Radiation Therapy Department Reorganization during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak: Keys to Securing Staff and Patients During the First Weeks of the Crisis and Impact on Radiation Therapy Practice from a Single Institution Experience
| Autor: | Marie Laure Hervé, Pauline Cadot, Gokoulakrichenane Loaganadane, Aziz Cherif, Adeline Bak, Angela Boros, Yazid Belkacemi, Wissal Hassani, Nhu Hanh To, Noémie Grellier, Jerôme Bendavid, Marie Adou, Cindy Le Bret, Laurianne Colson-Durand, Deng Feng Luo, Asma Hadhri, Sahar Ghith, Kamel Debbi, Gloria Fonteneau, Gabriele Coraggio, Mathilde Mahé, Gaël Zaoui |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) business.industry medicine.medical_treatment MEDLINE Outbreak medicine.disease Article 030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging Radiation therapy 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Breast cancer Oncology Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis Emergency medicine Pandemic Medicine Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging Hormone therapy Single institution business |
| Zdroj: | Advances in Radiation Oncology |
| ISSN: | 2452-1094 |
| Popis: | Purpose: During the first weeks of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in France, it was necessary to clearly define organizational priorities in the radiation therapy (RT) departments. In this report, we focus on the urgent measures taken to reduce risk for both our staff and patients by reducing the number of patients receiving treatment. Methods and Materials: We reviewed the fractionation schemes for all patients in our department, including those receiving treatment and those soon to start treatment. Our goals were to (1) decrease the number of patients coming daily to the hospital for RT, (2) adapt our human resources to continue patients’ care in the department, and (3) help to cover understaffed COVID-19 sectors of the hospital. Results: We identified 50 patients who were receiving treatment (n = 6), were going to start radiation after CT scan simulation (n = 41), or for whom the CT scan was pending (n = 3). The majority were women (64%) treated for breast cancer (54%). RT was delayed for 22 (44%) patients. The majority were offered hormone therapy as “waiting therapy.” Hypofractionation was considered in 21 (42%) patients mainly with breast cancer (18 of 21, 86%). The number of courses initially planned and replanned as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak during the period of March 15 to May 31, 2020, were 1383 and 683, respectively, which represented a reduction of 50% (including delayed sessions) that allowed our reorganization process. Conclusions: To conserve resources during the pandemic, we successfully reduced the number of patients receiving treatment in a proactive fashion and adapted our organization to minimize the risk of COVID-19 contamination. Departments across the world may benefit from this same approach. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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