Special considerations for elderly patients with head and neck cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head Neck
; 42(6): 1147-1149, 2020 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-133526
ABSTRACT
Elderly patients with head and neck cancer are at increased risk of adverse outcomes during and after treatment of head and neck cancer. COVID-19 severity and mortality can be expected to be significantly greater in elderly patients with head and neck cancer, given that increased age, comorbidities, and presence of malignancy are known risk factors for disease severity and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, their management requires multidisciplinary consensus and patient input. A thorough geriatric assessment, which has been shown to be beneficial prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, could be particularly helpful in this patient population with the added dimension of COVID-19 risk. In many cases, prudent treatment plan modification may allow for overall best outcomes. Furthermore, recruitment of social services and, when appropriate, palliative care, may allow for optimal management of these patients.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Geriatric Assessment
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Disease Transmission, Infectious
/
Pandemics
/
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Head Neck
Journal subject:
Neoplasms
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Hed.26216
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