Abstract
The psychological impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on cancer patients, a population at higher risk of fatal consequences if infected, has been only rarely evaluated. This study was conducted at the Departments of Oncology of four hospitals located in the Verona area in Italy to investigate the psychological consequences of the pandemic on cancer patients under active anticancer treatments. A 13-item ad hoc questionnaire to evaluate the psychological status of patients before and during the pandemic was administered to 474 consecutive subjects in the time frame between April 27th and June 7th 2020. Among the 13 questions, 7 were considered appropriate to elaborate an Emotional Vulnerability Index (EVI) that allows to separate the population in two groups (low versus high emotional vulnerability) according to observed median values. During the emergency period, the feeling of high vulnerability was found in 246 patients (53%) and was significantly associated with the following clinical variables: female gender, being under chemotherapy treatment, age ≤ 65 years. Compared to the pre-pandemic phase, the feeling of vulnerability was increased in 41 patients (9%), remained stably high in 196 (42%) and, surprisingly, was reduced in 10 patients (2%). Overall, in a population characterized by an high level of emotional vulnerability the pandemic had a marginal impact and only a small proportion of patients reported an increase of their emotional vulnerability.
Highlights
On December 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, linked to the severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Emphasis was put on the need to ensure essential care for patients with cancer, a potentially frailer fringe of the population, exposed to both a higher risk of COVID-19 and fatal consequences [5,6,7]
It is usually difficult to convey all the complexity of the disease in normal situation the task can become overwhelming in a catastrophic situation such the Covid 19 pandemic when the idea that “cancer patients” in general are at a very high risk of severe complications and possibly of death, if infected, is widespread
Summary
On December 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, linked to the severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In phase 1 (from March 9th to May 3rd) [4] a general lockdown was enforced, during which most industrial and commercial activities were suspended and people were asked to stay at home and to leave home only to satisfy primary needs (to buy food, personal hygiene items, house cleaning supplies, etc); the majority of hospitals, especially in Northern Italy, became hostages of the pandemia and many patients died leaving a strong impact to sick people but to the entire population In this catastrophic emergency the health system had to adapt to meet the needs of patients infected, quite often very sick, while maintaining essential healthcare for all. During the following phases (phase 2 from May 04th to June 14th and phase 3 which started on June 15th) industrial and commercial activities were gradually reopened and people regained their right to move, but still respecting some rules such as physical distancing and wearing a facial mask
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