Broncopneumopatias a vírus: análise crítica de alterações histológicas encontradas no estudo de afecções respiratórias não bacterianas na infância

Os autores apresentam 69 casos de afecções respiratórias em crianças que atribuem a agentes não bacterianos, provavelmente virais. Usam para isto um critério clínico, outro morfológico, em uma revisão de 372 pneumopatias infecciosas em casos de autópsias. Caracterizaram morfologicamente a resposta à agressão viral pela presença de: infiltrado mononuclear intersticial, predominantemente peribronquilar; alterações degenerativas ou mesmo necrose e hiperplasia do epitélio respiratório; membrana hialina; descamação epitelial; células gigantes sinciciais alveolares e bronquiolares; inclusões nucleares e citoplasmáticas; edema proteináceo alveolar e septal, proliferação intersticial conjuntiva incipiente. Criticam o erro por excesso de diagnósticos de "pneumonia mononuclear intesticial" e o erro por falta quando o acometimento bacteriano dificulta o diagnóstico de lesão atribuível a vírus. Além disso realçam a importância de achado de bonquiolite aguda como fundamental para o diagnóstico. Estas lesões - ao lado de achados clínicos-radiológicos e epidemiológicos - cosntituem o que a experiência adquirida julga como reação do pulmão a vários vírus conhecidos (Adenovírus, Influenza, Parainfluenza, Vírus Sincicial Respiratório e Sarampo).

Avaliação crítica da cirurgia na hipertensão portal esquistossômica

There are over 100.000 patients affected by schistosomotic portal hipertension, that may suffer rupture of the esophageal varices. Besides the portal hypertension, local factors must be emphazised as responsible for the three distal centimeters of the esophagus, called "zona vulnerável" (vulnerable zone). The beter liver functional reserve of these schistosomotic patients as compared to the cirrhotic, present two favorable condititions: (1) beter possibility of conservative treatment during acute hemorrhage; (2) elective surgical treatment may be undergo without a mandatory step of large portal descompression. The Author only indicate surgical treatment in patients with hemorrhage antecedence and his preference consist in splenectomy plus obliterative suture of the varices at the "vulnerable zone" and when possible, ligature of left gastric vein also; 358 patients were undergone surgery with operative mortality 3.07%, 347 were followed during 1 to 25 years; late mortality 8.38%; recurrence hemorrage 11.58%; none porto-sustemic encephalopaty was observed.

Rhodnius stali n. sp., afim de Rhodnius pictipers Stal, 1872 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

Rhdnius stali n. sp. was described based on specimens deposited in the Herman Lent Collection of Entomological Collection of Oswaldo Cruz Institute, until now identified as Rhodnius pictipes Stal, 1872 and compared with specimens of R. pictipes proceeding from state of Amazonas and Pará, Brazil. R. stali is related to R. pictipes though distinguished by the total length, 15 to 17 mm male and 16,5 to 19 mm female, the anteocular region 2,5 times larger than postocular region and by the shape of phallic strictures known as: phallosoma, struts, gonopore process and endosoma process.

Biologia do Rhodnius pictipes Stal, 1872 em condições de laboratório (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

Rhodnius pictipes Stal, 1872 is a silvatic species with a widespread distribution in South America, found in nine Brazilian states, naturally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi and T. rangeli. The individual rearing of this species under laboratory conditions, allowed the following biological aspects to be observed: incubation time, search for first meal after eclosion or moult, time - lapse between presentation of the blood meal and the beginning of feeding, duration of blood meal, time and place of defecation, number of blood meals, duration of each instar and adult longevity, and time required from egg to adult.

Desenvolvimento de Rhodnius pictipes Stal, 1872 alimentado através de membrana de silicone e em camundongos (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

Rhodnius pictipes (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) from Serra Norte, State of Pará, Brazil, aclimatized in an insectary at the Laboratório Nacional e Internacional de Referência em Taxonomia de Triatomíneos, Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, were fed through a silicone membrane. In order to know the viability and the efficiency of this membrane compared with insects fed on mice, the number of bloodmeals taken, period of development of the five nymphal instars, longevity of adults, average amount of blood intake in each meal and percent of mortality were observed. A total of 310 insects, were used, comprising 50 nymphs of each instar, as well as 30 male and 30 female adults. Insects fed artificially had reduced minimal and maximal periods of development than the group fed on mice. The largest relative increase of body weight was observed in the 2nd instar followed by the 1st, and the amount of blood ingested increased during the development, to the 5th instar for both groups. There were no significant differences between the groups fed artificially and in vivo according to Tukey's test for p>0.05. The percent of mortality in the 1st instar was 18% for artificially fed and 16% for the group fed on mice; these percentages decreased as insects developed until the 4th instar, without mortality, returning to increase in the 5th instar. R. pictipes was shown to be easily adaptable to artificial feeding, and could be considered as an important and viable experimental model.

Vital Statistics of Panstrongylus geniculatus (Latreille 1811) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) under Experimental Conditions

A statistical evaluation of the population dynamics of Panstrongylus geniculatus is based on a cohort experiment conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. Animals were fed on hen every 15 days. Egg incubation took 21 days; mean duration of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar nymphs was 25, 30, 58, 62, and 67 days, respectively; mean nymphal development time was 39 weeks and adult longevity was 72 weeks. Females reproduced during 30 weeks, producing an average of 61.6 eggs for female on its lifetime; the average number of eggs/female/week was 2.1. Total number of eggs produced by the cohort was 1379. Average hatch for the cohort was 88.9%; it was not affected by age of the mother. Age specific survival and reproduction tables were constructed. The following population parameters were evaluated, generation time was 36.1 weeks; net reproduction rate was 89.4; intrinsic rate of natural increase was 0.125; instantaneous birth and death rates were 0.163 and 0.039 respectively; finite rate of increase was 1.13; total reproductive value was 1196 and stable age distribution was 31.2% eggs, 64.7% nymphs and 4.1% adults. Finally the population characteristics of P. geniculatus lead to the conclusion that this species is a K strategist.

Evidence of colonization of man-made ecotopes by Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) in Costa Rica

Triatoma dimidiata adults have been frequently found, during the last five years, in a dog kennel and a chicken coop, in the back yard of a well-built house, 15 km from San José, the capital of Costa Rica. In the chicken coop nymphs were also found. Two of the 11 dogs from the kennel were serologically positive for Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The inhabitants of the house, three adults and two children, were negative. This type of colonization by the insect, which is attracted to lights, is becoming common in old and new settlements, with different degrees of success, a fact with epidemiological implications and great relevance in the control strategies that can be applied.

Rhodnius amazonicus Almeida, Santos & Sposina, 1973, Bona Species, Close to R. pictipes Stål, 1872 (Heteroptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

The discovery of two atypical specimens of Rhodnius pictipes Stål, 1872 in French Guiana and the examination of the female holotype of R. amazonicus Almeida, Santos & Sposina, 1973, the only specimen of this species so far known, lead us to propose the rehabilitation of R. amazonicus synonymized with R. pictipes. The male is described for the first time and the female redescribed. Both external characters and genitalia distinguish R. amazonicus from R. pictipes. R. amazonicus shows affinities not only with pictipes but also with R. stali Lent, Jurberg & Galvão, 1993 and R. paraensis Sherlock, Guitton & Miles, 1977. A key is provided for these four species forming, in all likelihood, a natural group, i.e. the "pictipes group".