Abstract
There have been numerous studies demonstrating how cancer patients are at an increased risk of mortality. Within New York City, our community hospital emerged as an epicenter of the first wave of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 and serves a unique population that is predominately uninsured, of a lower income, and racially/ethnically diverse. In this single institution retrospective study, the authors seek to investigate COVID-19 diagnosis, severity and mortality in patients with an active cancer diagnosis. Demographic, clinical characteristics, treatment, SARS-CoV-2 laboratory results, and outcomes were evaluated. In our community hospital during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, patients with active cancer diagnosis appear to be at increased risk for mortality (30%) and severe events (50%) due to the SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the general population. A higher proportion of active cancer patients with Medicaid insurance, Hispanic ethnicity, other race, and male sex had complications and death from COVID-19 infection. The pandemic has highlighted the health inequities that exist in vulnerable patient populations and underserved communities such as ours.
Highlights
Published: 16 February 2022The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in over 5 million deaths worldwide with over 4 million cases diagnosed inNew York State alone [1]
Two hundred sixty-six patients were identified with active cancer at Elmhurst Hospital
The remaining 155 patients with active cancer diagnosis and no available SARS-CoV-2 PCR test were excluded from further analysis
Summary
New York City (NYC) had its first confirmed case diagnosed on. 29 February 2020 and in the subsequent months the city’s hospitals were inundated with infected patients [2]. Within New York City, Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC) emerged as an epicenter [3]. EHC is a 545 bed public hospital and serves one of most racially and ethnically diverse populations in the United States with a catchment zone of roughly 1.2 million residents of Queens [5]. Several studies have noted how socioeconomic and racial disparities contribute to poorer outcomes [6–9]. Given the disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality on communities with a significant proportion of racial and ethnic minority groups, studies that adequately represent these high risk populations are paramount
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