Brazilian Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Chatbot, ChatGPT: artificial intelligence and/or business intelligence and/or robotic untruths, for now

2023-03-07T14:15:25-03:00

The authors, like most humans on the planet at all times, go through many profound transformations throughout their lives.

Let's imagine hominids starting to master fire more than a million years ago. Inventing the wheel, writing, navigating the seas, inventing the light bulb, motor vehicles, Santos Dumont's plane, telex, teleradiography, and so many other things that for each era, it was unimaginable such an advance would be incorporated into daily of human life.

Today, in 2023, we are facing a computerized conversation through the world wide web, the internet. For now, called artificial intelligence – AI, chatbot.

How much will this technology add benefits in the health area?

When will this technology spread untruths?

How much will people blindly follow the information and experience huge gains and marked problems, side effects?

In these dialogues with the various chatbots already being made available, free or with payment of monthly fees, can these computer programs, after several human-AI arguments, write that, for the situations presented in a given conversation, suicide is plausible conduct?

The concerns of the authors are concerns that are valid in March 2023.

The editorial tests conversations. And time will show us how to learn, teach, live together, and transform this artificial intelligence.

Chlamydia trachomatis Female Genital Tract Infections: Memorium to Professor Per-Anders Mardh

2023-01-10T16:30:21-03:00

Editorial

The The responsibility and importance of clinical registration: a case of congenital syphilis in Early Holocene as an example

2023-02-03T10:19:16-03:00

Letter to the editor

A new proposal in the approach of vulvovaginitis

2023-02-17T09:40:36-03:00

The authors report on a recently published review article on the approach to vulvovaginitis through flowcharts, 
taking into account the peculiarities of each service, according to the diagnostic methods that are available.

Prevalence of HPV infection and cervical intraepithelial lesions in HIV positive and negative women in the city of Florianopolis

2022-11-23T17:25:05-03:00

Introduction: HPV infection is the most frequent sexually transmitted infection in women. The high oncogenic risk HPV, associated with others factors, there are a risk of progressing to a precancerous lesion of the cervix and even cancer. This evolution is related to the persistence of the infection and other factors, mainly those that interfere with the woman's immunity. The immunosuppression caused by HIV infection is an important factor for viral persistence and the appearance of these lesions. Objectives: To compare the prevalence of HPV infection and cervical intraepithelial lesions in HIV-positive and negative women and describe the possible associated risk factors. Methods: The sample consisted of 50 HIV positive women (study group) and 50 HIV negative women (control group) recruited from the public health system of Florianópolis during the months of January to April 2022. Cervical samples were collected for cytological analysis and for detection of high-risk oncogenic HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test, with a significance level set at 5% Results: HPV infection was more prevalent in the control group, however, HIV positive women had a higher frequency of intraepithelial lesions diagnosed on cytology. Factors such as greater number of sexual partners, depression and smoking were more frequent in the group of HIV positive women. The number of CD4 T cells less than 200 cels/mm³ was associated with a higher number of altered Pap smears and a positive HPV DNA test. The use of combination antiretroviral therapy and undetectable viral load were associated with a greater number of normal cytology and undetected HPV DNA. Conclusion: The prevalence of cervical intraepithelial lesions in HIV-infected women is higher than in women without infection. The presence of HIV infection was the most important risk factor associated with the development of cervical lesions.

Situational analysis of syphilis cases taking place between 2015 and 2021 in the state of Rio Grande do Norte - Brazil

2022-09-14T14:04:01-03:00

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that represents a severe public health problem worldwide and in Brazil it has not been different. The national compulsory notifications regarding syphilis cases are significantly increasing, and therefore, this fact alone justifies the study of such a relevant subject. Objective: This work presents a situational analysis of syphilis cases in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, between 2015 and 2021, aiming primarily at assisting public healthcare authorities in decision-making processes to cope with the disease. Concomitantly, this research aims to build knowledge as well as to provide awareness to the population. Methods: This study analyzed data from compulsory notifications reports from 2015 to 2021, available in the database of the Brazilian Unified Health System’s Informatics Department, in the Brazilian Information System of Notifiable Diseases and in the Brazilian Health Surveillance Secretariat. Results: In the state, 70% of patients with syphilis are aged 15 to 39 years. The rate of patients affected with acquired syphilis that have low education is 48%, and for pregnant women, this value rises to 77%. The declared mixed-race patients represent 48% of notifications for acquired syphilis, and for mixed-race pregnant women, this value increases to 60%. In congenital syphilis, 98% of compulsory notifications occurred for children aged up to 7 days of birth. Conclusion: Syphilis in Rio Grande do Norte is a public health problem that mainly affects the vulnerable population, predominantly the groups at risk with low education, mixed race, and young-adult people, being of paramount importance to combat the disease through population awareness, as well as through constant and adequate compulsory notification.

Clinical manifestations of syphilis in the oral cavity — a review

2022-12-16T20:21:42-03:00

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum bacterium, which impact on a significant increase in contagions reported worldwide, bringing up the need of urgent actions to ensure the control, treatment, and diagnosis of the disease. Objective: Given this context, this work presents a bibliographical review on syphilis, aiming to describe the most common oral manifestations that occur on the four stages of this infection. Methods: For the literature review, the searches were carried out in the PubMed, Science Direct, Scientific Electronic Library Online, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature and databases of Virtual Health Library. Results: Regarding the primary syphilis, the main clinical manifestations in the oral cavity include chancres in the palate, buccal mucosa, tongue, and lips. In the secondary stage, the presence of diffuse and nonspecific oral lesions was identified. In tertiary syphilis, stomatitis and glossitis are present, being the hard palate and the tongue the main affected regions. In congenital syphilis, the patients are affected with dental and jaw malformations. Conclusion: The clinical manifestations of syphilis in the oral cavity can appear at any stage of the infection, being the oral cavity the second most affected region by this sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, the knowledge regarding this subject is extremely important for health professionals, as well as for the population, being essential to carry out the correct diagnosis and adequate treatment for the rapid cure of this infection.

Prevalence and factors associated with bacterial vaginosis in women in Brazil: a systematic review

2022-10-06T14:13:13-03:00

Introduction: Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by the imbalance of the vaginal flora, with decrease in Lactobacillus and increase in other bacteria. Objective: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with bacterial vaginosis. Methods: Systematic review based on the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, filed in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. The research was conducted in the PubMed and Scopus databases in September 2021. After reading the titles and abstracts of 84 articles and the full text of 20 articles, 10 of them were included in the review. The articles were considered eligible if they investigated the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis and used Amsel's diagnostic criteria or Gram-stained bacterioscopy in women of reproductive age without comorbidities. The studies were evaluated by two investigators to establish reliability. The risk of bias and the quality of the selected studies were evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. Results: The mean prevalence of bacterial vaginosis in the included studies was 25.4% (95%CI 24.0–26.8). In three population-based studies, the mean prevalence was 18.1% (95%CI 16.0–20.5); and in seven clinic-based studies, it was 27.2% (95%CI 24.6–29.9). The factors associated with bacterial vaginosis were the use of sex accessories (OR 2.4; 95%CI 1.1–4.9), marital status “single” (OR 1.4; 95%CI 1.1–1.8), partner infidelity (OR 1.5; 95%CI 1.2–1.9), abnormal vaginal secretion (OR 1.5; 95%CI 1.2–2.0), and the presence of trichomoniasis (OR 4.1; 95%CI 1.5–11.5). Conclusion: The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis was high, and the associated factors are linked to sexual behavior.

Per-Anders Mardh, we thank you for your generosity and your existence

2023-01-18T14:42:52-03:00

Letter from The Editors