Early institutional head and neck oncologic and microvascular surgery practice patterns across the United States during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) pandemic.
Head Neck
; 42(6): 1168-1172, 2020 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-116896
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused rapid changes in head and neck cancer (HNC) care. "Real-time" methods to monitor practice patterns can optimize provider safety and patient care.METHODS:
Head and neck surgeons from 14 institutions in the United States regularly contributed their practice patterns to a shared spreadsheet. Data from 27 March 2020 to 5 April 2020 was analyzed.RESULTS:
All institutions had significantly restricted HNC clinic evaluations. Two institutions stopped free-flap surgery with the remaining scheduling surgery by committee review. Factors contributing to reduced clinical volume included lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) (35%) and lack of rapid COVID-19 testing (86%).CONCLUSIONS:
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a reduction in HNC care. Rapid COVID-19 testing and correlation with infectious potential remain paramount to resuming the care of patients with head and neck cancer. Cloud-based platforms to share practice patterns will be essential as the pandemic evolves.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Surgical Oncology
/
Head and Neck Neoplasms
/
Microsurgery
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Head Neck
Journal subject:
Neoplasms
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Hed.26189
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