Becker's Hospital Review

69 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY Hospitals worldwide brace for escalation of cancer cases By Anuja Vaidya A s countries end lockdowns and coronavirus-related restrictions gradually lift, hospitals are expecting to see an influx of cancer patients who may have delayed their care as the pandemic spread, Bloomberg reported. Cancer screenings and treatment fell globally, with the U.K., U.S., Spain and other countries reporting sharp drops. In the U.K., urgent hospital referrals for suspected cancer fell 60 percent in April, a Cancer Research UK analysis of National Health Service data found. Similarly, routine cancer screenings fell by as much as 94 percent in the U.S. in March, according to Bloomberg. Research revealed cancer survival rates in countries around the world are likely to drop due to delays in care as healthcare orga- nizations race to keep up with the surge in COVID-19 patients. And if cases continue to rise unabated by a vaccine or medical treatment, the backlog of cancer patients needing care will be even greater. "Clinicians have to make decisions about what's the greater risk: bringing someone into hospital and they might get coro- navirus, or leaving them for three weeks, three months, and what will happen in the intervening time in terms of their cancer progressing," Genevieve Edwards, head of Bowel Cancer U.K., told Bloomberg. Hospitals in countries like Italy and U.K. are trying to deal with the issue by creating cancer hubs, where patients can receive therapy away from coronavirus patients. n Advocate Aurora leaders told oncology staff not to wear masks in March, nurse says By Mackenzie Bean A n Illinois hospital nurse claims she contract- ed COVID-19 after hospital leaders told em- ployees not to wear masks for a short time in March, reported CBS Chicago. Karen Duenas works in the oncology and hospice unit at Hazel Crest, Ill.-based Advocate Aurora South Suburban Hospital. She said hospital leaders instruct- ed staff members to wear a mask if they had a cough or respiratory symptoms in February. But in March, nursing managers told staff not to wear masks be- cause it would make patients feel uncomfortable, Ms. Duenas claimed. She tested positive for COVID-19 March 24. Five of her family members also contacted the virus, includ- ing her husband, who's been hospitalized for nearly three months. In an emailed statement to Becker's, Advocate Aurora said all leadership decisions are made with the health and safety of its employees and patients as a top pri- ority. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have closely followed CDC guidelines, including provid- ing our team members with the appropriate personal protective equipment," the spokesperson said. n Lingering COVID-19 symptoms stump physicians By Anuja Vaidya S ome COVID-19 patients continue to experience symptoms of the disease weeks and months aer being diag- nosed, particularly in cases where the disease does not become severe enough to require hospital admission, and physicians are trying to figure out why, NBC News reported. e World Health Organization and the CDC have acknowledged reports of patients experiencing symptoms well aer diagnosis and said they are working to better under- stand why this happens. But physicians across the country are already closely monitoring these patients with linger- ing symptoms. Jessica Dine, MD, a lung phy- sician and director of the advance consulta- tive pulmonary division at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, is working with these patients to better understand their illness. Dr. Dine and her team use COVID Watch, a hospital texting service that conducts check- ins with COVID-19 patients at home daily, NBC News reported. ey have two guess- es about why some patients have lingering symptoms. One is that the virus is still in the patient's body, though undetectable by testing, and the other is that the body's im- mune system remains ready for action even when there is no virus, a condition known as post-viral inflammatory syndrome. "What we need is more research to explain where the symptoms are coming from," Dr. Dine told NBC News. One theory physicians have is that the in- flammation caused by COVID-19 affects the autonomic nervous system, which affects unconscious bodily functions, such as diges- tion, sweating and sleep, NBC reported. But long-term inflammation has no specific treatment, and there is no good therapy for extreme fatigue, one of the most debilitating symptoms, Dr. Dine said. At Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, clinicians have started developing pro- tocols for patients experiencing lingering symptoms. e plans are personalized to each patient, but many include regimens for exercise, sleep and nutrition, David Putrino, PhD, director of rehabilitation innovation at the Mount Sinai told NBC. n

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