Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit
Cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have worse outcomes, including higher morbidity and mortality than the general population. Protecting this vulnerable group of patients from COVID-19 is of the utmost importance for the continuous operation of an oncology unit. Preventive strategies have been...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/763 |
| _version_ | 1797396774790365184 |
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| author | Michalis Liontos Efstathios Kastritis Christos Markellos Magdalini Migkou Evangelos Eleftherakis-Papaiakovou Konstantinos Koutsoukos Maria Gavriatopoulou Flora Zagouri Theodora Psaltopoulou Evangelos Terpos Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos |
| author_facet | Michalis Liontos Efstathios Kastritis Christos Markellos Magdalini Migkou Evangelos Eleftherakis-Papaiakovou Konstantinos Koutsoukos Maria Gavriatopoulou Flora Zagouri Theodora Psaltopoulou Evangelos Terpos Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos |
| author_sort | Michalis Liontos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have worse outcomes, including higher morbidity and mortality than the general population. Protecting this vulnerable group of patients from COVID-19 is of the utmost importance for the continuous operation of an oncology unit. Preventive strategies have been proposed by various societies, and centers around the world have implemented these or modified measures; however, the efficacy of these measures has not been evaluated. In our center, a referral oncology/hematology unit in Athens, Greece, we implemented strict protective measures from the outset of the pandemic in the country and we have prospectively recorded the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19. Among 11,618 patient visits performed in our unit, 26 patients (case-to-visit ratio of 0.22%) were found positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 4 (1%) among 392 patients that were screened before starting primary systemic treatment. Among patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 22 were symptomatic at the time of diagnosis; subsequently, 12 required hospitalization and 5 died due to COVID-19. Detailed contact tracing indicated that there was no in-unit transmission of the infection. Thus, strict implementation of multilevel protective strategies along with a modestly intense screening program allowed us to continue cancer care in our unit through the pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:57:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37975f1321374e3297b5ca1469585ba3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:57:26Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-37975f1321374e3297b5ca1469585ba32023-12-11T16:49:57ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-02-0113476310.3390/cancers13040763Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology UnitMichalis Liontos0Efstathios Kastritis1Christos Markellos2Magdalini Migkou3Evangelos Eleftherakis-Papaiakovou4Konstantinos Koutsoukos5Maria Gavriatopoulou6Flora Zagouri7Theodora Psaltopoulou8Evangelos Terpos9Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos10Department of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Therapeutics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, Athens 11528, GreeceCancer patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have worse outcomes, including higher morbidity and mortality than the general population. Protecting this vulnerable group of patients from COVID-19 is of the utmost importance for the continuous operation of an oncology unit. Preventive strategies have been proposed by various societies, and centers around the world have implemented these or modified measures; however, the efficacy of these measures has not been evaluated. In our center, a referral oncology/hematology unit in Athens, Greece, we implemented strict protective measures from the outset of the pandemic in the country and we have prospectively recorded the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19. Among 11,618 patient visits performed in our unit, 26 patients (case-to-visit ratio of 0.22%) were found positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 4 (1%) among 392 patients that were screened before starting primary systemic treatment. Among patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 22 were symptomatic at the time of diagnosis; subsequently, 12 required hospitalization and 5 died due to COVID-19. Detailed contact tracing indicated that there was no in-unit transmission of the infection. Thus, strict implementation of multilevel protective strategies along with a modestly intense screening program allowed us to continue cancer care in our unit through the pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/763cancerCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2screening |
| spellingShingle | Michalis Liontos Efstathios Kastritis Christos Markellos Magdalini Migkou Evangelos Eleftherakis-Papaiakovou Konstantinos Koutsoukos Maria Gavriatopoulou Flora Zagouri Theodora Psaltopoulou Evangelos Terpos Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit Cancers cancer COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 screening |
| title | Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit |
| title_full | Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit |
| title_fullStr | Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit |
| title_full_unstemmed | Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit |
| title_short | Continuing Cancer Therapy through the Pandemic While Protecting Our Patients: Results of the Implementation of Preventive Strategies in a Referral Oncology Unit |
| title_sort | continuing cancer therapy through the pandemic while protecting our patients results of the implementation of preventive strategies in a referral oncology unit |
| topic | cancer COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 screening |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/763 |
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