Observational studyChild's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery2025
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosis and management of new brain tumours in children and young people (aged < 16 years old) in the UK.
Observational study in Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study aims to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, management, and clinical outcomes of children and young people (CYP) with brain tumours in England.
designUK-based retrospective observational study with two components. Nationwide brain tumour incidence data from the National Disease Registration Service was obtained (2015-2020) to study trends in newly diagnosed cases. Regional data from three paediatric neurosurgical centres was used to compare CYP newly diagnosed with a brain tumour before and those during the pandemic (March 2019-February 2021).
participantsNo change in national incidence during the first year of the pandemic was seen. Regional data totalled 159 CYP, 88 diagnosed before the pandemic, 71 during (median age 7.0 years before, 7.8 years during the pandemic).
resultsThe commonest tumour types in both groups were low grade glioma (including pilocytic astrocytoma), medulloblastoma, and ependymoma. Symptoms at diagnosis were similar, the commonest overall being headache (52.3 vs 50.7%). Number of symptoms at diagnosis was comparable. Rates of complications (28.4 vs 40.8%, p = 0.129) and poor outcome (13.6 vs 22.5%; p = 0.143) were not significantly different. Time to diagnosis and treatment were similar between cohorts.
conclusionThis is the first UK study investigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on CYP with a new brain tumour diagnosis. CYP diagnosed during the pandemic had comparable clinical presentations, times to diagnosis and treatment, and clinical outcomes. This suggests that acute paediatric neuro-oncology services were resilient in the face of pandemic-related restrictions and service adaptations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.