Cancer diagnostic rates during the 2020 'lockdown', due to COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the 2018-2019: an audit study from cellular pathology.
J Clin Pathol
; 74(3): 187-189, 2021 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-607931
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
We performed an audit to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related delay in the diagnosis of major cancers at a Pathology Unit of a Secondary Care Hospital Network in Italy.METHODS:
A comparison was made among the number of first cellular pathological diagnoses of malignancy made from the 11th to the 20th week of the years 2018-2020.RESULTS:
Cancer diagnoses fell in 2020 by 39% compared with the average number recorded in 2018 and 2019. Prostate cancer (75%) bladder cancer (66%) and colorectal cancer (CRC; 62%) had the greatest decrease. CRC was identified as carrying a potentially important diagnostic delay.CONCLUSIONS:
For CRC corrective procedures (continuing mass screening tests; patient triage by family physicians; diagnostic procedures alternative to colonoscopy; predictive evaluation on biopsy samples) were advised. Our simple audit model is widely applicable to avoid pandemic-related delay in clinical diagnosis of cancer.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pathology, Clinical
/
Early Detection of Cancer
/
Delayed Diagnosis
/
Physical Distancing
/
COVID-19
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Clin Pathol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jclinpath-2020-206833
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