Open AccessNew safer management for breast cancer patients who need neoadjuvant therapy during SARS-COVID pandemic
Author(s) -
Donato Casella,
Daniele Fusario,
Alessandro Neri
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
breast disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.244
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1558-1551
pISSN - 0888-6008
DOI - 10.3233/bd-210007
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , safer , breast cancer , health care , sentinel node , medical emergency , neoadjuvant therapy , covid-19 , intensive care medicine , cancer , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , computer security , computer science , economics , economic growth
During the first hit of SARS-COVID pandemic, an important reorganization of Healthcare Services has been done, and new protocols and pathways to protect frail patients like oncological patients were designed. The second hit of pandemic had stressed these new pathways and suggests to health-workers some improvements for safer management of patents. We reported our experience in organizing the clinical pathway of neoadjuvant therapy candidate patients based on the execution of sentinel lympho-node biopsy and the placement of implantable venous access port in the same access to operating room before neoadjuvant chemotherapy suggesting a possible organizational model. In the period October–December 2020 we have included in this new type of path twelve patients and we have not registered any cases of COVID among the patients included. We think this new path, adopted amid the second hit, will be useful for all Breast Units that are facing the challenge of guaranteeing the highest standards of care in a historical moment where the health emergency occupies the efforts of health workers and the economic resources of health systems.