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Review
. 2020 May 27;5(4):644-650.
doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2020.04.039. eCollection 2020 Jul-Aug.

Radiation Therapy Department Reorganization during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak: Keys to Securing Staff and Patients During the First Weeks of the Crisis and Impact on Radiation Therapy Practice from a Single Institution Experience

Yazid Belkacemi  1   2   3   4 , Gokoulakrichenane Loaganadane  1   2   4 , Noémie Grellier  1   3 , Gloria Fonteneau  1 , Gaël Zaoui  1 , Gabriele Coraggio  1   3 , Asma Hadhri  1   3 , Marie Adou  1 , Jerôme Bendavid  1 , Angela Boros  1 , Sahar Ghith  1   3 , Kamel Debbi  1   3 , Pauline Cadot  1 , Adeline Bak  1 , Cindy Le Bret  1 , Wissal Hassani  1   3 , Mathilde Mahé  1 , Marie-Laure Hervé  1 , Laurianne Colson-Durand  1 , Nhu Hanh To  1   2   4 , Deng Feng Luo  1   4 , Aziz Cherif  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Radiation Therapy Department Reorganization during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak: Keys to Securing Staff and Patients During the First Weeks of the Crisis and Impact on Radiation Therapy Practice from a Single Institution Experience

Yazid Belkacemi et al. Adv Radiat Oncol. .

Abstract

Purpose: During the first weeks of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in France, it was necessary to clearly define organizational priorities in the radiation therapy (RT) departments. In this report, we focus on the urgent measures taken to reduce risk for both our staff and patients by reducing the number of patients receiving treatment.

Methods and materials: We reviewed the fractionation schemes for all patients in our department, including those receiving treatment and those soon to start treatment. Our goals were to (1) decrease the number of patients coming daily to the hospital for RT, (2) adapt our human resources to continue patients' care in the department, and (3) help to cover understaffed COVID-19 sectors of the hospital.

Results: We identified 50 patients who were receiving treatment (n = 6), were going to start radiation after CT scan simulation (n = 41), or for whom the CT scan was pending (n = 3). The majority were women (64%) treated for breast cancer (54%). RT was delayed for 22 (44%) patients. The majority were offered hormone therapy as "waiting therapy." Hypofractionation was considered in 21 (42%) patients mainly with breast cancer (18 of 21, 86%). The number of courses initially planned and replanned as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak during the period of March 15 to May 31, 2020, were 1383 and 683, respectively, which represented a reduction of 50% (including delayed sessions) that allowed our reorganization process.

Conclusions: To conserve resources during the pandemic, we successfully reduced the number of patients receiving treatment in a proactive fashion and adapted our organization to minimize the risk of COVID-19 contamination. Departments across the world may benefit from this same approach.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of radiation courses initially planned and replanned according to the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overview of patients’ management in the interventional cohort. Abbreviations: HT = hormone therapy; RT = radiation therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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