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The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess the profile of allergist/immunologist (A/I) physicians in Brazil, the workplace, the access to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional practice. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey. All adhe...

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Autores principales: de Mello, Luane Marques, Serpa, Faradiba Sarquis, Chiabai, Joseane, Fernandes, Fátima Rodrigues, Chong-Neto, Herberto José, Sarinho, Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti, Rubini, Norma de Paula Motta, Solé, Dirceu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9347215/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35935019
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2022.933816
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author de Mello, Luane Marques
Serpa, Faradiba Sarquis
Chiabai, Joseane
Fernandes, Fátima Rodrigues
Chong-Neto, Herberto José
Sarinho, Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti
Rubini, Norma de Paula Motta
Solé, Dirceu
author_facet de Mello, Luane Marques
Serpa, Faradiba Sarquis
Chiabai, Joseane
Fernandes, Fátima Rodrigues
Chong-Neto, Herberto José
Sarinho, Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti
Rubini, Norma de Paula Motta
Solé, Dirceu
author_sort de Mello, Luane Marques
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: To assess the profile of allergist/immunologist (A/I) physicians in Brazil, the workplace, the access to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional practice. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey. All adhering members of the Brazilian Association of Allergy and Immunology (ASBAI) received a Google Forms tool by email. The questionnaire addressed sociodemographic and professional aspects of the Brazilian allergists/immunologists (A/I) daily routine. The information was analyzed by SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Four hundred and sixty members answered the questionnaire. Women were predominant among the responders (336; 73%), and the median age was 47 years (range, 27–82 years). Most participants worked in the private sector (437, 95%), whereas 256 (47%) worked in the public sector. Among the public sector employees, 210 (82%) reported having access to some diagnostic test for allergic diseases and inborn errors of immunity. Only 91 (35%) A/I physicians in the public system had access to allergen-specific immunotherapy, compared to 416 (95, 9%) of those in the private sector. Regarding biological drugs, 135 (52.7%) and 314 (71.9%) of the A/I physicians working in the public and private sector, respectively, reported access. Two hundred and eighty-three (61.6%) had at least a 50% reduction in the number of consultations, and 245 (56%) provided telemedicine care during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Brazilian A/I have incorporated the most recent advances in managing immunoallergic diseases into their clinical practice, but they still have little access to various diagnostic methods. Strategies to enable the presence of A/I in public health services should be discussed and implemented. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the incorporation of telemedicine as a viable and promising method of medical care and can expand access to the specialty.
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spelling pubmed-93472152022-08-04 The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil de Mello, Luane Marques Serpa, Faradiba Sarquis Chiabai, Joseane Fernandes, Fátima Rodrigues Chong-Neto, Herberto José Sarinho, Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti Rubini, Norma de Paula Motta Solé, Dirceu Front Allergy Allergy OBJECTIVE: To assess the profile of allergist/immunologist (A/I) physicians in Brazil, the workplace, the access to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional practice. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey. All adhering members of the Brazilian Association of Allergy and Immunology (ASBAI) received a Google Forms tool by email. The questionnaire addressed sociodemographic and professional aspects of the Brazilian allergists/immunologists (A/I) daily routine. The information was analyzed by SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Four hundred and sixty members answered the questionnaire. Women were predominant among the responders (336; 73%), and the median age was 47 years (range, 27–82 years). Most participants worked in the private sector (437, 95%), whereas 256 (47%) worked in the public sector. Among the public sector employees, 210 (82%) reported having access to some diagnostic test for allergic diseases and inborn errors of immunity. Only 91 (35%) A/I physicians in the public system had access to allergen-specific immunotherapy, compared to 416 (95, 9%) of those in the private sector. Regarding biological drugs, 135 (52.7%) and 314 (71.9%) of the A/I physicians working in the public and private sector, respectively, reported access. Two hundred and eighty-three (61.6%) had at least a 50% reduction in the number of consultations, and 245 (56%) provided telemedicine care during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Brazilian A/I have incorporated the most recent advances in managing immunoallergic diseases into their clinical practice, but they still have little access to various diagnostic methods. Strategies to enable the presence of A/I in public health services should be discussed and implemented. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the incorporation of telemedicine as a viable and promising method of medical care and can expand access to the specialty. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-07-18 /pmc/articles/PMC9347215/ /pubmed/35935019 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2022.933816 Text en Copyright © 2022 de Mello, Serpa, Chiabai, Fernandes, Chong-Neto, Sarinho, Rubini and Solé. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Allergy
de Mello, Luane Marques
Serpa, Faradiba Sarquis
Chiabai, Joseane
Fernandes, Fátima Rodrigues
Chong-Neto, Herberto José
Sarinho, Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti
Rubini, Norma de Paula Motta
Solé, Dirceu
The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title_full The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title_fullStr The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title_full_unstemmed The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title_short The specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in Brazil
title_sort specialty of allergy and clinical immunology in brazil
topic Allergy
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9347215/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35935019
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2022.933816
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