Abstract
PurposeThe objective of this report is to outline our early experience with head and neck cancer patients in a tertiary referral center, during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic, and to describe the poor outcomes of patients who acquired the infection.MethodsIn this case series from a single-center, national tertiary referral center for head and neck cancer we describe three consecutive head and neck cancer patients who contracted SARS-Cov2 during their inpatient stay.ResultsOf the three patients described in our case series that contracted SARS-Cov2, two patients died from SARS-Cov2 related illness.ConclusionWe have demonstrated the significant implications that SARS-Cov2 has on head and neck cancer patients, with 3 patients acquiring SARS-Cov2 in hospital, and 2 deaths in our that cohort. We propose a complete separation in the location of where these patients are being managed, and also dedicated non-SARS-Cov2 staff for their peri-operative management.Level of evidenceIV.
Highlights
The SARS-Cov2 pandemic has major implications for the delivery of elective Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) oncology treatment internationally, with services in many jurisdictions coming largely to a standstill
We describe our early experience with three post-operative head and neck cancer patients at our institution, as it relates to the SARS-Cov2 pandemic, and the repercussions for future surgical practices
We describe our experience of three patients with advanced head and neck cancer that underwent treatment prior to the onset the SARS-Cov2 pandemic in Ireland, who subsequently contracted SARS-Cov2 during their post-operative hospital stay
Summary
The SARS-Cov pandemic has major implications for the delivery of elective Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) oncology treatment internationally, with services in many jurisdictions coming largely to a standstill. ORL-HNS surgeons were noted to be in a high-risk group for transmission in reports from Wuhan, China, the UK and Italy [1,2,3,4]. Very high mortality rates have been reported in a wide range of post-operative elective surgery patients who were operated on in the prodromal phase of SARS-Cov2 [5]. The post-operative implications for these high-risk patients are not yet clear. With this in mind, we describe our early experience with three post-operative head and neck cancer patients at our institution, as it relates to the SARS-Cov pandemic, and the repercussions for future surgical practices
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
