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Objective: To investigate the prevalence of chronic symptoms among patients who underwent breast cancer treatment, and to determine the factors that might be related to these symptoms. Material and Methods: A questionnaire was applied to 87 patients undergoing breast cancer follow-up. It evaluated the length of time since treatment, therapeutic procedure (type of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and/or endocrine therapy), use of analgesic medication, location and intensity of pain and presence of paresthesia, fatigue and upper-limb edema. Results: The patients’ mean age was 54.46 years; the mean interval between locoregional treatment and the interview was 52.95 months. The prevalence of paresthesia symptoms was 65.5 percent; fatigue, 49.4 percent; edema, 31 percent; and pain, 31 percent. From multivariate analysis, we observed that fatigue was influenced by mastectomy (OR = 2.680; 95 percent CI = 1.127 - 6.373), radiotherapy (OR = 3.028; 95 percent CI = 1.142 - 8.030) and chemotherapy (OR = 5.271; 95 percent CI = 1.067 - 26.034), and was lower among patients who underwent endocrine therapy (OR = 0.407; 95 percent CI = 0.171 - 0.967). Paresthesia, edema and pain were not influenced by any of the therapeutic types. Conclusions: There was high prevalence of complaints among the patients who had undergone breast cancer treatment. Fatigue was the only symptom influenced by the different treatments.

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JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: O infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM) está associado com extensa resposta inflamatória sistêmica e miocárdica. A proteína C-reativa (PCR) é uma proteína de fase aguda que está sendo considerada como marcador padrão-ouro para inflamação e para doença de artéria coronária. A PCR também pode refletir o grau de resposta inflamatória oculta, bem como uma medida útil para a lesão imune tecidual e indicar aterosclerose; entretanto, a correlação entre a área enfartada e os níveis de PCR não está bem definida. O objetivo deste estudo foi discutir as correlações entre os níveis de PCR e as complicações do IAM. CONTEÚDO: A PCR tem alta sensibilidade para predição de risco cardiovascular. Observou-se aumento da taxa de eventos cardíacos maiores após IAM e aumento significativo (p < 0,0001) da incidência de fibrilação atrial (FA) à medida que se aumenta a concentração de PCR. CONCLUSÃO: A maioria das FA ocorreu na fase aguda da resposta ao infarto. Observou-se que os níveis de PCR pós-infarto maiores que 2,55 mg/dL identificaram pacientes de alto risco para evento isquêmico e que a PCR elevada está associada com grande aumento do risco de insuficiência cardíaca e morte durante o primeiro ano pós-infarto.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with an extended myocardial and systemic inflammatory response. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that has been shown to be the gold standard marker for inflammation and coronary artery disease. The CRP may also reflect the degree of underlying inflammatory response, provide a useful measurement of immune injury to tissues and indicate atherosclerosis; however, the relation between the infarct area and CRP levels is not well defined. The objective of this study was to discuss the correlation between CRP levels and AMI complications. CONTENTS: CRP is highly sensitive in predicting cardiovascular risk. An increased rate of cardiac events after AMI and significantly (p < 0.0001) increased frequency of atrial fibrillation (AF) have been noted as the concentration of CRP increases. CONCLUSION: Most atrial fibrillation happens during the acute phase response to infarction. It has been noted that there is a high risk of an ischemic event among patients with post-infarction CRP levels above 2.55 mg/dL and that increased CRP is associated with a large increase in the risk of heart failure and death during the first year after infarction.

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