program and 30 of their family members residing in the same household. The tuberculin skin test results of each CHA were compared with those of the corresponding family member. Results: Of the 30 CHAs, 27 (90.0%) were female, compared with 23 (76.7%) of the 30 family members (p = 0.299). The mean age of the CHA group and of the family member group was, respectively, 36.8 and 39.7 years. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups regarding the level of education. Regarding M. tuberculosis exposure, the same number of participants in the two groups reported having known or had contact with a TB patient (17 individuals; 56.7%). There was a statistically significant difference regarding positive tuberculin skin test results (26.7% in the CHA group and 3.3% in the family member group; p = 0.011). Conclusions: M. tuberculosis infection was significantly higher among CHAs than among their family members, fueling the debate on the occupational risk involved in the activities of these professionals.

Keywords: Community health aides; Tuberculosis; Tuberculin test.

Objective: To translate the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) and Sleep in the Intensive Care Unit Questionnaire (SICUQ) to Portuguese, making the appropriate cross-cultural adaptations for their use in Brazil, as well as to determine the interobserver reliability of the instruments. Methods: In this study, we evaluated medical and surgical patients admitted to the adult ICU of the Federal University of Paraná Hospital de Clínicas, in the city of Curitiba, Brazil, between June of 2017 and January of 2018. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the questionnaires involved the following steps: translation, synthesis, back-translation, revision by an expert panel, approval of the back-translation by the original authors, pretesting, and creation of the final versions. Two researchers applied the Portuguese-language versions in the evaluation of critically ill patients. Interobserver reliability was assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and 95% CI. Results: The sample comprised 50 patients, of whom 27 (54%) were women. The mean age was 47.7 ± 17.5 years. The main reason for ICU admission, in 10 patients (20%), was cancer. The interobserver reliability of the questionnaires ranged from good to excellent. For the RCSQ, the ICC was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.71-0.90). For SICUQ domains 1-5 (sleep quality and daytime sleepiness), the ICC was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.55-0.86), whereas it was 0.86 (95% CI: 0.76-0.92) for SICUQ domains 6 and 7 (causes of sleep disruption). Conclusions: The cross-culturally adapted, Portuguese-language versions of the RCSQ and SICUQ appear to have good interobserver reliability.

Keywords: Sleep; Intensive care units; Sleep deprivation; Surveys and questionnaires; Translations; Cross-cultural comparison.

Objective: To investigate the histological subtypes and mutational profiles of non-small cell lung cancer in Brazil, looking for correlations among histological subtypes, expression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), EGFR mutation status, and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Methods: We evaluated 173 specimens obtained from patients with lung adenocarcinoma in northeastern Brazil. Expression of PD-L1 and ALK was evaluated by immunohistochemistry; EGFR mutation status was evaluated by sequencing. We categorized the histological subtypes in accordance with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society classification. Results: The most common histological subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma were solid predominant (in 46.8%), acinar predominant (in 37.0%), and lepidic predominant (in 9.8%). ALK expression was detected in 10.4% of the samples, and 22.0% of the tumors harbored EGFR mutations. The most common EGFR mutation was an exon 21 L858R point mutation (in 45.5%), followed by an exon 19 deletion (in 36.3%). The tumor proportion score for PD-L1 expression was ≥ 50% in 18.2% of the samples, 1-49% in 32.7%, and 0% in 49.5%. The solid predominant subtype was significantly associated with wild-type EGFR status (p = 0.047). Positivity for PD-L1 expression was not found to be significantly associated with ALK expression or EGFR mutation status. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the molecular profile of non-small cell lung cancer in northeastern Brazil differs from those of populations in other regions of the country, with ALK positivity being higher than the other biomarkers. Further studies including clinical and genetic information are required to confirm these differences, as well as studies focusing on populations living in different areas of the country.

