TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristics of cancer patients with covid-19 in a cancer hospital
AU - Lipe, Demis N.
AU - Elsayem, Ahmed
AU - Cruz-Carreras, Maria T.
AU - Thomas, Jomol
AU - Feliciano, Adianes
AU - Ren, Jenny
AU - Gaeta, Susan M.
AU - Rajha, Eva
AU - Manasanch, Elisabet
AU - Kheder, Ed
AU - Brock, Patricia
AU - Reyes-Gibby, Cielito
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Annals of Palliative Medicine. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: Cancer patients are vulnerable to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) given their compromised immune system. The purpose of this study was to describe the presenting symptoms, inpatient stay trajectory, and survival outcomes, for cancer patients infected with COVID-19; who presented to the emergency department (ED) of a single center during the early months of the pandemic. Methods: We reviewed the electronic medical records of all cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at our institution for demographic information, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, treatment intervention and outcomes. All patients had at least 14 days of follow-up. We determined their survival outcomes as of August 5, 2020. Results: Twenty-eight cancer patients were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 16 (57%) presented to the ED during the study period. The median age of patients who presented to the ED was 61 years, 69% were women, and the median length of hospitalization was 11 days. There was no difference between the groups (ED vs. no ED visit) for demographics, treatment status or solid tumor versus hematologic malignancies or treatments. Dyspnea was a significant symptom with 67% of ED patients experiencing it versus only 17% of those that did not come to the ED (P=0.009). Do not resuscitate orders were initiated in eight patients, as early as two days from ED presentation and two of these patients died, while 88% of patients were discharged alive. Conclusions: Most cancer patients with COVID-19 infection admitted though the ED experienced dyspnea and were discharged from the hospital. We did not notice a statistically significant difference between cancer types or type of therapy. A broad differential is of utmost importance when caring for cancer patients with COVID-19 due to the complexity of this population. Early goals of care discussion should be initiated in the ED.
AB - Background: Cancer patients are vulnerable to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) given their compromised immune system. The purpose of this study was to describe the presenting symptoms, inpatient stay trajectory, and survival outcomes, for cancer patients infected with COVID-19; who presented to the emergency department (ED) of a single center during the early months of the pandemic. Methods: We reviewed the electronic medical records of all cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at our institution for demographic information, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, treatment intervention and outcomes. All patients had at least 14 days of follow-up. We determined their survival outcomes as of August 5, 2020. Results: Twenty-eight cancer patients were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 16 (57%) presented to the ED during the study period. The median age of patients who presented to the ED was 61 years, 69% were women, and the median length of hospitalization was 11 days. There was no difference between the groups (ED vs. no ED visit) for demographics, treatment status or solid tumor versus hematologic malignancies or treatments. Dyspnea was a significant symptom with 67% of ED patients experiencing it versus only 17% of those that did not come to the ED (P=0.009). Do not resuscitate orders were initiated in eight patients, as early as two days from ED presentation and two of these patients died, while 88% of patients were discharged alive. Conclusions: Most cancer patients with COVID-19 infection admitted though the ED experienced dyspnea and were discharged from the hospital. We did not notice a statistically significant difference between cancer types or type of therapy. A broad differential is of utmost importance when caring for cancer patients with COVID-19 due to the complexity of this population. Early goals of care discussion should be initiated in the ED.
KW - Cancer
KW - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
KW - Do not resuscitate
KW - Emergency department (ED)
KW - End of life care
KW - SARS-CoV-2
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101704308&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101704308&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.21037/apm-20-1447
DO - 10.21037/apm-20-1447
M3 - Article
C2 - 33222454
AN - SCOPUS:85101704308
SN - 2224-5820
VL - 10
SP - 1763
EP - 1771
JO - Annals of Palliative Medicine
JF - Annals of Palliative Medicine
IS - 2
ER -