What Has Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic? - The Effect on an Academic Breast Department in Portugal.

Introduction: One year ago, Portugal entered its first lockdown because of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The impact of this on delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment is a major concern, which may negatively affect the outcomes of these patients.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective, single-center analysis compared the clinical and pathological characteristics of breast cancer (BC) patients referred to a medical oncology first appointment between March 2020 and 2021, with the same period in the previous year.

Sickle cell disease in children: chronic complications and search of predictive factors for adverse outcomes.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) has extremely variable phenotypes, and several factors have been associated with the severity of the disease.

Objectives: To analyze the chronic complications of SCD and look for predictive risk factors for increased severity and number of complications.

Methods: Retrospective study including all children followed for SCD in the Paediatric Haematology Unit of a tertiary hospital in Portugal, who completed 17 yr old between the years 2004 and 2013.