Uniform infection screening allowed safe head and neck surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Japan

Features of hospitalization of patients in the trauma and orthopedic center in the context of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

The algorithm for examining patients for SARS-CoV-2 during admission to non-infectious hospitals, a unified route scheme for patients taking into account the potential infectious hazard is not regulated.

The aim of the study is to identify the features of the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 during planned hospitalization in the field of “traumatology and orthopedics”; to present schemes for examining patients for SARS-CoV-2 during hospitalization and patient routing in the clinic.

Materials and methods. The route and procedure of examination to exclude the nosocomial spread of COVID-19 in patients hospitalized for three months is described. 3366 survey results were analyzed.

Results. Positive PCR tests for COVID-19 before hospitalization were obtained in 4.5 % of patients. High titers of IgM are found in 7.8 % of cases. At the level of the Pass Office, 10.5 % of arrivals were denied hospitalization. The CT scan of the chest organs, which was then carried out, revealed among the examined 9.1 % of asymptomatic pneumonia, of which 93.5 % – with radiological signs of COVID-19, 2/3 of “covid” pneumonia – with a CT-0 degree. Another part of hospitalizations was postponed due to somatic contraindications during clinical examination. After all the selection stages, 73.2 % of planned hospitalizations ended up. In the hospital, 12 cases of COVID-19 were detected in the postoperative period, more often on the 4th day after the operation. A total of 2,328 patients were discharged during the study period – 69.2 % of planned hospitalizations, a third of patients received a medical withdrawal from hospitalization due to COVID-19.

Conclusions. The peculiarities of admitting patients to planned hospitalization in the traumatology and orthopedics profile is the difficulty of reliably detecting COVID-19 in a limited time. In some cases of asymptomatic course, the disease is detected only with the help of CT diagnostics. In 0.5 % of cases, COVID-19 is detected in the postoperative period. The described patient routing scheme, multistage diagnostics to exclude COVID-19 are able to ensure maximum infectious safety of patients and staff in the clinic.

Outcomes of head and neck cancer management from two cancer centres in Southern and Northern Europe during the first wave of COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

To describe the approach and outcomes from two cancer centres in Southern and Northern Europe during the first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).

METHODS

Data collection was performed on a retrospective cohort of patients surgically treated for primary HNC between March and May 2020, using data from two tertiary hospitals: the European Institute of Oncology (Milan) and Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (London).

RESULTS

We included 77 patients with HNC. More patients with COVID-19 were taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and had Clavien-Dindo Classification grade I compared to negative patients, respectively (60% vs 22% [p = 0.058] and 40% vs 8% [p = 0.025]). Multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed our data (p = 0.05 and 0.03, respectively). Sex and age were statistically significantly different (p = 0.05 and <0.001 respectively), showing more male patients (75% vs 53.66%, respectively) and more elderly patients in Italy than in the United Kingdom (patients aged >63 years: 69.44% vs 29.27%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents a large cohort of patients with HNC with nasopharyngeal swab during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Patients with HNC with COVID-19 appeared more likely to develop postsurgical complications and to be taking ACE inhibitors. The preventive measures adopted guaranteed the continuation of therapeutic surgical intervention.