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. 2021 Jul;124(1):7-15.
doi: 10.1002/jso.26475. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Assessing the immediate impact of COVID-19 on surgical oncology practice: Experience from an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Northeastern United States

Victor Gazivoda  1 , Alissa Greenbaum  1 , Joshua Roshal  2 , Jenna Lee  2 , Lekha Reddy  2 , Shahyan Rehman  2 , Aaron Kangas-Dick  1 , Stephanie Gregory  1 , Maria Kowzun  1 , Ruth Stephenson  1 , Amanda Laird  1 , H R Alexander  1 , Adam C Berger  1
Affiliations

Assessing the immediate impact of COVID-19 on surgical oncology practice: Experience from an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Northeastern United States

Victor Gazivoda et al. J Surg Oncol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Background: The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical oncology practice are not yet quantified. The aim of this study was to measure the immediate impact of COVID-19 on surgical oncology practice volume.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients treated at an NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center was performed. "Pre-COVID" era was defined as January-February 2020 and "COVID" as March-April 2020. Primary outcomes were clinic visits and operative volume by surgical oncology subspecialty.

Results: Abouyt 907 new patient visits, 3897 follow-up visits, and 644 operations occurred during the study period. All subspecialties experienced significant decreases in new patient visits during COVID, though soft tissue oncology (Mel/Sarc), gynecologic oncology (Gyn/Onc), and endocrine were disproportionately affected. Telehealth visits increased to 11.4% of all visits by April. Mel/Sarc, Gyn/Onc, and Breast experienced significant operative volume decreases during COVID (25.8%, p = 0.012, 43.6% p < 0.001, and 41.9%, p < 0.001, respectively), while endocrine had no change and gastrointestinal oncology had a slight increase (p = 0.823) in the number of cases performed.

Conclusions: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-ranging within surgical oncology subspecialties. The addition of telehealth is a viable avenue for cancer patient care and should be considered in surgical oncology practice.

Keywords: COVID-19; clinic volume; operative volume; pandemic; telehealth.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends in outpatient total clinic visits [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in new patient clinic visits [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trends in follow‐up visits [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 4
Figure 4
Reduction in new patient clinic visits, by specialty [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 5
Figure 5
Trends in number of operations performed, by specialty [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 6
Figure 6
Reduction in number of operations, by specialty [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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