Assessing the immediate impact of COVID-19 on surgical oncology practice: Experience from an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Northeastern United States.
J Surg Oncol
; 124(1): 7-15, 2021 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33765341
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical oncology practice are not yet quantified. The aim of this study was to measure the immediate impact of COVID-19 on surgical oncology practice volume.METHODS:
A retrospective study of patients treated at an NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center was performed. "Pre-COVID" era was defined as January-February 2020 and "COVID" as March-April 2020. Primary outcomes were clinic visits and operative volume by surgical oncology subspecialty.RESULTS:
Abouyt 907 new patient visits, 3897 follow-up visits, and 644 operations occurred during the study period. All subspecialties experienced significant decreases in new patient visits during COVID, though soft tissue oncology (Mel/Sarc), gynecologic oncology (Gyn/Onc), and endocrine were disproportionately affected. Telehealth visits increased to 11.4% of all visits by April. Mel/Sarc, Gyn/Onc, and Breast experienced significant operative volume decreases during COVID (25.8%, p = 0.012, 43.6% p < 0.001, and 41.9%, p < 0.001, respectively), while endocrine had no change and gastrointestinal oncology had a slight increase (p = 0.823) in the number of cases performed.CONCLUSIONS:
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-ranging within surgical oncology subspecialties. The addition of telehealth is a viable avenue for cancer patient care and should be considered in surgical oncology practice.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Padrões de Prática Médica
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Institutos de Câncer
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Telemedicina
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Oncologia Cirúrgica
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SARS-CoV-2
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COVID-19
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Neoplasias
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article