Article ; Online: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Access to Cancer Surgery: Analysis of Surgical Wait Times in British Columbia, Canada.
Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
2023 Volume 17, Page(s) e565
Abstract: Objective: As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread, efforts were made to preserve resources for the anticipated surge of COVID-19 patients in British Columbia, Canada. However, the relationship between COVID-19 hospitalizations and access to ... ...
Abstract | Objective: As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread, efforts were made to preserve resources for the anticipated surge of COVID-19 patients in British Columbia, Canada. However, the relationship between COVID-19 hospitalizations and access to cancer surgery is unclear. In this project, we analyze the impact of COVID-19 patient volumes on wait time for cancer surgery. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using population-based datasets of regional surgical wait times and COVID-19 patient volumes. Weekly median wait times for urgent, nonurgent, cancer, and noncancer surgeries, and maximum volumes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were studied. The results were qualitatively analyzed. Results: A sustained association between weekly median wait time for priority and other cancer surgeries and increase hospital COVID-19 patient volumes was not qualitatively discernable. In response to the first phase of COVID-19 patient volumes, relative to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, wait time were shortened for urgent cancer surgery but increased for nonurgent surgeries. During the second phase, for all diagnostic groups, wait times returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. During the third phase, wait times for all surgeries increased. Conclusion: Cancer surgery access may have been influenced by other factors, such as policy directives and local resource issues, independent of hospitalized COVID-19 patient volumes. The initial access limitations gradually improved with provincial and institutional resilience, and vaccine rollout. |
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MeSH term(s) | Humans ; British Columbia/epidemiology ; Waiting Lists ; Retrospective Studies ; Pandemics ; COVID-19/epidemiology ; Neoplasms/epidemiology ; Neoplasms/surgery |
Language | English |
Publishing date | 2023-12-22 |
Publishing country | United States |
Document type | Journal Article |
ZDB-ID | 2375268-3 |
ISSN | 1938-744X ; 1935-7893 |
ISSN (online) | 1938-744X |
ISSN | 1935-7893 |
DOI | 10.1017/dmp.2023.223 |
Database | MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE |
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