Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38323030›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in medicine2024

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and prognosis of melanoma 2 years after the pandemic in two Romanian counties.

Adina Patricia Apostu, Ștefan Cristian Vesa, Simona Frățilă, Gabriela Iancu, Nona Bejinariu, Maximilian Muntean, Simona C Șenilă, Oana Alexandra Baba, Cristina Pop Secășan, Loredana Ungureanu

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Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

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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.

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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

10 authors.

Adina Patricia ApostuDepartment of Dermatology, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Ștefan Cristian VesaDepartment of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Simona FrățilăFaculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania.
Gabriela IancuDepartment of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania.
Nona BejinariuSantomar Oncodiagnostic Laboratory, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Maximilian MunteanDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, "Prof Dr. I. Chiricuță" Institute of Oncology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Simona C ȘenilăDepartment of Dermatology, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Oana Alexandra BabaClinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Cluj Napoca, Romania.
Cristina Pop SecășanDepartment of Dermatology, Emergency County Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Loredana UngureanuDepartment of Dermatology, "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the healthcare system and negatively affected the diagnosis and management of melanoma worldwide. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and prognosis of melanoma. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study included histopathologically confirmed melanoma cases from March 2019 to February 2023 in Cluj and Bihor counties. Data from the post-COVID-19 period (March 2021 to February 2023) were compared to the pre-COVID-19 period (March 2019 to February 2020) and the COVID-19 period (March 2020 to February 2021). Patient characteristics, monthly diagnostics, histological subtypes, and key histological features were analyzed using statistical tests. Results: The number of melanoma cases diagnosed annually decreased by 31.37 and 23.75% in the first and second post-pandemic years, respectively, compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Diagnostic rates also decreased by 14.9 and 5.4% in the first and second post-pandemic years, respectively, compared to the pandemic period. Prognostic factors worsened in the post-pandemic period, with higher Breslow index and mitotic rate, and increased ulceration and thick melanomas compared to the pre-pandemic period. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a long-lasting impact on the diagnosis of melanoma in Romania, resulting in advanced stages and unfavorable prognostic factors. Larger global studies are needed to comprehensively understand the pandemic's long-term effects on the diagnosis of melanoma.

Indexed as

COVID-19 pandemicdelaydiagnosismelanomaprognosis

Identifiers

PMID38323030
PMCPMC10844525

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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.