ABSTRACT
Background: Severe unstableness has occurred during the Covid pandemic in 2020/21 regarding the accessibility of health care structures. Patients with symptoms did either not consult their gynecologists, or were not able to get access to their gynecologists, due to canceled outpatient consultation hours. Method(s): The first lockdown due to Covid-19 in Berlin occured in March 2020. We compared the cancer data and cancer patients consultation to three gynecological centers in three academic hospitals in Berlin in the years 2018/2019 to 2020/2021. Consultations and stages of tumors in 840 patients were compared and matched monthly between the years. Result(s): In the first lockdown March 2020- June 2020 20% less cancer patients consultated our clinics. The results were found to be significant. Elder patients did tend to consult the health care system less during the lockdown as compared to before the lockdown. In the first lockdown March 2020- June 2020 20% less cancer patients consultated our clinics. The results were found to be significant. Elder patients did tend to consult the health care system less during the lockdown as compared to before the lockdown. After the first lockdown a tendency to more advanced cancer stages were observed in the cancer patients. Discussion(s): During the Covid-19 pandemic medical care for cancer patients was impaired, as compared to the time before the pandemic. Significantly less patients consulted the health care system and found support for their symptoms. Conclusion(s): The alterations due to the pandemic will, most probably, affect the long term survival of these cancer patients.
ABSTRACT
In December 2019 a new β-CoV, Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been identified in Wuhan Hubei Province, China. Within a few months it spread rapidly to more than 114 countries and the disease, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was declared pandemic on 11(th) February 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Until 20 June 2020 8:09 am, 8,465,085 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed globally, with 454,258 deaths. The first incidence in Greece was documented on 26 February 2020 in Thessaloniki and up to 20 June 2020 8:09 am, 3,227 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported, with 188 deaths. At the time of writing USA and Brazil, are the countries with the highest disease burden. Governments have imposed a variety of suggestions and restrictions in order to control the spread of the virus, focusing mainly on social distancing, self-isolation, personal hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE). Greece was one of the countries that implemented early drastic measures thus succeeding in controlling the virus transmission;having a profound economical effect though.