Scientific research with cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: an experience report

Abstract

Scientific research brings resolutions to several problems in society, supporting clinical performance in health. Work with cancer patients needs to be even more careful. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer patients enter the risk group for exposure to the virus, limiting the monitoring of the disease, impairing treatment. New health technologies and telemedicine have been on the rise in recent years, changing the course of medicine, research and health care. Its implementation and validation have been widely discussed in recent years, and it was greatly encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic. To report the development, adaptations and the six-month longitudinal follow-up of 20 individuals who underwent thyroidectomy at a university hospital. The research flowchart initially persisted in evaluating symptoms and vocal fatigue in individuals undergoing thyroidectomy due to thyroid cancer at three times: pre-surgical (M1), immediate post-surgical (M2) and late post-surgical (M3) in three to six months. The individuals were submitted to videolaryngoscopy, voice recording, voice acoustic analysis and completion of self-assessment protocols along with the medical consultation. All assessments were performed on an outpatient basis at the three times described. The research began in October 2019, and was interrupted at the beginning of the pandemic. In February 2020 we obtained eight cases with the two initial assessments, and only two cases with M3. Due to the pandemic, the surgeries were suspended and the continuity of the study was impaired, requiring modifications. The initial goal was to last nine months with 30 individuals in the sample. New cases were followed up from October 2020 until May 2021 when there was a reduction in cases. At the end, all data from 20 individuals in this period of the research were collected. The completion time increased from nine months to 20 months. None of the patients were infected by COVID-19 during the research period. Therefore, the treatment of cancer patients encompasses several aspects that have been hampered by its continuity, delaying deadlines and making access difficult by COVID-19. As well as, scientific research in this population has undergone several adaptations to preserve the health of individuals, not unnecessarily exposing them to contamination with the virus. Monitoring by telemedicine proved to be effective for the initial objectives of this study, but it may limit it depending on the type of proposed intervention. Despite the existing pandemic, scientific production should not be stopped because it brings discoveries that aim to improve the health of the population.