Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36249089›Full record

ArticleLaryngoscope investigative otolaryngology2022

The impact of COVID-19 on presentation and diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Jason R Crossley, Lacey L Nelson, Hunter VanDolah, Bruce J Davidson, Jessica H Maxwell

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

5 authors.

Jason R CrossleyDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Washington District of Columbia USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7510-7983
Lacey L NelsonDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford California USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9177-7960
Hunter VanDolahSchool of Medicine Georgetown University Washington District of Columbia USA.
Bruce J DavidsonDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Washington District of Columbia USA.
Jessica H MaxwellDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Washington District of Columbia USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced trends in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) presentation and diagnosis-including referral patterns, stage at presentation, and time to diagnosis-over a longitudinal time course. Setting: Multicenter tertiary care academic institution. Methods: A retrospective review of patients with HNSCC presenting between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020 was performed. Patients were stratified into pre-COVID and COVID cohorts based upon presentation date either before or after the COVID pandemic was declared a national emergency. Data was collected on demographics, referral site, symptoms, tumor characteristics, and time to diagnosis. Results: Of 203 patients with HNSCC identified, 77.3% (157/203) were in the pre-COVID cohort and 22.7% (46/203) were in the COVID cohort. Patients in the COVID cohort were more likely to present through inpatient or ER consultation (26% vs. 11%) than outpatient setting. There was a greater than 50% decrease in new tumor board case presentations per month in the COVID cohort (4.8) relative to the pre-COVID (10.9) cohort. Cancer stage at presentation was similar between cohorts. Time from presentation to diagnosis was similar between the cohorts at approximately 30 days. Conclusions: These results suggest that patients presenting during the COVID pandemic may have unique referral patterns. A significant decrease in tumor board presentations was noted, which may contribute to more delayed presentations that have yet to be observed. Further investigation with a larger sample size is warranted. Lay Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed where and how patients with head and neck cancer initially seek care. We found that patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer more often were initially seen in urgent settings than before the pandemic. Level of Evidence: 3.

Indexed as

COVID‐19head and neck cancerpresentation setting

Identifiers

PMID36249089
PMCPMC9538849

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.