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OBJECTIVE COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-19) was the name given to a novel pneumonia outbreak that occurred in Wuhan (Hubei province, China) in December 2019. For patients undergoing or scheduled for radiation therapy, radiation oncology (RO) departments were required to adjust their management protocols to maintain their ability to provide optimal care. The present survey study assesses the change in the daily practices of Turkish radiation oncologists. METHODS An online questionnaire was developed in Google Forms and sent out to oncologists registered with the Turkish society for RO. A total of 98 radiation oncologists completed the online questionnaire after three reminders were sent to the recipients over the course of 1 week. RESULTS After the pandemic has started, 65% of radiation oncologists moved their wards and outpatient clinics to different hospital units, resulting in an approximate 70% decline in the delivery of patient services in RO. Since the beginning of the pandemic in Turkiye, 52% of radiation oncologists have not been assigned to services related to COVID-19. Around half of the radiation oncologists surveyed stated that they were shunned by the society due to fear of transmitting the COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSION Further studies are needed to steer the creation of new regulations related to radiation oncologists, to be applied in the event of such emergencies as the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2022, Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology.
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Purpose: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was defined in China, leading an outbreak, impacted the organization, and maintained cancer care. Although the alterations of cancer treatment maintenance were evaluated, the difference in physicians' side was not determined. In this survey study, we tried to assess the alteration of Turkish oncologists' daily practice. Methods: An online survey was prepared via Google forms and sent to oncologists registered to the Turkish Society of Medical Oncology. One hundred twenty-eight oncologists answered the online survey. Results: Twenty-three percent of the oncologists moved their facilities to another place in the hospital after the pandemic, which was resulted in nearly 90% of worse patient services. Seventy percent of the oncologists did not receive any duties on COVID-19 services after Turkey's first case. Thirty-one percent of the oncologists stated their oncology practice was disturbed by working in the COVID-19 services. Three oncologists accepted they were responsible for cross-infection to oncology patients. Eighty-five percent of the oncologists declared oncology practice was disturbed by the other specialists' assignment in COVID-19 services. The leading areas were general surgery, pulmonary diseases, and ENT, according to oncologists. Twenty-two percent of the oncologists needed to send their patients to other oncology clinics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Although oncologists tolerated oncological patient management alterations, the prolonged pandemic situation may harm oncology practice via the loss of oncologists' motivation and incomplete multi-disciplinary patient management. There is a need for follow-up studies to evaluate the situation for the alternation in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Aim: Although limited risk factors were observed with the accumulated evidence during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is still a lack of evidence for markers distinguishing asymptomatic-mild disease from severe disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of sarcopenia and visceral adipose tissue in ICU patients treated for COVID-19. Material and Methods: The study designed as a retrospective cross-sectional study for evaluating the effect of prognostic radiologic features in COVID-19 infected patients. The patient characteristics, intubation status and dates, transfer to ICU, and last control or death dates were recorded. Axial CT images, including all abdominal muscles, total skeletal muscle area, were calculated. The total and psoas sarcopenia index (PSI) was calculated by dividing the square of the patient’s height by the square meter (cm2/m2). Also, axial CT images of the body fat subcutaneous adipose and visceral adipose tissue distribution areas were calculated in cm2 using threshold values of-30 to-190 for adipose tissue. Results: In the study population, there were nine deaths that occurred among male patients. In univariate analysis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and PSI were found to be related to prognosis. The median survival was 14 days in PSI low group. The prognostic effect of the PSI was still valid in the male population. Other factors had no relationship with survival in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, the prognostic effect of TSI and PSI was related to prognosis, while COPD lost its prognostic effect. Discussion: In this study, we found a new prognostic factor in critically ill COVID-19 patients, which may be a new area of interest. In contrast to other studies, we found no effect of BMI and visceral adipose tissue on mortality in COVID-19 patients treated in ICU. This feasible method needs further evaluation and validation with prospective studies in a large patient population.
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SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded RNA spherical virus spikes formed by glycoproteins. The leading cause of death was linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocardial injury, or renal failure. After the first case reported on the 11th of March in Turkey Ministry of Health and Interior declared some regulations on the public, such as travel restrictions, traffic restrictions, social distancing homes, and centralized quarantine. Although chemotherapy adherence is a highly studied area for both oral and intravenous agents in cancer patients, no available data exist in a pandemic world with many social restrictions. The records of patients who have active cancer treatment in the department of medical oncology retrospectively analyzed. The age, gender, diagnosis, chemotherapy type, rendezvous, and coming dates recorded. Four chemotherapy delays (3.7%) were observed out of 52 patients before the 11th of March 2020, while 43 chemotherapy delays (39,8%9) occurred out of 107 patients after the first COVID-19 case and the restrictions in Turkey. Twenty patients had treatment delay without reason and did not show up for treatment on the day of chemotherapy. The treatment delays without reasons are significantly different in the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic era. The hematologic toxicity rates were similar when compared pre and post COVID-19 period. The non-specific regulations and declarations confuse the patients and prevent them from reaching the treatment which is needed. In the case of pandemic regulations, oncologic patients may have special considerations for government decisions. © 2020, UHOD - Uluslararasi Hematoloji Onkoloji Dergisi. All rights reserved.