Cargando…

COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multi-Institutional Survey of the Impact of the Global Pandemic on Cancer Care Resources

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S): The COVID-19 pandemic has direct and indirect impact on patients with cancer. Low- and middle-income regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, are especially vulnerable to a negative impact on cancer resources and outcomes. We report the initial indirect impact of COVID-19 on can...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Merrell, K.W., DeWees, T.A., Osei-Bonsu, E.B., Acheamfour, O., Manirakiza, A.V.C., Avery, S.M., Mallum, A.A.I., Adjei, E., Garda, A.E., Steiner, T., Leavitt, T., Lucido, J., Ndlovu, N., Ngwa, W., Ntekim, A., Vanderpuye, V., Addison, E.C.D.K., Woldetsadik, E.S., Ochieng, P., Begna, K.H.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Published by Elsevier Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8536250/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.07.1050
Descripción
Sumario:PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S): The COVID-19 pandemic has direct and indirect impact on patients with cancer. Low- and middle-income regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, are especially vulnerable to a negative impact on cancer resources and outcomes. We report the initial indirect impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in the sub-Saharan Africa region approximately 14 months into the pandemic. MATERIALS/METHODS: At the start of the pandemic, we created a consortium of African and North American cancer centers and NGOs for the distribution of factual and timely information and data on COVID-19 and cancer care. A survey was distributed to consortium members and other colleagues from the sub-Saharan Africa region to understand the impact of COVID-19 in cancer care resources. Survey respondents represent cancer experts from 8 centers in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. RESULTS: All sites report SARS-COv-2 transmission amongst cancer patients and staff. A total of 48 staff developed COVID-19 infection with one site reporting a single death. Additionally, 62.5% of sites report loss of oncology physician or nursing staff due to redeployment for COVID-19 care resulting in minimal (20%), moderate (60%), or other (20%) impact on cancer care. All 8 sites report a government mandated lockdown with a median duration of 2.3 months (IQR .9-4.2 months). Impact of the lockdown on cancer care was reported as none (12.5%), minimal (12.5%), moderate (50%) and severe (25%). Additionally, we surveyed the impact of COVID-19 on resources in radiation, medical and surgical oncology services. A total of 25% of responders reported decreases in radiation resources while 37.5% reported changes in medical and surgical oncology resources. For radiation oncology, the most common impact was access to CT imaging for 3D-conformal planning (25%), access to brachytherapy (12.5%), and medical physics support (12.5%). For medical oncology, the most frequent impact was access to chemotherapy (37.5%) and blood products (12.5%), and loss of oncology ward space (12.5%). The most frequent impact for surgical oncology was access to operating rooms (37.5%), ventilators (12.5%), anesthesia (25%), blood products (25%), and other supply chain issues (25%). Of centers who reported impact on cancer care, severity of impact was none (50%) and moderate (50%) for radiation oncology; mild (25%) and moderate (75%) for medical oncology; and moderate (75%) and severe (25%) for surgical oncology. CONCLUSION: Our survey identified diffuse impact of COVID-19 on all facets of cancer care across sub-Saharan Africa. Based on physician assessment of impact, the discipline of surgical oncology may be impacted the greatest. Additional studies measuring the impact of COVID-19 on cancer outcomes are ongoing.