BEFORE & AFTER: THE EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CANCER PATIENTS IN PALLIATIVE CARE CENTER

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In addition to the high risk of death from COVID-19 infection in cancer patients, delays in cancer diagnosis may result in delayed treatment of cancer patients. The study aimed to evaluate the changes in the characteristics of cancer patients, such as diagnosis, stage and prognosis, between the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic one-year periods in Turkey. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The records of patients who received palliative treatment in the palliative service between March 11, 2019 and March 11, 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. Age, gender, diagnosis, type of diagnosis, type of treatment, place of arrival to the palliative service, and way of discharge were retrospectively scanned from patient files. The first hospitalizations were evaluated in patients with recurrent hospitalizations. Patients with inadequate patient records were excluded from the study. RESULTS: The proportion of patients diagnosed with cancer radiologically has increased. While radiological findings of cancer were detected in 9.1 percent of patients in the pre-pandemic period, this rate was 16.2 percent in the post-pandemic period. When the patients were evaluated in terms of the oncological treatment they received before inpatient palliative care, a significant difference was found (p=0.002). This difference was due to the increase in the proportion of patients who were not suitable for oncological treatment after the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the pandemic had great effects on newly diagnosed patients and patients in need of palliative care services. In the present study, we observed an increase in cancer patients who were radiologically diagnosed with cancer and treated in palliative care services in the post-pandemic period.