Cancer surgery during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The experience of a comprehensive cancer center performing preoperative screening by RT‐PCR and chest CT scan. Issue 4 (1st February 2021) - Guerlain, Joanne
Abstract: Background and Objectives: During the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), oncological procedures considered to be urgent could not be delayed, and a specific procedure was required to continue surgical activity. The objective was to assess the efficacy of our preoperative screening algorithm. Methods: This observational retrospective study was performed between the 25th of March and the 12th of May 2020 in a comprehensive cancer center in France. Patients undergoing elective oncologic surgery were tested by preoperative nasopharyngeal reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) that could be associated with a chest computerized tomography (CT) scan. Results: Of the 510 screening tests (in 477 patients), only 5% (15/477) were positive for COVID‐19 in 24 patients (18 RT‐PCR+ and 7 CT scan+/RT‐PCR−). Four patients were ultimately false positives based on the CT scan. In total, only 4.2% (20/477) of the patients were COVID‐19+. The positivity rate decreased with time after the containment measures were implemented (from 7.4% to 0.8%). In the COVID‐19+ group, 20% of the patients had postoperative pulmonary complications, whereas this was the case for 5% of the patients in the COVID‐19 group. Conclusions: Maintaining secure surgical activity is achievable and paramount in oncology care, even during the COVID‐19 pandemic, with appropriate screening based on preoperative RT‐PCR.