ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: It has been estimated that 17% of individuals aged 50 years or older suffer from addiction to legal or illegal drugs. Use of alcohol and psychoactive substances has been correlated with several diseases, e.g. psychiatric conditions and cardiovascular and sexual dysfunctions. Objective: To discuss the Brazilian profile of mental and behavioral disorders caused by use of alcohol and psychoactive substances among older adults and elderly people, over the period from 2008 to 2019. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted among Brazilians aged 50 years or older. METHODS: Hospitalization due to mental and behavioral disorders caused by use of alcohol and psychoactive substances was assessed through data obtained from the National Health System Department of Informatics (Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde, DATASUS). RESULTS: Decreasing and steady trends of hospitalization due to mental and behavioral disorders caused by use of alcohol among both men and women at all ages were observed. Similar trends were reported for all age ranges among men and women aged 60 years and older. In contrast, a slight increase was seen among women aged 50 to 59 years. CONCLUSION: These data are crucial for qualifying mental healthcare for older adults and elderly people and for planning mental health services.

Abstract Background The performance characteristics of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test was evaluated at an emergency room setting against RT-PCR, considered the gold-standard for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, in São Paulo, Brazil. The study aimed to determine the sensitivity, specificity, Positive Percent Agreement (PPA), and Negative Percent Agreement (NPA) as compared to RT-PCR. Methods Specimens from 127 suspected patients were tested by both the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test and by RT-PCR. Results In relation to RT-PCR using Ct values ≤ 40 as the upper limit for positivity, the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test showed an overall sensitivity of 84.3% (95% CI 75‒93.8%) and 98.2% (95% CI 96‒98.8%) overall specificity. For Ct values ≤ 25 (n= 37), the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test showed 97% sensitivity. Discussion The concordance between the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test and RT-PCR was 97% at Ct values below 25 but decreased at higher Ct values. For disease control, it is very important to identify infected individuals who present COVID-19 symptoms and also those who are suspected of infection due to contact with infected individuals. Conclusion The Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test is suitable for use as a diagnostic test for rapid screening of patients presenting COVID-19 symptoms, or those suspected of being infected, prior to being admitted to hospital.

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly infectious causing millions of deaths worldwide. Nasopharyngeal swabs are the primary sample of choice for the diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), thus, to decrease the exposure to potentially infected samples through the collection is a key point to reduce the risk of infection in healthcare workers. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and viral load of saliva specimens by days of symptoms onset comparing to nasopharyngeal swabs in subjects with mild symptoms. METHODS Saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs samples were collected from São Paulo Hospital workers presenting mild symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, myalgia, headaches, anosmia, ageusia, and fatigue. To understand the positivity and viral load, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed. FINDINGS Saliva specimens presented a sensitivity of 98.6% compared to nasopharyngeal swabs. Overall, saliva showed lower viral load compared to nasopharyngeal swabs, regarding days of symptoms onset on diagnosis, the first four days had significant changes in viral load and no significant difference was reported in the days five to nine. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Although RT-PCR of saliva has presented a lower viral load compared to nasopharyngeal swabs, saliva specimens are a potential and reliable candidate for COVID-19 diagnosis through RT-PCR.