Effects of COVID-19 pandemic in a breast unit: Is it possible to avoid
delays in surgical treatment?
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 pandemic has caused fear all around the world. With
people avoiding hospitals, there has been a significant decrease in
outpatient clinics. In this study, we aimed to compare and explore the
first-peak of the pandemic period by studying its effects on patient
applications, new diagnoses, and treatment approaches in a non-infected
hospital. Methods: We collected data from the first peak of the pandemic
period in Turkey, from the pandemic’s declaration (March 11, 2020) to
social normalization (June 1, 2020), and compared it with data from a
pre-pandemic period with a similar length of time. We analyzed the data
of breast cancer patients from application to surgery. Results: The data
of 34,577 patients were analyzed for this study. The number of patients
who applied to outpatient clinics decreased significantly during the
pandemic period. After excluding control patients and benign disorders,
a figure was reached for the number of patients who had a new diagnosis
of breast cancer (146 vs 250), were referred to neoadjuvant treatment
(18 vs 34), and were treated with surgery (121 vs 229). All numbers
decreased during the pandemic period, except for surgeries after
neoadjuvant treatment (29 vs 27). Surgical treatment approaches also
changed. However, the rate of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients
treated with surgery was similar in both periods. None of these patients
were diagnosed with COVID-19 or died during the pandemic. Conclusion:
This study shows that non-infected hospitals can be useful in avoiding
delays in the surgical treatment of cancer patients.