Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38964757›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie

Streamlining lung cancer management in Nova Scotia amid COVID-19: pooled triaging for expedited curative-intent oncologic surgery.

Pooja Patel, Rheann Brownstone, Brianne Cruickshank, Connor Garagan, Daria Manos, Daniel French, Alison Wallace, Madelaine Plourde

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. 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

8 authors.

Pooja PatelFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Rheann BrownstoneFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Brianne CruickshankFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Connor GaraganFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Daria ManosFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Daniel FrenchFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Alison WallaceFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace).
Madelaine PlourdeFrom the Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Patel, Brownstone, Cruickshank, Garagan, French, Wallace, Plourde); the Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Manos); the Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Wallace) madelaine.plourde@nshealth.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and management of lung cancer in Canada is not fully understood. We sought to quantify the provincial volume of diagnostic imaging, thoracic surgeon referrals, time to surgery after referral, and pathologic staging for curative surgery in the context of the pandemic, as well as explore the effect of a pooled patient model, which was implemented to prioritize surgeries for lung cancer and mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent diagnostic imaging in Nova Scotia and were subsequently referred to a thoracic surgeon at the province's only tertiary care centre for surgical management of their primary lung cancer before (Mar. 1, 2019, to Feb. 29, 2020) and during (Mar. 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a survey to capture the patient and surgeon experience with a pooled patient model of managing surgical oncology cases.

resultsCompared with the pre-COVID-19 period, the overall volume of chest radiography and chest computed tomography decreased by 30.9% (

conclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with reductions in rates of diagnostic imaging and referrals to thoracic surgeons for management of pulmonary cancer. A pooled patient model was used to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on lung cancer management and was positively received by patients. An extended study period is needed to determine the full effect of this redistribution of resources.

Indexed as

COVID-19Lung NeoplasmsAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNova ScotiaPandemicsReferral and ConsultationRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Time-to-TreatmentTriage

Identifiers

PMID38964757
PMCPMC11233170

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.