Infectious arthritis or tenosynovitis in broiler and breeder chickens results in major loss of productivity because of reduced growth and downgrading at processing plants. The most common causative agents of avian infectious arthritis are the bacterium Mycoplasma synoviae and avian reoviruses (ARVs) (family Reoviridae, genus Orthoreovirus). In this study, we evaluated the occurrence of these two pathogens in arthritis or tenosynovitis lesions of broilers and breeder flocks in southern Brazil using molecular detection. Tissue sections from tibiotarsal joints with visible lesions from 719 broilers and 505 breeders were analysed using pathogen-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. In breeders, 41.2% (n = 296) of lesions were positive for M. synoviae, 26.4% (n = 190) were positive for ARV, while co-infection was present in 12.2% (n = 88) of the samples. In broilers, 20.8% (n = 105) of lesions were positive for M. synoviae, 11.9% (n = 60) for ARV and 7.7% (n = 39) of these cases were positive for both pathogens. Post-mortem examination revealed lesions with varying degrees of gross pathological severity. Histopathological examination showed intense, diffuse lymphohistiocytic inflammatory infiltrates with heterophil accumulation, primarily in the synovial capsule and digital flexor tendon, in all samples. Improved strategies for early detection and control of these major avian pathogens are highly desirable for preventing the spread of infection and reducing economic losses in the poultry industry.

RESUMO O objetivo do presente estudo é analisar os indicadores de qualidade (IQ) exigidos pelo Ministério da Saúde no Brasil em duas unidades de AVC. Métodos Foram analisados os 16 IQ, incluindo a percentagem de pacientes internados na unidade de AVC, profilaxia de tromboembolismo venoso (TEV) nas primeiras 48 horas após a admissão; pneumonia e mortalidade hospitalar e alta hospitalar em terapia antitrombótica (TAT) em pacientes sem mecanismo cardioembólico. Resultados Ambos os centros admitiram mais de 80% dos pacientes na unidade de AVC. A profilaxia do TEV foi realizada em mais de 85% dos casos; a pneumonia hospitalar foi inferior a 13%; a mortalidade hospitalar foi menor que 15% e a alta hospitalar em uso de TAT foi acima de 70%. Conclusão O presente estudo sugere os parâmetros dos 16 IQ exigidos pelo Ministério da Saúde do Brasil e os resultados obtidos em duas unidades de AVC para avaliação comparativa futura

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to analyze the stroke units in two centers for the key performance indicators (KPIs) required by the Ministry of Health in Brazil. Methods All 16 KPIs were analyzed, including the percentage of patients admitted to the stroke unit, venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in the first 48 hours after admission, pneumonia and hospital mortality due to stroke, and hospital discharge on antithrombotic therapy in patients without cardioembolic mechanism. Results Both centers admitted over 80% of the patients in their stroke unit. The incidence of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis was > 85%, that of in-hospital pneumonia was < 13%, the hospital mortality for stroke was < 15%, and the hospital discharge on antithrombotic therapy was > 70%. Conclusion Our results suggest using the parameters of all of the 16 KPIs required by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and the present results for the two stroke units for future benchmarking.