Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Single-Center Experience

"Background: Cancer patients represent one of the most challenging group to care for during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this study, we aim to present the experience of our Oncology Department during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: The activity of our Oncology Department was retrospectively analyzed from 16th March to 15th December 2020 to investigate how the organizational changes related to Covid-19 pandemic influenced the oncological activity in comparison with the same period in 2019. We also assessed the cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections observed among patients and oncology health professionals from our department. Results: We report an important shift of the oncology activity at our department. The number of inpatients decreased by 50% while the number of treatments administered in the outpatient treatment unit decreased by 13%. We performed 4775 swabbing tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in 1147 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients before receiving treatment or undergoing imaging examinations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected in 68 (5.9%) patients. Most of the patients were asymptomatic at the moment of the diagnosis (60%). Two patients were admitted to the intensive therapy unit; 12 had severe pneumonia and were hospitalized. All the other patients had a mild form of Covid-19 and were referred to home-based management, according to the local practice and clinical indications. Four patients died of Covid-19 related complications and 32 patients have already resumed their oncological treatment. Conclusion: Our experience demonstrates that timely adoption of protective measures and coordinated efforts of all medical staff can lead to effective protection of Journal of Medical and Radiation Oncology Journal homepage: www.jmedradonc.org Original research 36 patients with cancer and healthcare professionals, while minimally disrupting adequate cancer care. Methods: The activity of our Oncology Department was retrospectively analyzed from 16th March to 15th December 2020 to investigate how the organizational changes related to Covid-19 pandemic influenced the oncological activity in comparison with the same period in 2019. We also assessed the cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections observed among patients and oncology health professionals from our department. Results: We report an important shift of the oncology activity at our department. The number of inpatients decreased by 50% while the number of treatments administered in the outpatient treatment unit decreased by 13%. We performed 4775 swabbing tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in 1147 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients before receiving treatment or undergoing imaging examinations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected in 68 (5.9%) patients. Most of the patients were asymptomatic at the moment of the diagnosis (60%). Two patients were admitted to the intensive therapy unit; 12 had severe pneumonia and were hospitalized. All the other patients had a mild form of Covid-19 and were referred to home-based management, according to the local practice and clinical indications. Four patients died of Covid-19 related complications and 32 patients have already resumed their oncological treatment. Conclusion: Our experience demonstrates that timely adoption of protective measures and coordinated efforts of all medical staff can lead to effective protection of Journal of Medical and Radiation Oncology Journal homepage: www.jmedradonc.org Original research 36 patients with cancer and healthcare professionals, while minimally disrupting adequate cancer care."