Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a Portuguese-language version of the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) for use in Brazil. Methods: The steps involved in creating the ESS in Brazilian Portuguese (ESS-BR) were as follows: translation; back-translation; comparison (by a committee) between the translation and the back-translation; and testing in bilingual individuals. The ESS-BR was applied to a group of patients who were submitted to overnight polysomnography in order to identify obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), insomnia and primary snoring. A control group was composed of subjects with a history of normal sleep habits, without reported snoring. Results: A total of 114 patients and 21 controls were included. The 8-item scores of the ESS-BR had an overall reliability coefficient of 0.83. The study group was composed of 59 patients with OSAHS, 34 patients with primary snoring and 21 patients with insomnia. One-way ANOVA demonstrated significant differences in ESS-BR scores among the four diagnostic groups (p < 0.001). Post-hoc tests between groups showed that the ESS-BR scores of the patients with insomnia did not differ from those of the controls (p > 0.05). The ESS-BR scores were significantly higher for OSAHS patients and for primary snorers than for controls (p < 0.05). In addition, the scores for OSAHS patients were significantly higher than were those for primary snorers (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrate that the ESS-BR is a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of daytime sleepiness, equivalent to its original version when applied to individuals who speak Brazilian Portuguese.

Keywords: Validation studies; Sleep disorders; Cross-cultural comparison; Disorders of excessive somnolence.

We report the case of a 74-year-old male patient with a one-year history of chest pain in the suprasternal notch associated with erythema, edema and drainage of purulent material from a fistulous lesion. The patient was HIV-negative with no history of TB. A CT scan of the chest showed an osteolytic lesion in the sternum, and a biopsy revealed caseous granuloma, which, in the microbiological evaluation, was negative for fungi and acid-fast bacilli. The diagnosis of sternal osteomyelitis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis was confirmed using PCR.

Keywords: Thorax; Mycobacterium infections; Tuberculosis, osteoarticular; Sternum; Diagnosis.

Tracheobronchial amyloidosis is an uncommon localized form of amyloidosis, characterized by amyloid deposits restricted to the trachea, main bronchi and segmental bronchi. We present the case of a retired 67-year-old man with long-term progressive dyspnea, wheezing and chest pain. A diagnosis of tracheobronchial amyloidosis was made after the third fiberoptic bronchoscopy and histological confirmation through Congo red staining of tissue samples.

Keywords: Amiloidose/traquéia; Broncoscopia; Doenças da traquéia/diagnóstico.