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BackgroundOn March 14, 2020, a state of alarm was declared in Spain due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Beyond this date, COVID-19 in the country changed the practice of oncologic care. ObjectiveSince recurrent hospital visits were a potential risk factor for contagion, the aim of this prospective observational study was to analyze the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the health care of patients with lymphoma. MethodsAll data were obtained from the electronic medical record. Variables such as age, sex, reason of the visit, use of the patient portal, changes in management, enrollment in clinical trials, and COVID-19 infection were recorded. ResultsIn all, 290 patients visited the lymphoma clinic, totaling 437 appointments. The median age was 66 (range 18-94) years, and 157 (54.1%) patients were male. Of them, 214 (73.8%) patients had only 1 visit to the clinic. Only 23 (7.9%) patients did not have access to the patient portal. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 78 (26.9%) patients remained in active treatment, 35 (12.1%) experienced delays in their treatments, and 6 (2.1%) experienced treatment discontinuation. During the follow-up, only 7 (2.4%) patients had a COVID-19 infection (6 cases with confirmed polymerase chain reaction test and 1 case with clinical suspicion). Despite the implementation of telemedicine strategies to avoid visits to the hospital, 66 (22.8%) patients had in-person visits at the lymphoma clinic. Patients who attended in-person consultations were younger than those who preferred telemedicine consultations (62 vs 66 years; P=.10) and had less use of the patient portal (17/224, 7.6% vs 6/66, 9%; P=.10), although these differences did not reach statistical significance. Patients who attended in-person visits were more likely to have had only 1 visit to the hospital (29/66, 43.9% vs 185/224, 82.6%; P |
