Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Radiation Oncology Departments in Brazil.

Autor:	Oliveira HF; Radiotherapy Department of the Centro de Tratamento em Radio-Oncologia (CTR), Ribeirão Preto/SP; Márcio Cunha Hospital - Fundação São Francisco Xavier, Ipatinga, MG, Brazil., Yoshinari GH Jr; Faculty of Medicine of Itajuba - Afya group, Itajubá, MG, Brazil; Radiotherapy Department of the Oncominas, Pouso Alegre, MG, Brazil., Veras IM; Radiotherapy Department of the Regional Integrated Oncology Center, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil., de Almeida WJ Jr; Radiotherapy Department of the Moinhos dos Ventos Hospital, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil., Freitas NMA; Radiotherapy Department of the Araújo Jorge Hospital of the Góias State Association Against Cancer, Goiânia, GO, Brazil., Castilho MS; Radiotherapy Department of the Felicio Rocho Hospital, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Pellizzon ACA; Radiotherapy Department of the AC Camargo Hospital, São Paulo, SP, Brazil., Erlich F; Radiotherapy Department of the José Alencar Gomes da Silva National Cancer Institute (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil., Affonso RJ Jr; Radiotherapy Department of the Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, SP, Brazil., de Carvalho ÍT; Radiotherapy Department of the Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo, SP, Brazil., Leite ACC; Radiotherapy Department of the Dom Pedro de Alcantara Hospital, Feira de Santana, BA, Brazil., Kuhnen FQ; Radiotherapy Department of the Charity Hospital of Florianópolis, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil., Najas RMXF; Radiotherapy Department of the Rio Grande do Norte State League Against Cancer, Natal, RN, Brazil., Rosa AA; Radiotherapy Department of the Santa Izabel Hospital and Português da Bahia Hospital, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Advances in radiation oncology [Adv Radiat Oncol] 2022 Sep-Oct; Vol. 7 (5), pp. 100667. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Feb 06.
DOI:	10.1016/j.adro.2021.100667
Abstrakt:	Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic brought several challenges to cancer practice, especially in ensuring continuity of treatment during this period while minimizing the risks of transmission to a vulnerable population. For radiation oncology departments in Brazil, this contingency has become even more complex owing to the significant effect observed in different sectors of society and the large number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. This study estimated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Brazilian radiation oncology departments and the coping measures used in the country. Methods and Materials: The Brazilian Radiotherapy Society developed a questionnaire, with 14 questions, that were sent to all heads of radiation oncology departments in the country between May and June 2020. These data were evaluated regarding cases confirmed and deaths by COVID-19 in epidemiologic week 28, on July 11, 2020. Results: One hundred twenty-six questionnaires from different regions were answered, representing 44% of the country's services. A drop in the number of patients was observed in 61% of services. This drop was observed both in patients from the public and supplementary private health insurance systems. Regarding patients and employees with COVID-19, we observed that services that primarily treat Unified Health System patients reported significantly fewer cases of the disease. About half of the services had collaborators and patients during radiation therapy with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19. Among the coping measures, the services used intensified hygiene and cleanliness practices, interpersonal distancing, restrictions on access to companions, and other changes in daily practice. Conclusions: Thus, there was an important drop in the number of radiation therapy patients in the country during the pandemic, and this effect was similar among the services, regardless of the characteristics of the patients and the departments' coping measures adopted during the pandemic. (© 2021 The Authors.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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