Topic: ESOPRS 2021 ePoster sessions
Time: Sep 17, 2021 16:00 Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, 15:00 London
(plain text version here)
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the management of Periocular Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Author: Edith Yeung
ePoster Number: 275,00
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on waiting times for treatment of various cancers. This study aims to explore the impact of this pandemic on the management of periocular basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in a tertiary referral centre in the west of Scotland, in particular with reference to referral-to-treatment waiting times and treatment modality.
Methods
We collected data retrospectively on all patients who were diagnosed with periocular BCC in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde from 1st April 2020 to 1st January 2021, and compared with the same time period in 2019. Included patients were identified using the histopathology database and further data was acquired from electronic patient records. We studied the demographics, referral type, referral-to-consultation (clinic) waiting times, clinic-to-treatment waiting times, and treatment modality used.
Results
In total, 122 patients were included. Preliminary analysis shows a 42% reduction in periocular BCC cases during the lockdown period. Overall, referral-to-treatment waiting times were similar pre- and during COVID-19 (18 vs 17 weeks). However, it is interesting to note that during COVID-19, patients had longer referral-to-clinic waiting times (12 vs 8 weeks) but shorter clinic-to-treatment waiting times (7 vs 10 weeks) compared to the pre-pandemic period. A trend of 1-stage surgery (without margin control) more commonly being performed was noticed during COVID-19 (62% vs 32%). Nevertheless, 100% of BCCs undergoing surgery without margin control were still completely excised. More sophisticated data analysis is being carried out using statistical software and will be included in the final presentation.
Conclusion
Stringent risk stratification reduced elective ophthalmic surgery during COVID-19, thereby shortening the clinic-to-treatment time. The increase in 1-stage surgery performed during the pandemic is due to an overall move towards reducing the number of patient visits to the hospital. However, despite the challenges posed, the standard of management of periocular BCCs was preserved during the pandemic.
Additional Authors
| First name | Last name | Base Hospital / Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Wei Han | Ong | University of Glasgow |
| Alasdair | Simpson | Tennet Institute of Ophthalmology |
| Fiona | Roberts | Queen Elizabeth University Hospital |
| Vikas | Chadha | Tennet Institute of Ophthalmology |
Abstract ID: 21-179
