Open AccessCOVID ‐19 in cancer patients may be presented by atypical symptoms and higher mortality rate, a case‐controlled study from Iran
Author(s) -
Shahidsales Soodabeh,
Aledavood Seyed Amir,
Joudi Mona,
Molaie Fatemeh,
Esmaily Habibollah,
Javadinia Seyed Alireza
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cancer reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2573-8348
DOI - 10.1002/cnr2.1378
Subject(s) - medicine , malignancy , vomiting , mortality rate , cancer , covid-19 , mechanical ventilation , malaise , disease , gastroenterology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic imposes serious problems to health systems around the world and its rapid expansion makes it difficult to serve patients with certain health conditions such as cancer patients which might be at high risk for mortality if they are infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Aim To compare the outcomes of cancer patients admitted due to COVID‐19 and compare them with data of COVID‐19 infected patients without a history of cancer. Methods In this case‐controlled study, 93 healthy people and 92 patients with malignancy admitted for COVID‐19 were enrolled. The clinical features and laboratory indicators were assessed at the presentation and both groups were followed‐up for treatment options and outcomes prospectively and compared at the level of P ≤ .05. Results COVID‐19 related mortality rate in malignant patients was significantly higher than patients without malignancy (41.3% vs 17.2%, P = .0001). The risk of death increased significantly in patients with malignancy (OR = 8.4, P = .007) and mechanical ventilation (OR = 3.3, P = .034) independent of other variables. Fever (64.5% vs 43.5%, P = .004), chill (35.5% vs 14.1%, P = .001), malaise (49.5% and 30.4%, P = .008), dry cough (51.6% vs 26.1%, P = .0001), and vomiting (17.2% vs 5.4%, P = .012) were reported significantly lower in cancer patients. Conclusion The results suggest that cancer patients who were infected by COVID‐19 may present with atypical symptoms are at higher risk of mortality independent of the demographic data, comorbidities, and treatments.