Patients affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: A population particularly prone to developing severe forms of COVID-19.
Exp Ther Med
; 22(5): 1298, 2021 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1448966
ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has spread all over the world over the past year. Comorbidities appear to affect the prognosis of patients with such diseases, but the impact of cancer on the course of SARS-CoV2 has remained largely elusive. The aim of the present study is to analyze the outcome of patients affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and a number of their comorbidities, if infected with SARS-CoV2. The clinical data of 100 patients affected by SCCHN, who were undergoing treatment or who had finished their oncologic treatment in the past 6 months, were retrospectively collected and analysed. For each patient, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was calculated to provide a score assessing the real weight of comorbidities on the patient's outcome at the time of diagnosis. It was discovered that these patients, besides the SCCHN, frequently presented at diagnosis with several other comorbidities, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiac arrhytmia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and various forms of vasculopathy (and thus a poor CCI). This feature suggest that, given the high frequency of various comorbidities in patients with SCCHN, additional SARS-CoV2 infection could have particularly devastating consequences.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Exp Ther Med
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Etm.2021.10733
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS