1. The Negative Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Oncology Care at an Academic Cancer Referral Center
- Author
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Nakayama, John, Wang, Gi-Ming, Cioffi, Gino, Waite, Kristin A., Patil, Nirav, Kyasaram, Ravi Kumar, Shanahan, John, Caimi, Paolo, and Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S.
- Subjects
Oncology, Experimental -- Analysis ,Epidemics -- Analysis ,Radiation -- Analysis ,Cancer -- Analysis -- Research ,Health - Abstract
OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 created unexpected delays in oncologic treatment. This study sought to assess the volume of missed cancer-related services due to the pandemic. METHODS: This case-controlled trial evaluated more than 345,000 oncologic clinic, lab, and radiation appointments from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2020, and surgery appointments from January 1, 2019, through October 31, 2020. All patients at the Seidman Cancer Center with a cancer diagnosis based on a comprehensive list of 2178 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition (ICD-9) and ICD-10 codes were included in the analysis. Subgroup analyses based on age, race, and sex were also performed. RESULTS: Clinic, lab, and surgical visit cancellations increased by 4.20% (P CONCLUSIONS: There was a large increase in cancelled oncologic care in 2020, which has implications for delayed diagnosis and treatment. This was especially true for patients older than 65 years and for women. These delays could result in patients presenting with more advanced disease, complicating morbidities, and ultimately worse long-term outcomes., Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented situation pitting the urgent need to appropriately treat patients with cancer against the unknown level of risk of subjecting patients to immunosuppressive therapies [...] more...
- Published
- 2021