Abstract Background: Livedoid vasculopathy (LV) manifests as ulcers and atrophic white scars on the lower extremities. The main known etiopathogenesis is hypercoagulability with thrombus formation, followed by inflammation. Thrombophilia, collagen and myeloproliferative diseases may induce LV, but the idiopathic (primary) form predominates. Bartonella spp. may cause intra-endothelial infection and skin manifestations caused by these bacteria may be diverse, including leukocytoclastic vasculitis and ulcers. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of bacteremia by Bartonella spp. in patients with difficult-to-control chronic ulcers diagnosed as primary LV. Methods: Questionnaires and molecular tests (conventional PCR, nested PCR and real-time PCR) were applied and liquid and solid cultures were performed in the blood samples and blood clot of 16 LV patients and 32 healthy volunteers. Results: Bartonella henselae DNA was detected in 25% of LV patients and in 12.5% of control subjects but failed to reach statistically significant differences (p = 0.413). Study limitations: Due to the rarity of primary LV, the number of patients studied was small and there was greater exposure of the control group to risk factors for Bartonella spp. infection. Conclusion: Although there was no statistically significant difference between the groups, the DNA of B. henselae was detected in one of every four patients, which reinforces the need to investigate Bartonella spp. in patients with primary LV.

OBJETIVO: Identificar taxas de prevalência e perfis de pacientes associados a depressão, transtornos por uso de álcool e dependência de nicotina em indivíduos internados em um hospital geral universitário. MÉTODO: 4.352 pacientes internados consecutivamente foram avaliados pelas escalas Hospital Anxiety and Depression e Alcohol use Disorder Identification Test. Eles também foram questionados sobre uso diário de cigarros ao longo do último mês. Análises de regressão logística múltipla foram realizadas. RESULTADOS: 56,6% eram de sexo masculino, e a média de idade foi de 49,3 anos. As taxas de prevalência de depressão, transtornos por uso de álcool e dependência de nicotina foram, respectivamente, 14%, 9,8% e 16,9%. Na análise multivariada, depressão associou-se a tentativa prévia de suicídio (OR = 8,7), menor escolaridade (3,6), uso prévio de psicofármacos (3,1), câncer (1,7) e dor (1,7). Transtornos por uso de álcool associaram-se a sexo masculino (OR = 6,3), tabagismo (3,5), internação por uma causa externa (2,4), notadamente acidentes automobilísticos, e tentativa prévia de suicídio (2,3). A dependência de nicotina associou-se a transtornos por uso de álcool (OR = 3,4), idade adulta jovem (2,3), viuvez (2,2) e tentativa prévia de suicídio (1,8). CONCLUSÃO: Esta é a maior amostra de pacientes clínicos e cirúrgicos, internados num hospital geral brasileiro, avaliados com instrumentos padronizados. Houve considerável prevalência de transtornos mentais, e os respectivos perfis dos pacientes enfatizam a necessidade de se desenvolver métodos mais eficientes de detecção e de manejo desses transtornos. A internação hospitalar deveria ser tomada como um marco na vida de uma pessoa, a partir do qual se detecta um transtorno psiquiátrico e estratégias específicas de tratamento são implementadas.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates and identify patient characteristics associated with depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence among individuals admitted to a general teaching hospital. METHOD: Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, we assessed 4,352 consecutive medical and surgical patients admitted over a 13-month period. The patients were also asked to report their daily cigarette smoking habits during the last month. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 49.3 years, and 56.6% were male. Prevalence rates of depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence were, respectively, 14%, 9.8% and 16.9%. In the multivariate analysis, depression was associated with previous suicide attempts (OR = 8.7), lower level of education (OR = 3.6), prior use of psychotropic medications (OR = 3.1), cancer (OR = 1.7) and pain (OR = 1.7). Alcohol use disorders were associated with male sex (OR = 6.3), smoking (OR = 3.5), admission for an external cause of injury, such as a traffic accident (OR = 2.4), and previous suicide attempts (OR = 2.3). Nicotine dependence was associated with alcohol use disorders (OR = 3.4), young adulthood (OR = 2.3), widowhood (OR = 2.2) and previous suicide attempts (OR = 1.8). CONCLUSION: This is the largest sample of medical and surgical patients ever surveyed with standardized screening instruments in a general hospital in Brazil. The high prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders and the profiles of the patients evaluated in this study underscore the need to develop methods that are more effective for detecting and managing such disorders. Hospital admission should be considered a major opportunity for the detection of psychiatric disorders and the subsequent implementation of the appropriate specific treatment strategies.