Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36309074›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics2023

Evaluating the Short-term Environmental and Clinical Effects of a Radiation Oncology Department's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Ronald Cheung, Emma Ito, Marianela Lopez, Ed Rubinstein, Harald Keller, Fred Cheung, Zhihui Amy Liu, Fei-Fei Liu, Philip Wong

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ronald CheungDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Emma ItoRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Marianela LopezRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ed RubinsteinEnergy & Environment Department, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Harald KellerRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Fred CheungRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Zhihui Amy LiuDepartment of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Fei-Fei LiuRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Philip WongRadiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: philip.wong@rmp.uhn.ca.
University Health Network · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many radiation oncology departments worldwide adopted the use of shorter and more intense hypofractionated regimens. Hospital foot traffic was reduced through virtual care. This study's primary objective was to assess the collective environmental effect of these strategic changes by identifying sources of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO METHODS AND MATERIALS: All patients treated with external beam radiation therapy from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021, at our single institution were identified (n = 10,175) along with their radiation therapy visits (176,423 fractions) and unplanned visits to the radiation nursing clinic or emergency department. Out-patient hospital and virtual visits (n = 75,853) during this same period were also analyzed. Environmental effect measures, including linear accelerator power usage, patient travel distances, and personal protection equipment consumption were all converted into CO

resultsThe use of curative hypofractionated regimens increased from 17% to 27% during the pandemic year. Carbon footprint was reduced by 39% during the pandemic year (1,332,388 kg CO

conclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate the environmental benefits of increased use of hypofractionated regimens and virtual care, while assuring that there was no added acute radiation-related adverse event. Our findings support their continued use as one of many long-term strategies to reduce the environmental footprint of health care delivery.

Indexed as

COVID-19Radiation OncologyEmergency Service, HospitalHospitalsHumansPandemics

Identifiers

PMID36309074
PMCPMC9598491
OpenAlexW4307570283

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.