Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Colorectal Cancer Surgery in Madrid

 

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Abstract

Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has had an important impact on colorectal cancer surgery, for hospital resources had to be redistributed in favour of Covid-19 patients. The aim of the present study is to analyze our results in colorectal oncologic surgery during the Covid-19 pandemic in patients with and without perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods In total, 32 patients (19 male and 13 female patients), with a mean age of 64 years (range: 57.2 to 69.5 years) with colorectal cancer underwent surgery under the recommendations of surgical societies included in a protocol. Data collection included clinical characteristics (gender, age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, tumor location, preoperative staging, lymphopenia), data related to SARS-CoV-2 infection (postoperative symptoms, diagnostic tests), operative details (surgical procedure, approach, duration, stoma), pathological outcomes (tumor stage, number of lymph nodes harvested, distal and circumferential radial margins, quality of the total mesorectal excision), and surgical outcomes (morbidity, mortality, hospital stay, and the rates of reoperation and readmission).

Results A total of 3 (9.4%) patients who underwent colorectal surgery during the Covid-19 pandemic were infected by SARS-CoV-2 in the postoperative period. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was associated with Covid-19 (6.2% versus 33.3%; p = 0.042), and surgical morbidity was higher among Covid-19 patients (100% versus 37.9%; p = 0.039). There were not significant differences between COVID-19 patients and non-COVID-19 patients in relation to the rest of the analyzed outcomes.

Conclusion During the Covid-19 pandemic, colorectal cancer surgery should be performed according to the recommendations of surgical societies. However, Covid-19 patients could present a higher morbidity rate.

Conclusion

Colorectal cancer surgery should be performed during the Covid-19 pandemic under safe conditions and according to the recommendations of surgical societies. However, the rate of morbidity was higher among patients with confirmed Covid-19 who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval is not required due to retrospective character of the study.

Publication History

Received: 02 November 2020

Accepted: 18 January 2021

Article published online:
03 June 2021

© 2021. Sociedade Brasileira de Coloproctologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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