Introduction Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with COVID-19, but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty, and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation, and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, IQR 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (>80 vs 18–49: HR 3.57, CI 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 vs 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 vs 1–3: OR 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia, and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusions Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Brazilian women. The new Brazilian guidelines for early detection of breast cancer were drafted on the basis of systematic literature reviews on the possible harms and benefits of various early detection strategies. This article aims to present the recommendations and update the summary of evidence, discussing the main controversies. Breast cancer screening recommendations (in asymptomatic women) were: (i) strong recommendation against mammogram screening in women under 50 years of age; (ii) weak recommendation for mammogram screening in women 50 to 69 years of age; (iii) weak recommendation against mammogram screening in women 70 to 74 years of age; (iv) strong recommendation against mammogram screening in women 75 years or older; (v) strong recommendation that screening in the recommended age brackets should be every two years as opposed to shorter intervals; (vi) weak recommendation against teaching breast self-examination as screening; (vii) absence of recommendation for or against screening with clinical breast examination; and (viii) strong recommendation against screening with magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, thermography, or tomosynthesis alone or as a complement to mammography. The recommendations for early diagnosis of breast cancer (in women with suspicious signs or symptoms) were: (i) weak recommendation for the implementation of awareness-raising strategies for early diagnosis of breast cancer; (ii) weak recommendation for use of selected signs and symptoms in the current guidelines as the criterion for urgent referral to specialized breast diagnosis services; and (iii) weak recommendation that every breast cancer diagnostic workup after the identification of suspicious signs and symptoms in primary care should be done in the same referral center.

The objective of the current article is to present the main challenges for the implementation of the new recommendations for early detection of breast cancer in Brazil, and to reflect on the barriers and the strategies to overcome them. The implementation of evidence-based guidelines is a global challenge, and traditional strategies based only on disseminating their recommendations have proven insufficient for changing prevailing clinical practice. A major challenge for adherence to the new guidelines for early detection of breast cancer in Brazil is the current pattern in the use of mammographic screening in the country, which very often includes young women and a short interval between tests. Such practice, harmful to the population's health, is reinforced by the logic of defensive medicine and the dissemination of erroneous information that overestimates the benefits of screening and underestimates or even omits its harms. In addition, there is a lack of policies and measures focused on early diagnosis of symptomatic cases. To overcome these barriers, changes in the regulation of care, financing, and implementation of shared decision-making in primary care are essential. Audit and feedback, academic detailing, and the incorporation of decision aids are some of the strategies that can facilitate implementation of the new recommendations.

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As national health systems seek to apply breast cancer screening recommendations to an entire population of women (within target age ranges for which there is evidence that screening reduces mortality), the volume of screening tests and resulting diagnostic investigations arising from abnormal test results-and the cost associated with them-will grow dramatically. Population-based early detection (screening) programs will need information systems and management tools to help these programs. This report describes Brazil's highly decentralized health care system and then describes in greater detail how the development and implementation of an information system for Brazil's nationwide breast cancer early detection program was carried out with input from various stakeholders. Challenges encountered in the implementation are shared. Preliminary findings from the first 1.5 million mammograms are presented to demonstrate the kind of provocative management information such a system can yield in a relatively short period of time. The potential of such information systems for improving efficiency, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of early detection programs is emphasized.

Introdução: A necessidade de monitorar o intervalo entre o diagnóstico de uma neoplasia maligna e o início do tratamento oncológico no Sistema Público de Saúde demandou a construção de uma nova ferramenta. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido o PAINEL-Oncologia. Objetivo: Apresentar o processo de elaboração da ferramenta, suas aplicações, potencialidades e limites, apontando ainda perspectivas futuras. Método: O painel foi construído a partir do relacionamento determinístico de informações diagnósticas e de tratamento obtidas no Sistema de Informação Ambulatorial, por meio do Boletim de Produção Ambulatorial Individualizado e da Autorização de Procedimento de Alta Complexidade, no Sistema de Informação Hospitalar e no Sistema de Informações de Câncer, utilizando-se o Cartão Nacional de Saúde e o diagnóstico de neoplasia como chave identificadora do caso. Resultados: A ferramenta disponibiliza três painéis: 1 - Painel: Monitoramento do início do tratamento oncológico, que exclui os cânceres de pele não melanoma e tireoide; 2 - Painel: Casos sem data de diagnóstico por ano de tratamento; e 3 - Painel: Casos diagnosticados de câncer de pele não melanoma e tireoide; e um conjunto de gráficos e tabelas com filtros para seleção. Conclusão: O PAINEL-Oncologia foi disponibilizado aos gestores e a órgãos de controle em 15 de maio de 2019. Trata-se de uma ferramenta ágil e acessível ao gestor para o monitoramento do tempo do primeiro tratamento do câncer. Contudo, as informações apresentadas no PAINEL-Oncologia dependem do registro e da qualidade das informações dos Sistemas de Informação em Saúde dos quais ele consome informações.

Introdução: O exame citopatológico é a estratégia mais adotada no mundo para o rastreamento do câncer do colo do utero e a única que teve impacto comprovado na redução da incidência e da mortalidade por essa doença. Garantir a qualidade desse procedimento e uma prioridade para a efetividade do Programa de Controle do Cancer do Colo do Útero no Brasil. Objetivo: Apresentar o perfil dos laboratorios de citopatologia cervicouterina no ano de 2010 para todos os Estados brasileiros e o Distrito Federal, analisando alguns indicadores de Monitoramento Interno da Qualidade (MIQ). Método: As informações contidas no Sistema de Informação do Câncer do Colo do Útero (SISCOLO ) referentes a 2010, por Unidade da Federação, foram utilizadas para o cálculo dos indicadores de qualidade estudados. Resultados: O Brasil possui um grande quantitativo de prestadores de serviço de citopatologia concentrados em faixas de positividades abaixo de 2,0%. Parte dos casos positivos registrados no sistema não traziam conclusão diagnóstica devido aos elevados percentuais de atipias de significado indeterminado em células escamosas. Outra evidencia constatada foi a baixa capacidade da rede laboratorial para a identificação de lesões intraepiteliais de alto grau. Conclusão: Os resultados apontam para o risco de não identificação dos casos sugestivos de alteração celular e alertam para a possibilidade de emissão de laudos falsos -negativos. E importante implementar programas de controle de qualidade do exame citopatológico. O estudo serve de auxílio aos gestores na organização da rede de laboratorios.

O objetivo do presente artigo é apresentar um panorama geral da evolução da organização da atenção oncológica ao longo da história do SUS.