Keywords: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase; ErbB receptors; B7-H1 antigen; Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung; Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate the use of video lessons on the topic of COPD as a training tool for a multidisciplinary team working in the primary health care sector. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study involving a multidisciplinary team working at a primary health care clinic. The level of knowledge about COPD was measured by applying a specific, 16-item questionnaire - before, immediately after, and three months after the video lessons. In a set of six structured video lessons, the training focused on the prevention, case-finding, treatment, and monitoring of cases of COPD. The data were analyzed with the Friedman test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Tukey's post hoc test, Dunnett's test, and the Bonferroni test. Results: There was a significant difference between the periods before and immediately after the training in terms of the scores on 15 of the 16 items on the questionnaire regarding the level of knowledge about COPD. The median total score of the participants increased significantly, from 60 points before the training to 77 points immediately thereafter and 3 months thereafter (p < 0.001 for both). Before the training, 23 (63.9%) and 13 (36.1%) of the members of the multidisciplinary team presented strong and very strong levels of agreement, respectively, among the 16 questionnaire items. After the training, 100% of the individuals presented a very strong degree of agreement. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary education through video lessons increased the knowledge of COPD on the part of a primary health care team, and the knowledge acquired was retained for at least three months after the intervention.

Keywords: Instructional films and videos; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Inservice training; Primary health care; Education, medical.

Objective: To translate the King's Brief Interstitial Lung Disease (K-BILD) questionnaire to Portuguese and culturally adapt it for use in Brazil. The K-BILD quantifies the health status of patients with ILD. Methods: The process involved the following steps: authorization from the author of the original (English-language) questionnaire; translation of the questionnaire to Portuguese by three translators, working independently; merging of the translations by a committee of specialists; back-translation of the questionnaire to English; revision and readjustment of the back-translation by the committee of specialists; evaluation by the original author; revision of the back-translation; cognitive debriefing (verification of the clarity and acceptability of the Portuguese-language version in the target population-i.e., patients with ILD); and finalization of the Portuguese-language version. Results: In the cognitive debriefing step, 20 patients with ILD were interviewed. After the interviews, the clarity and acceptability index of each question was ≥ 0.8, which is considered acceptable. Conclusions: The Portuguese-language version of K-BILD appears to be easily administered to and understood by patients with ILD in Brazil. To our knowledge, this is the only instrument in Brazilian Portuguese that is designed to evaluate the impact that ILD has on the various aspects of the lives of those it affects.

Keywords: Lung diseases, interstitial; Pulmonary fibrosis; Surveys and questionnaires.

Objective: To quantify the use of health care resources among patients enrolled in the Bahia State Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis Control Program. Methods: As of January of 2006, 1405 patients had enrolled in the program, which is carried out in four referral centers in the city of Salvador. These patients formed the basis of this retrospective/prospective, observational cohort study. The preliminary analysis involved 269 consecutive patients, all above the age of 12 and diagnosed with severe asthma. After being seen by pulmonologists, nurses, pharmacologists and psychologists, the patients received inhaled asthma medications. Based on patient interviews and charts, the year preceding enrollment in the program was compared with the first year enrolled in the program in terms of the following quantifiable parameters: hospital admissions; emergency room visits; courses of oral corticosteroids; and days of school/work missed due to asthma attacks. Results: In this sample of patients with severe asthma, enrollment in the program resulted in significant reductions in the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions (of 85% and 90%, respectively). There were also reductions in the number of school/work days missed due to asthma attacks and in the number of courses of oral corticosteroids (of 86% and 67%, respectively). Conclusion: A program designed to control severe asthma in referral outpatient clinics and including pharmacological services at no charge can lead to a pronounced reduction in the demand for Unified Health Care System resources.

Keywords: Asthma/therapy; Asthma/prevention  control; Hospitalization; National Health System (BR)

Objective: To evaluate the effect that the distribution of food baskets to tuberculosis (TB) patients has on treatment outcomes at a primary health care clinic. Methods: Retrospective comparative study of the medical and social aspects of 142 patients at a primary health care clinic in the city of Duque de Caxias, Brazil. The patients were divided into two groups: the first group included 68 patients treated with standard regimens (between September of 2001 and December of 2003); and the second group included 74 patients treated with the same regimens but also receiving food baskets on a monthly basis (between January of 2004 and July of 2006). Results: The statistical comparison between the two groups revealed that the cure rate was higher in the group receiving the food baskets (87.1% vs. 69.7%), whereas the rate of noncompliance was markedly lower (12.9% vs. 30.3%). Conclusions: The results indicate that the distribution of food baskets can be a useful strategy to improve compliance with TB treatment at primary health care clinics.

Keywords: Tuberculosis; Nutritional support; Treatment outcome; Ambulatory health services.

Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals exposed to smoking or biomass smoke and followed at primary health care (PHC) centers across three states in Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional multicenter study including patients followed at any of four PHC centers in Brazil. Patients = 35 years of age who were smokers or former smokers, or were exposed to biomass smoke were included, the exception being those with physical/mental disabilities and those who were pregnant. Face-to-face assessments included a questionnaire assessing clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, as well as the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale. Results: Of a total of 737 patients, 56.3% were female and 64.2% were White, with a mean age of 57.7 ± 11.8 years. Most (54.4%) had < 9 years of schooling, 50.2% had low socioeconomic status, and 71.5% were overweight/obese. Smokers accounted for 43.4% of the study sample, whereas 15.0% had no direct exposure to cigarette smoke. Common symptoms included cough, in 37.3%; wheezing, in 33.8%; and phlegm, in 27.4%. Most (75.1%) of the study participants had mMRC dyspnea scale scores of 0 or 1. CAT scores were 0-10, in 40.2%; 11-20, in 44.6%; 21-30, in 14.1%; and 31-40, in 1.1%. Binary logistic regression showed that sex and age significantly impacted mMRC dyspnea scale predictions, whereas BMI and socioeconomic status influenced CAT predictions. Common comorbidities included hypertension, in 51.3%; depression, in 27.4%; and diabetes, in 24.3%. No association was found between hypertension and obesity or smoking, or between diabetes and obesity or smoking. Conclusions: PHC patients with risk factors such as smoking and exposure to biomass smoke have a high comorbidity burden, with over half experiencing mild to moderate quality-of-life impacts. This study emphasizes the need for targeted preventive measures in PHC settings.

Keywords: Smoking; Risk factors; Biomass; Primary health care.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and determine the risk factors associated with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among primary health care workers in the city of Vitória, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with data collected through a survey regarding socio-demographic, occupational, clinical, and exposure characteristics, as well as knowledge about tuberculosis, conducted between 2011 and 2012. All participants underwent a tuberculin skin test (TST), and TSTs were read at 72 h by a trained professional. Results: A total of 218 primary health care workers participated in the study. The prevalence of TST positivity at the ≥ 10-mm and ≥ 5-mm cut-off points was, respectively, 39.4% (95% CI: 32.9-45.9) and 54.1% (95% CI: 47.4-60.7). Regarding occupational categories, community health agents had the highest proportion of TST positivity, regardless of the cut-off point (≥ 10 mm: 47.5%; and ≥ 5 mm: 60.5%). Regarding factors associated with TST results, "having had a previous TST" showed a statistically significant association with TST positivity at the ≥ 10-mm and ≥ 5-mm cut-off points (OR = 2.5 [95% CI: 1.17-5.30] and OR = 2.18 [95% CI: 1.23-3.87], respectively). Conclusions: The prevalence of LTBI was found to be high among the primary health care workers in this sample. Therefore, we recommend the establishment of a periodic screening program for LTBI and implementation of effective biosafety policies for the prevention of this infection among primary health care workers.

Keywords: Health personnel; Tuberculin test; Latent tuberculosis; Primary health care.

Background: Hyperhidrosis or excessive sudoresis is a chronic disease associated with important subjective distress. Objective: To propose a specific questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life of patients with hyperhidrosis. Methods: From October 1995 to March 2002, 378 patients (234 females), with a mean age of 26.8 years, were evaluated before and after video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy. Results: Therapeutic success was obtained in 90% of the procedures. The recurrence rate was 10% for palmar and 11% for axillary hyperhidrosis; 27% of the patients who had recurrence were re-operated successfully. No serious complications were reported. Of the total number of patients, 91% answered to the quality of life questionnaire, and 86% of them reported improvement after the procedure. Conclusions: Thoracic sympathectomy is a therapeutic method capable of changing the quality of life of patients with hyperhidrosis. The questionnaire applied has shown these changes.

Keywords: Thoracic sympathectomy. Quality of life.

In view of the fact that the World Health Organization has recommended the use of the mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) 960 system for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and that there is as yet no evidence regarding the clinical impact of its use in health care systems, we conducted a pragmatic clinical trial to evaluate the clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of the use of MGIT 960 at two health care facilities in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the incidence of tuberculosis is high. Here, we summarize the methodology and preliminary results of the trial. (ISRCTN.org Identifier: ISRCTN79888843 [http://isrctn.org/])

Keywords: Controlled clinical trial; Tuberculosis; Diagnostic tests, routine.