Impact of COVID-19 on Hematology-Oncology Trainees: A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment.

PURPOSE: Graduate medical and research training has drastically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with widespread implementation of virtual learning, redeployment from core rotations to the care of patients with COVID-19, and significant emotional and physical stressors. The specific experience of hematology-oncology (HO) fellows during the COVID-19 pandemic is not known. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study using a survey of Likert-style and open-ended questions to assess the training experience and well-being of HO fellows, including both clinical and postdoctoral trainee members of the American Society of Hematology and ASCO. RESULTS: A total of 2,306 surveys were distributed by e-mail; 548 (23.8%) fellows completed the survey. Nearly 40% of fellows felt that they had not received adequate mental health support during the pandemic, and 22% reported new symptoms of burnout. Pre-existing burnout before the pandemic, COVID-19-related clinical work, and working in a primary research or nonclinical setting were associated with increased burnout on multivariable logistic regression. Qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended responses revealed significant concerns about employment after training completion, perceived variable quality of virtual education and board preparation, loss of clinical opportunities to prepare for independent clinical practice, inadequate grant funding opportunities in part because of shifting research priorities, variable productivity, and mental health or stress during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: HO fellows have been profoundly affected by the pandemic, and our data illustrate multiple avenues for fellowship programs and national organizations to support both clinical and postdoctoral trainees.

Outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19: a report from the ASH Research Collaborative Data Hub.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an illness resulting from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in late 2019. Patients with cancer, and especially those with hematologic malignancies, may be at especially high risk of adverse outcomes, including mortality resulting from COVID-19 infection. The ASH Research Collaborative COVID-19 Registry for Hematology was developed to study features and outcomes of COVID-19 infection in patients with underlying blood disorders, such as hematologic malignancies. At the time of this report, data from 250 patients with blood cancers from 74 sites around the world had been entered into the registry. The most commonly represented malignancies were acute leukemia (33%), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (27%), and myeloma or amyloidosis (16%). Patients presented with a myriad of symptoms, most frequently fever (73%), cough (67%), dyspnea (50%), and fatigue (40%). Use of COVID-19-directed therapies, such as hydroxychloroquine (n = 76) or azithromycin (n = 59), was common. Overall mortality was 28%. Patients with a physician-estimated prognosis from the underlying hematologic malignancy of <12 months at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis and those with relapsed/refractory disease experienced a higher proportion of moderate/severe COVID-19 disease and death. In some instances, death occurred after a decision was made to forgo intensive care unit admission in favor of a palliative approach. Taken together, these data support the emerging consensus that patients with hematologic malignancies experience significant morbidity and mortality resulting from COVID-19 infection. Batch submissions from sites with high incidence of COVID-19 infection are planned to support future analyses.