Teh, Mei-Sze and See, Mee-Hoong and Lai, Lee-Lee and Yahya, Abqariyah and Teoh, Li-Ying and Rahmat, Kartini (2022) COVID-19 effects on breast cancer patients: Symptom presentation and critical intervals in a Malaysian hospital. Journal of Public Health and Emergency, 6. ISSN 2520-0054, DOI https://doi.org/10.21037/jphe-22-21.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is distressing especially in countries where resources are thin. In Malaysia, there is concern over its effects on the wellbeing of non-COVID patients. We compare critical intervals between pre-pandemic and pandemic breast cancer patients. Methods: This cohort study involved 100 patients, 50 diagnosed pre-pandemic and 50 diagnosed during the pandemic. Symptoms were categorized into three (breast lump, non-breast lump and non-breast symptoms). Presentation interval was the time from symptoms to first presentation at a clinic. Diagnosis interval was the time from first presentation to diagnosis, and treatment interval was the time from diagnosis to initial treatment. Results: Mean times for presentation, diagnosis and treatment intervals in the pre-pandemic group were 14.48 months, 10.94 days, and 21.18 days, respectively. The pandemic group recorded 34.64 months, 17.14 days, and 17.14 days, respectively. Three main presenting symptoms in pre-pandemic and pandemic groups were breast lumps (92 and 98), followed by non-lump breast symptoms (14 and 30) and non-breast symptoms (2 and 6). Conclusions: The extended presentation and diagnosis intervals may be a result of movement restrictions during the outbreak. Screening should not be neglected. The pandemic should not set us back but aids us in a global reset. © 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | None |
| Additional Information: | Cited by: 0; All Open Access, Gold Open Access |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Breast cancer; COVID-19 pandemic; Critical intervals; Oncology; Presenting symptoms |
| Subjects: | R Medicine > RC Internal medicine |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Medicine > Social & Preventive Medicine Faculty of Medicine > Surgery Department |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Nov 2023 01:41 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Dec 2023 01:41 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/44142 |
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