Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35079234›Full record

ArticleContemporary oncology (Poznan, Poland)2021

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland.

Mateusz Szewczyk, Jakub Pazdrowski, Paweł Golusiński, Paweł Pazdrowski, Barbara Więckowska, Wojciech Golusiński

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Contemporary oncology (Poznan, Poland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Treatment of oropharyngeal cancer during the COVID-19 lockdown - outcomes for patients treated during the pandemic.Reports of practical oncology and radiotherapy : journal of Greatpoland Cancer Center in Poznan and Polish Society of Radiation Oncology · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mateusz SzewczykDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Jakub PazdrowskiDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Paweł GolusińskiDepartment of Otolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Zielona Gora, Poland.
Paweł PazdrowskiHead and Neck Surgery Student Group, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Barbara WięckowskaDepartment of Computer Science and Statistics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
Wojciech GolusińskiDepartment of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aim of the studyTo assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of patients at a tertiary hospital in Poland. MATERIAL AND

methodsThis was a retrospective review of head and neck cancer patients who presented to the multidisciplinary tumour board (MTB) during the 12-month period from March 2020 to February 2021 and compared to patients who presented to the MTB during the prior, pre-pandemic 12-month period from February 2019 to March 2020: Patient demographic and clinical variables were compared: sex, age at diagnosis, distance from hospital, date of first visit, radiological diagnosis, pathology specimen, MTB meeting, and initiation of primary and adjuvant treatment.

resultsThe number of patients who presented to the MTB increased by 22% (278 to 340) from the pre-pandemic to the pandemic period. The mean time from MTB presentation to treatment initiation increased significantly from 17.1 to 21.7 days. The mean time from first visit to treatment start increased from 44.7 to 54.4 days. The proportion of patients with early-stage oropharyngeal cancer who underwent primary surgery rose from 47.3% to 86.6%. The percentage of patients who received palliative radiotherapy increased from 20.5% to 32.9%. The proportion of patients who received best supportive care rose from 1.8% to 6.2%.

conclusionsOne of the most notable findings of this study was the increased time from first visit to treatment initiation, which could negatively impact patient outcomes. The differences in the treatment received in these two periods should be further evaluated to determine their influence on survival.

Indexed as

COVID-19head neckimpactoncologypandemic

Identifiers

PMID35079234
PMCPMC8768051

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.