HIV patients infected through injected drug use have poorer prognosis than other groups. We evaluated the hematological alterations and rates of co-infections in injected drug use patients with AIDS. Injected drug use patients were younger, predominantly of male gender, and presented lower CD4, total lymphocyte, and platelet counts, but not neutrophil count, than control group. Injected drug use patients had a higher rate of hepatitis C and mycobacteria infection. Furthermore, all injected drug use patients with hemoglobin <10.0 g dL-1 and lymphocyte <1000 µL-1 had CD4 count lower than 100 µL-1. In conclusion, HIV-infected injected drug use patients constitute a special group of patients, and hemoglobin concentration and lymphocyte count can be used as surrogate markers for disease severity.

INTRODUÇÃO: O tétano continua sendo um grave problema de saúde pública nos países em desenvolvimento. No Brasil, apesar dos avanços tecnológicos, não houve um decréscimo significativo da taxa de letalidade nos últimos anos. Nesta casuística, foram analisados dados clínicos e epidemiológicos dos pacientes diagnosticados em Ribeirão Preto, nas últimas duas décadas. MÉTODOS: Este é um estudo retrospectivo que analisou dados dos pacientes internados por tétano acidental no Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto, entre 1990 e 2009. O diagnóstico do tétano foi realizado segundo critérios do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. RESULTADOS: Onze (47,8%), casos positivos, dos 23 suspeitos de tétano, foram incluídos neste estudo. Não houve mortes, mas dois (18,2%) pacientes apresentaram déficit neurológico permanente. O indicador prognóstico Tetanus Severity Score variou entre 0 a 8 pontos. A mediana da permanência hospitalar foi de 17 dias, variando de 6 a 98 dias. A ausência de óbitos pode ser explicada pelo diagnóstico clinico precoce da doença com instituição imediata de terapia. CONCLUSÕES: Ribeirão Preto é uma área onde o tétano não é um relevante problema de saúde pública.

INTRODUCTION: Tetanus remains a major health problem in developing countries. In Brazil, despite technological advances, no significant decrease in the lethality rate of tetanus have been documented in recent years. Clinical and epidemiological data from patients who were treated in Ribeirão Preto in the state of São Paulo, Brazil in the last two decades were analyzed in this case series. METHODS: Retrospective data regarding the demographics, clinical presentations and prognoses of patients admitted with clinical suspicion of tetanus to a tertiary referral university hospital from 1990 to 2009 were identified. The tetanus diagnosis was defined according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health criteria. RESULTS: Eleven cases out of 23 patients with suspected tetanus were included in this study (47.8% of positive cases). The Tetanus Severity Score ranged from 0 to 8 points. There were no deaths, but two (18.2%) patients had permanent neurological deficits. The median length of hospital stay was 17 days (6-98 days). The absence of deaths can be explained by early clinical diagnosis and prompt treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Ribeirão Preto is an area in which tetanus is not a severe public health problem.