Juçara Gasparetto Maccari

Objective: To describe the epidemiological, clinical, and seasonal patterns of respiratory viral infections in Southern Brazil between January 2023 and April 2026. Methods: A retrospective observational descriptive study was conducted at a private hospital including laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A (H3N2 and H1N1), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV A and B), rhinovirus, adenovirus, metapneumovirus, enterovirus, bocavirus, parainfluenza viruses, and seasonal coronaviruses. Respiratory pathogens were detected using molecular testing (XGEN MULTI PR24 FLOW CHIP) or rapid antigen detection tests. Demographic, clinical, and temporal data were analyzed according to age group. Results: A total of 18,214 detections were identified. Influenza A was the most frequent pathogen (48.08%), followed by SARS-CoV-2 (23.73%) and RSV A (8.65%). Hospitalization occurred in 20.44% of patients, 21.11% of hospitalized individuals required intensive care, and 2.93% required mechanical ventilation. Adults showed alternating seasonal peaks of influenza A and SARS-CoV-2, with influenza A predominating during colder seasons and SARS-CoV-2 during warmer periods. In children, SARS-CoV-2 incidence was lower, whereas RSV A and other respiratory viruses showed greater circulation. Declines in influenza A and COVID-19 detections were observed during periods that temporally overlapped with national vaccination campaigns; however, vaccination coverage was not assessed in this study. Conclusions: Respiratory viral infections remained frequent in the post-pandemic period, reinforcing the importance of continuous surveillance, seasonal monitoring, and vaccination strategies.

Background/Objective: Breast cancer is one of the leading diseases affecting the Brazilian population and is often diagnosed at advanced stages. Due to its heterogeneity, treatment involves multiple therapeutic modalities, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to characterize the profile of patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer in a private hospital in southern Brazil, and to assess the physical and psychological effects associated with different therapeutic modalities. Methods: An ambidirectional longitudinal cohort study was conducted from September 2018 to December 2024, incorporating retrospective data since 2013. Clinical and therapeutic data were collected, and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) using the QLQ-C30 Summary Score (QLQ-BR23, FACT-ES, BREAST-Q, LMC21) and Symptom Global Score questionnaires were analyzed using mixed-effects models to evaluate physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and overall quality-of-life domains, as well as body image. The temporal trend of time-to-treatment was assessed via linear regression. Results: Among 871 individuals evaluated, 98.4% were female, and invasive ductal carcinoma was the predominant histological type (75.1%). Radiotherapy was one of the most frequently used treatment modalities (39.2%), while immunotherapy had the lowest usage rate (2.7%). A significant reduction in the time between diagnosis and initiation of treatment was observed from 2013 to 2024 (from 21.0 to 10.9 days; p < 0.01), reflecting improvements in healthcare services. Mixed-effects models for PROMs indicated significant improvements across all assessed domains (p < 0.01) over the 48-month follow-up, despite a median follow-up of 22 months. Conclusions: High-quality and timely oncological care provided to breast cancer patients in a private hospital in southern Brazil demonstrates the implementation of a dynamic, agile, and human-centered care model, contributing to improved clinical and patient-reported outcomes validated by robust longitudinal analysis.