Open AccessTo Transplant or Not to Transplant During the SARS‐CoV ‐2 Pandemic? That Is the Question
Author(s) -
Marino Dario,
Finotto Silvia,
Basso Umberto,
Galiano Antonella,
Bolshinsky Maital,
Amato Ottavia,
Marson Piero,
Tison Tiziana,
Colpo Anna,
Zagonel Vittorina
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the oncologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.176
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1549-490X
pISSN - 1083-7159
DOI - 10.1002/onco.13563
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , covid-19 , virology , intensive care medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , disease
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 has grown to be a global public health emergency. The rapid spread of the infection has raised many questions in the oncohematological scientific community regarding the appropriateness of high‐dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). We here report two cases of patients who received ASCT at our Institute during the epidemic in Italy, affected with Hodgkin lymphoma and germ cell tumor, respectively. The two patients underwent a nasopharyngeal swab for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) on hospital admittance and during the period of bone marrow aplasia. They were attended to exclusively by dedicated health care staff who followed specifically implemented protocols for bedside nursing and care. They completed the procedure without unexpected side effect. Our experience demonstrates how ASCT can be performed safely if procedures are reorganized ad hoc to reduce the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.