Faculty Collaboration Database

Limited disease progression in endocrine surgery patients with treatment delays due to COVID-19. Surgery 2023 Jan;173(1):93-100

Date

10/10/2022

Pubmed ID

36210185

Pubmed Central ID

PMC9420726

DOI

10.1016/j.surg.2022.06.043

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85139724125 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   7 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the delivery of care and timing of elective surgical procedures. Most endocrine-related operations were considered elective and safe to postpone, providing a unique opportunity to assess clinical outcomes under protracted treatment plans.

METHODS: American Association of Endocrine Surgeon members were surveyed for participation. A Research Electronic Data Capture survey was developed and distributed to 27 institutions to assess the impact of COVID-19-related delays. The information collected included patient demographics, primary diagnosis, resumption of care, and assessment of disease progression by the surgeon.

RESULTS: Twelve out of 27 institutions completed the survey (44.4%). Of 850 patients, 74.8% (636) were female; median age was 56 (interquartile range, 44-66) years. Forty percent (34) of patients had not been seen since their original surgical appointment was delayed; 86.2% (733) of patients had a delay in care with women more likely to have a delay (87.6% vs 82.2% of men, χ² = 3.84, P = .05). Median duration of delay was 70 (interquartile range, 42-118) days. Among patients with a delay in care, primary disease site included thyroid (54.2%), parathyroid (37.2%), adrenal (6.5%), and pancreatic/gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors (1.3%). In addition, 4.0% (26) of patients experienced disease progression and 4.1% (24) had a change from the initial operative plan. The duration of delay was not associated with disease progression (P = .96) or a change in operative plan (P = .66).

CONCLUSION: Although some patients experienced disease progression during COVID-19 delays to endocrine disease-related care, most patients with follow-up did not. Our analysis indicated that temporary delay may be an acceptable course of action in extreme circumstances for most endocrine-related surgical disease.

Author List

Collins RA, DiGennaro C, Beninato T, Gartland RM, Chaves N, Broekhuis JM, Reddy L, Lee J, Deimiller A, Alterio MM, Campbell MJ, Lee YJ, Khilnani TK, Stewart LA, O'Brien MA, Alvarado MVY, Zheng F, McAneny D, Liou R, McManus C, Dream SY, Wang TS, Yen TW, Alhefdhi A, Finnerty BM, Fahey TJ 3rd, Graves CE, Laird AM, Nehs MA, Drake FT, Lee JA, McHenry CR, James BC, Pasieka JL, Kuo JH, Lubitz CC

Authors

Sophie Y. Dream MD Associate Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Tracy S. Wang MD, MPH Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Tina W F Yen MD, MS Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Disease Progression
Endocrine System Diseases
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Time-to-Treatment