Although AIDS patients in other countries are frequently diagnosed as having atypical mycobacterial infection, in Southern Brazil there is a clinical impression that Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the rule rather than the exception. We made a retrospective review of cultures for mycobacteria at our hospital in order to determine the frequency of atypical mycobacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in hospitalised patients in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the most frequent isolate (79.9%), regardless of HIV serostatus. Only 1.5% of the cultures yielded atypical mycobacteria, all of which in AIDS patients. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was diagnosed in most of the HIV-infected patients (81.2%). We conclude that Mycobacterium tuberculosis is frequent in both HIV infected and non-HIV infected patients in this part of the country.

RESUMO O exame de acuidade visual é um teste importante na seleção dos candidatos à Carteira Nacional de Habilitação (CNH), uma vez que uma boa visão é essencial para a segurança no trânsito. Entretanto, muitos oftalmologistas recebem em seus consultórios pacientes reprovados neste teste sem alteração da acuidade visual (AV). Com o objetivo de verificar as causas de reprovação no teste da AV do Departamento de Trânsito (Detran), bem como sua sensibilidade, foram avaliados 120 candidatos à CNH, que reprovaram no exame da AV, onde verificou-se que 56 (46,7%) candidatos reprovados teriam condições de aprovação e poderiam obter qualquer tipo de CNH. O erro de refração foi encontrado em 95 (79,2%) pacientes reprovados no teste de AV do Detran. Os autores concluíram que o Detran, por ter um teste de AV muito sensível no que tange à reprovação, poderia ter fornecido a CNH para a maior parte dos candidatos sem que houvesse necessidade de encaminhamento ao oftalmologista.

SUMMARY The visual acuity test is important to select the candidate to driving license, since a good visual acuity is essential to traffic security, however a lot of ophthalmologists examine failed candidates with normal vision. To verify the causes of failure in visual acuity test of Driver License Division as well its sensibility, 120 driving license candidates who failed in visual acuity test were assessed. Fifty six (46.7%) candidates who failed, had good condition to be aproved and get any class of driving license. Refractive error was lound in 95 (79.2%) of the reproved patients in visual acuity test of Driver license division. The authors concluded that there is a great sensibility in the visual acuity test of driver license division. Most part of patients could get their driving license despite of going to the ophthalmologist.