The impact of covid-19 epidemic to the implementation of acute palliative care in oncology

Abstract

Introduction: In the spring of 2020, the covid-19 pandemic broke out with a major impact on global society, especially the healthcare system. The epidemiological conditions and consequent measures have affected the treatment of patients enrolled in specialized palliative care. Methods: This study collected data on the number and type of treatments for cancer patients included in acute palliative care at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (OI) and provided observations on the covid-19 outbreak compared to pre-epidemic data. Results: In 2020, we recorded 25% more referrals than in 2019.The average length of stay decreased from 6.2 days to 5.1 days. The average number of family meetings in the period before covid-19 was 148 but last year it was 214. There is a statistically significant relationship between the calendar year and dismissals or deaths. In 2020, statistically significantly more people died at OAPO than expected (p <0.05, with the value = 2.76), statistically significantly fewer people than would be expected were transferred to hospices (p <0.05, with the value = -2.01) and elsewhere (p <0.05, with the value = -2.56). In 2020, 22% of outpatient examinations were performed more than the average of the previous years.The pandemic has had and continues to have implications for the conduct of specialized palliative care treatments. Conclusion: Care for cancer patients and palliative care was limited during covid-19. This has led to significant challenges in providing palliative care. The crisis model of palliative care organization was more or less focused on caring for the dying. Unfortunately, we cannot talk about providing comprehensive integrated palliative care in the treatment of cancer patients during this period. There has been greater recognition of palliative care globally.