Abstract
PurposeThe notorious COVID 19 pandemic has caused rapid and drastic changes in cancer care worldwide in 2020. This online survey aims to assess the extent to which the pandemic has affected cancer care in gynecological oncology amongst members of the Association of Gynecological Oncologists of India (AGOI), a registered professional society founded in 1991.MethodsWe developed and administered a cross-sectional, flash survey to members of AGOI in the first week of April 2020. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2016. Results were expressed as percentages of total responses excluding blank or unattended response. Overall theme-specific responses were described as a spectrum of findings, and related inferences were drawn.ResultsAmong approached practitioners, 90 responded to the survey, more than 80% were practicing consultants, and more than 50% from academic institutions. The results of the study showed that the ongoing pandemic had severely affected gynecological oncology practice and care amongst all respondents. There were modifications in diagnostic pathways, interventions, and follow-ups across all organ sites. There was a near-unanimous opinion on the use of general safety measures to combat the virus and to use complete PPEs in a high-risk situation. There were mixed responses to alternative educational activities, especially using electronic technology and distant learning methods. There was optimism among respondents with regards to the current situation normalizing in 3–6 months.ConclusionThis study documents the pandemic affected scenario of gynecological cancer care and perceptions of Gynecological Oncologists in India. A significant effect on all aspects of cancer care was observed. Technological learning methods, both for patient care and educational activities, were being adopted by many respondents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40944-020-00421-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology detected 71 Page 2 of 7Indian Journal of Gynecologic Oncology (2020) 18:71 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China
We developed and administered a cross-sectional, flash survey to members of Association of Gynecological Oncologists of India (AGOI) in the first week of April 2020
The causal agent was identified as a novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) on 7 January 2020 [1]. 2019-nCOV was renamed as the SARSCov-2 virus and disease caused as COVID-19, most likely a zoonotic disease [2, 3]
Summary
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected 71 Page 2 of 7Indian Journal of Gynecologic Oncology (2020) 18:71 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected 71 Page 2 of 7. There has been an unexpected and exponential rise in the number of cases all over the globe, with over 1.8 million cases worldwide and more than 0.11 million fatalities [5]. The impact of COVID-19 is substantial and has already caused significant economic, social, and health-care disruptions worldwide [6,7,8]. The surge reached 14,352 confirmed COVID cases with 486 deaths at the time of submission of this study, i.e., 17 April 2020, generating a case-fatality rate of 3% [9]
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