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. 2020 Nov 27;6(1):28.
doi: 10.1186/s40959-020-00085-5.

Perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on cardio-oncology: results from the COVID-19 International Collaborative Network survey

Diego Sadler  1 , Jeanne M DeCara  2 , Joerg Herrmann  3 , Anita Arnold  4 , Arjun K Ghosh  5 , Husam Abdel-Qadir  6 , Eric H Yang  7 , Sebastian Szmit  8 , Nausheen Akhter  9 , Monika Leja  10 , Carolina Maria Pinto Domingues Carvalho Silva  11 , Jayant Raikhelkar  12 , Sherry-Ann Brown  13 , Susan Dent  14 , Rupal O'Quinn  15 , Franck Thuny  16 , Rohit Moudgil  17 , Luis E Raez  18 , Tochukwu Okwuosa  19 , Andres Daniele  20 , Brenton Bauer  21 , Lavanya Kondapalli  22 , Roohi Ismail-Khan  23 , Jorge Lax  24 , Anne Blaes  25 , Zeina Nahleh  26 , Leah Elson  26 , Lauren A Baldassarre  27 , Vlad Zaha  28 , Vijay Rao  29 , Daniel Sierra Lara  30 , Kerry Skurka  29 ; Cardio-Oncology International Collaborative Network
Affiliations

Perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on cardio-oncology: results from the COVID-19 International Collaborative Network survey

Diego Sadler et al. Cardiooncology. .

Abstract

Background: Re-allocation of resources during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in delays in care delivery to patients with cardiovascular disease and cancer. The ability of health care providers to provide optimal care in this setting has not been formally evaluated.

Objectives: To assess the impact of COVID-19 resource re-allocation on scheduling, testing, elective procedures, telemedicine access, use of new COVID-19 therapies, and providers' opinions on healthcare policies among oncology and cardiology practitioners.

Methods: An electronic survey was conducted by a cardio-oncology collaborative network through regional and state chapters of the American College of Cardiology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the International Cardio-Oncology Society. Descriptive statistics were reported by frequency and proportion for analyses, and stratified categorically by geographic region and specialty.

Results: One thousand four hundred fifteen providers (43 countries) participated: 986 cardiologists, 306 oncologists, and 118 trainees/internal medicine. 63% (195/306) of oncologists vs 92% (896/976) of cardiologists reported cancellations of treatments/elective procedures (p = 0.01). 46% (442/970) of cardiologists and 25% (76/303) of oncologists modified the scope of their practice (p = < 0.001). Academic physicians (74.5%) felt better supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE) vs non-academic (74.5% vs 67.2%; p = 0.018). Telemedicine was less common in Europe 81% (74/91), and Latin America 64% (101/158), than the United States, 88% (950/1097) (p = < 0.001). 95% of all groups supported more active leadership from medical professional societies.

Conclusions: These results support initiatives to promote expanded coverage for telemedicine, increased access to PPE, better testing availability and involvement of medical professional societies to help with preparedness for future health care crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cardio oncology; Global Health; Health policy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of Respondents: World map displaying color-coded regions wherein survey respondents to the international survey are currently practicing. Countries with > 5 respondents are listed, with their respective respondent numbers
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Reported Medical Specialties: Distribution of respondents, per self-identified medical specialty: includes cardiology, oncology, internal medicine, and other. Most respondents practiced cardiology, followed by oncology
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
How Has COVID Affected Your Practice? Impact of COVID-19 in practice patterns, stratified by geographic region
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
PPE, Testing, and New Treatment Availability. Distribution of practices patterns and treatment types utilized in three geographic regions including, the US, Latin America, and Europe. There use a low use rate for Remdesivir or Tocilizumab, across all three regions; the majority of respondents report availability of PPE and COVID testing, on-site, across all three regions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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