Background Strategies to mitigate the impact of COVID‐19 in special populations are complex and challenging. Few studies have addressed the impact of COVID‐19 on pediatric patients with cancer in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Methods Multicenter observational cohort study with prospective records and retrospective analyses starting in April 2020 in 21 pediatric oncology centers distributed throughout Brazil. Participants: Patients under 18 years of age who are infected by the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus (confirmed diagnosis through reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction [RT‐PCR]) while under treatment at pediatric oncology centers. The variables of interest included clinical symptoms, diagnostic and therapeutic measures. The repercussions of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection on cancer treatment and general prognosis were monitored. Results One hundred seventy‐nine patients were included (median age 6 [4–13] years, 58% male). Of these, 55.9% had acute leukemia and 34.1% had solid tumors. The presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 was diagnosed by RT‐PCR. Various laboratory markers were analyzed, but showed no correlation with outcome. Children with low or high BMI for age had lower overall survival (71.4% and 82.6%, respectively) than those with age‐appropriate BMI (92.7%) ( p = .007). The severity of presentation at diagnosis was significantly associated with outcome ( p < .001). Overall mortality in the presence of infection was 12.3% ( n = 22). Conclusion In children with cancer and COVID‐19, lower BMI was associated with worse prognosis. The mortality in this group of patients (12.3%) was significantly higher than that described in the pediatric population overall (∼1%).

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Summary Our group recently showed that the (ASNase) formulation available in Brazil from 2017 to 2018 when used at the same dose and frequency as the formulation provided previously did not reach the activity considered therapeutic. Based on these, our goal was to assess the impact of these facts on the prognosis of children with ALL at different oncology centers. A multicentre retrospective observational study followed by a prospective follow‐up. Patients aged >1 and <18 years in first‐line treatment followed up at 10 referral centres, between 2014 and 2018 who received the formulation Leuginase® were identified (Group B). For each patient, the centre registered 2 patients who received ASNase in the presentation of Aginasa® exclusively (Group A). Data collection was registered using (Redcap®). A total of 419 patients were included; 282 in Group A and 137 in B. Group A had a 3‐year OS and EFS of 91·8% and 84·8% respectively, while Group B had a 3‐year OS of 83·8% (P = 0·003) and EFS of 76·1% (P = 0·008). There was an impact on 3‐year OS and EFS of children who received a formulation. This result highlights the importance of evaluating ASNase and monitoring its activity.

Remoción de zinc (II) de soluciones acuosas usando cáscara de yuca (Manihot esculenta): experimentos en columna RESUMENSe realizó un estudio en una columna de lecho fijo a escala de laboratorio para determinar el comportamiento del tiempo de ruptura para la adsorción de zinc (II) en soluciones acuosas usando como lecho cáscara de yuca (Manihot esculenta), la cual fue pretratada y posteriormente caracterizada. Se evaluó la influencia de la variación de parámetros como la altura del lecho (7 -23 cm), la concentración inicial de zinc (II) (132 -468 mg/L) y el flujo de alimentación (7 -23 mL/min) para determinar el comportamiento del tiempo de ruptura. Los resultados de los experimentos muestran que hay un mayor rendimiento cuando se utilizan el flujo de alimentación y la concentración inicial más bajos, así como la mayor altura del lecho con cáscara de yuca. El tiempo de ruptura óptimo (25 min) se alcanza con una concentración inicial de zinc de 480.23 mg/L, un caudal de alimentación de 23.35 mL/min y una altura de lecho de 12.86 cm, que constituyen la mejor configuración de parámetros. Adicionalmente, se determinó que el comportamiento del tiempo de ruptura puede ser completamente predicho en los rangos de interés por el modelo BDST. Palabras claves;Remoción; zinc; Cáscara de yuca; Columna de lecho fijo; Tiempo de ruptura. ABSTRACTA study was developed in a fixed bed column at laboratory scale to determine the adsorption capacity of zinc (II) in aqueous solutions using cassava peel (Manihot esculenta) as adsorbent, which was pretreated and then characterized. It was evaluated the influence of several variables such as height bed (7 -23 cm), initial concentration of zinc (II) (132 -468 mg/L) and flow of the feed solution (7 -23 mL/min) to determine the behavior of the removal process. Results showed that there was a better performance when the lowest flow of the feed stream, the lowest initial concentration, and the largest height of cassava peel bed were employed. The optimal rupture time is reached at an initial concentration of 480.23 mg/L, a feed rate of 23.35 mL/min and a height of cassava peel bed of 12.86 cm and it corresponds to 25.01 min. Additionally, it was determined that the rupture time behavior could be completely predicted in the intervals of interest by the BDST model.