Managing cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic: a North African Oncological center experience

Ammor, Youssouf Mohamed; Kaitouni, Zinah Idrissi; Darfaoui, Mouna; Lalya, Issam; Elomrani, A.; Khouchani, Mouna

doi:10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.24582

Cited by 8 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…This was observed in a study from Morocco that reported a significant decline in cancer patients admission in the early phases of the lockdown. 25 The study result was consistent with a report from the WHO indicating a considerable degree of healthcare services disruption for non-communicable diseases in the early phases of the pandemic in more than three-quarters of countries globally. 65 Similarly, although not directly comparable as most studies in the reviews came from high-income settings, two reviews showed adverse effects of COVID-19 on hospital visits, hospitalisations, diagnostics, and maternal and child health services.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The COVID-19-related lockdown restrictions has impacted all healthcare services, 24 including HIV care, treatment for malaria and tuberculosis, and maternal and child health services. 25 35 A study from Ethiopia reported a decline in service utilisation as high as 98% for family planning services and up to 50% for antenatal care attendance compared with pre-pandemic trends. 16 In addition, three studies 16 36 37 have observed substantial declines in diagnosis and management of tuberculosis services.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The re-purposing of existing services involved, among others, providing health services for COVID-19 suspected cases through dedicated clinical units, establishing isolation centres and providing protective masks. 25 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After removing duplicates, 747 records remained for titles and abstracts screening, of which 83 articles were retrieved for full-text screening. We conducted the final review on 22 studies,16 24–44 of which 19 (86.4%) were quantitative (figure 1, table 2). A total of 61 papers were excluded for the following reasons: studies assessed clinical and biomedical aspects of COVID-19 (n=28); covered expert opinions or commentary that did not involve primary data (n=12); assessed perceived or anticipated impacts (n=13); were not focused on Africa (n=8).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Except for four studies24 31 38 42 that were multicountry, 18 came from 10 different countries: four were from Ethiopia,16 32 33 36 three each from Kenya,27 34 43 and Uganda 28 30 41. While 18 (81.8%) were original studies16 24 26–30 32–35 37 38 40 42–44 published either in peer-reviewed journals or available in preprint repositories, the remaining four studies25 31 36 39 were published as letters to editors or commentaries but backed up by primary data. Of the included studies, 19 studies16 24 25 28–32 34–41 43–45 described the impacts of COVID-19 on accessing healthcare services, 7 studies24–28 33 38 reported health system responses to mitigate COVID-19 and 6 studies24 26 27 32 33 38 provided information on health system preparedness.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa: a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

et al. 2021

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search peer-reviewed articles and Google, Google Scholar and preprint sites for grey literature. The scoping review captured studies on either preparedness or impacts or responses associated with COVID-19 or covering one or more of the three topics and guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework. The extracted information was documented following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension checklist for scoping reviews. Finally, the resulting data were thematically analysed.ResultsTwenty-two eligible studies, of which 6 reported on health system preparedness, 19 described the impacts of COVID-19 on access to general and essential health services and 7 focused on responses taken by the healthcare systems were included. The main setbacks in health system preparation included lack of available health services needed for the pandemic, inadequate resources and equipment, and limited testing ability and surge capacity for COVID-19. Reduced flow of patients and missing scheduled appointments were among the most common impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health system responses identified in this review included the availability of telephone consultations, re-purposing of available services and establishment of isolation centres, and provisions of COVID-19 guidelines in some settings.ConclusionsThe health systems in Africa were inadequately prepared for the pandemic, and its impact was substantial. Responses were slow and did not match the magnitude of the problem. Interventions that will improve and strengthen health system resilience and financing through local, national and global engagement should be prioritised.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa: a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

et al. 2021

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Safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in oncologic patients undergoing numerous cancer treatment options

et al. 2022

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The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus, has infected millions worldwide with cancer patients demonstrating a higher prevalence for severe disease and poorer outcomes. Recently, the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was released as the primary means to combat COVID-19. The currently reported incidence of local and systemic side effects was 27% in the general public. The safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine has not been studied in patients with an active cancer diagnosis who are either ongoing or plan to undergo oncologic therapy. This single center study reviewed the charts of 210 patients with active cancer diagnoses that received both doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The development of side effects from the vaccine, hospitalizations or exacerbations from various oncologic treatment were documented. Type of oncologic treatment (immunotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal, biologic, radiation or mixed) was documented to identify if side effects were related to treatment type. The time at which the vaccine was administered in relation to treatment onset (on long term therapy, within 1 month of therapy or prior to therapy) was also documented to identify any relationships. Sixty five (31%) participants experienced side effects from the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, however most were mild to moderate. Treatment protocol was not linked to the development of vaccine related side effects ( P = .202), nor was immunotherapy ( P = .942). The timing of vaccine administered in relation to treatment onset was also not related to vaccine related side effects ( P = .653). Six (2.9%) participants were hospitalized and 4 (2%) died. The incidence of side effects in cancer patients is similar to what has been reported for the general public (31% vs 27%). Therefore, we believe that the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is safe in oncologic patients undergoing numerous cancer treatments.

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Identifying the impact of COVID-19 on health systems and lessons for future emergency preparedness: A stakeholder analysis in Kenya

Ogira

Bharali²,

Onyango³

et al. 2022

PLOS Glob Public Health

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The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has triggered a public health and economic crisis in high and low resource settings since the beginning of 2020. With the first case being discovered on 12th March 2020, Kenya has responded by using health and non-health strategies to mitigate the direct and indirect impact of the disease on its population. However, this has had positive and negative implications for the country’s overall health system. This paper aimed to understand the pandemic’s impact and develop lessons for future response by identifying the key challenges and opportunities Kenya faced during the pandemic. We conducted a qualitative study with 15 key informants, purposefully sampled for in-depth interviews from September 2020 to February 2021. We conducted direct content analysis of the transcripts to understand the stakeholder’s views and perceptions of how COVID-19 has affected the Kenyan healthcare system. Most of the respondents noted that Kenya’s initial response was relatively good, especially in controlling the pandemic with the resources it had at the time. This included relaying information to citizens, creating technical working groups and fostering multisectoral collaboration. However, concerns were raised regarding service disruption and impact on reproductive health, HIV, TB, and non-communicable diseases services; poor coordination between the national and county governments; shortage of personal protective equipment and testing kits; and strain of human resources for health. Effective pandemic preparedness for future response calls for improved investments across the health system building blocks, including; human resources for health, financing, infrastructure, information, leadership, service delivery and medical products and technologies. These strategies will help build resilient health systems and improve self-reliance, especially for countries transitioning from donor aid such as Kenya in the event of a pandemic.

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Managing cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic: a North African Oncological center experience

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa: a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa: a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

Safety of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in oncologic patients undergoing numerous cancer treatment options

Identifying the impact of COVID-19 on health systems and lessons for future emergency preparedness: A stakeholder analysis in Kenya

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