Global Survey on Pancreatic Surgery during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Atsushi Oba, Thomas F. Stoop, Matthias Löhr, Thilo Hackert, Nicholas Zyromski, William H. Nealon, Michiaki Unno, Richard D. Schulick, Mohammed H. Al-Musawi, Wenming Wu, Yupei Zhao, Sohei Satoi, Christopher L. Wolfgang, Mohammad Abu Hilal, Marc G. Besselink, Marco Del Chiaro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective:The aim of this study was to clarify the role of pancreatic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic to optimize patients' and clinicians' safety and safeguard health care capacity.Summary Background Data:The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacts health care systems worldwide. Cancer patients appear to have an increased risk for adverse events when infected by COVID-19, but the inability to receive oncological care seems may be an even larger threat, particularly in case of pancreatic cancer.Methods:An online survey was submitted to all members of seven international pancreatic associations and study groups, investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pancreatic surgery using 21 statements (April, 2020). Consensus was defined as >80% agreement among respondents and moderate agreement as 60% to 80% agreement.Results:A total of 337 respondents from 267 centers and 37 countries spanning 5 continents completed the survey. Most respondents were surgeons (n = 302, 89.6%) and working in an academic center (n = 286, 84.9%). The majority of centers (n = 166, 62.2%) performed less pancreatic surgery because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the weekly pancreatic resection rate from 3 [interquartile range (IQR) 2-5] to 1 (IQR 0-2) (P < 0.001). Most centers screened for COVID-19 before pancreatic surgery (n = 233, 87.3%). Consensus was reached on 13 statements and 5 statements achieved moderate agreement.Conclusions:This global survey elucidates the role of pancreatic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding patient selection for the surgical and oncological treatment of pancreatic diseases to support clinical decision-making and creating a starting point for further discussion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E87-E93
JournalAnnals of surgery
Volume272
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2020

Keywords

  • CA19-9
  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • ampullary adenocarcinoma
  • chronic pancreatitis
  • distal bile duct cancer
  • duodenal adenocarcinoma
  • hospital volume
  • intensive care unit
  • intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms
  • minimally invasive surgery
  • neoadjuvant treatment
  • pancreatic cancer
  • pancreatic necrosis
  • pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor
  • pancreatic surgery
  • pandemic
  • respectability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery

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