Publications by authors named "Susana Cabral"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare COVID-19 patient characteristics, clinical management, and outcomes during the peak (weeks 10-16) and plateau (weeks 17-34) phases of the first pandemic wave in Portugal.
  • A total of 541 adult patients, mostly male with a median age of 65, were analyzed, showing no significant differences in age, initial health scores, and 28-day mortality between the two periods.
  • Key findings indicated fewer comorbidities, higher use of certain treatments (like vasopressors and invasive ventilation) during the peak, whereas the plateau saw increased use of different therapies like remdesivir and corticosteroids and shorter ICU stays.
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Fifteen years after the initial detection of Rickettsia slovaca in ticks in Portugal, 3 autochthonous cases of R. slovaca infection were diagnosed in humans. All patients had an eschar on the scalp and lymphadenopathy; 2 patients had facial edema.

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Volcanoes produce and release large amounts of toxicants, and the concentration of metals in hair can be used as a biomarker of exposure to trace metals. In order to investigate whether humans exposed to volcanic emissions demonstrate higher concentrations of essential and non-essential trace metals, scalp hair of men (3-89 years) living in two areas of the Azores, one exposed to volcanic emissions and the other not, was sampled, and their content in Cd, Cu, Pb, Rb, Se, and Zn was quantified by using High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. In average, men exposed to volcanic emissions presented higher concentrations of Cd (96.

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