Open Collections

Shojaei, Delaram

University of British Columbia

Background: As COVID-19 spread, efforts were made to preserve hospital resources to prepare for the anticipated surge of COVID-19 patients. However, the relationship between COVID-19 hospitalizations and access to cancer surgery is unknown. In this project, we analyze the impact of COVID-19 patient volume and wait time for cancer surgery. We also investigate the effect on wait time for non-cancer surgery, the number of surgeries performed, and the number of patients waiting for surgery. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective study using electronic databases and registries and examined regional surgical wait times and COVID-19 patient volumes to produce a qualitative analysis. The regional volume of surgery and patients waiting for surgery were also analysed for cancer and non-cancer diagnosis groups. Results: Changes in regional, weekly median wait time for priority and other cancer surgery were independent of COVID-19 patient volume. In the first phase of the pandemic, volume of patients and wait time for urgent surgery is shortened while volume of patients and wait time for non-urgent surgery is extended. In the second phase, for all diagnosis groups, wait time recovers. In the third phase, volume of patients waiting for all surgeries increases. Conclusion: Regional COVID-19 patient hospitalization in critical and non-critical care did not affect cancer surgery access. If further supported by future studies, cancellation of non-urgent surgeries as mandated by provincial governments, and institutional actions in upholding the efficiency of the health system are likely to act as influential factors in access to cancer surgery.

Text

2022-07-15

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/82154

Interdisciplinary Oncology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/