Impact of Confinement and Preventive Measures in Period of SARS-COV2 Infection on Clinical Features, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Management and Prognosis of Patients With Lung Cancer

Overview

The unexpected onset of SARS-COV2 infection modified our practices, especially in routine medicine. In order to reverse the epidemic curve of severe cases and slow the spread of the infection, confinement was generalized in France from March 13, 2020.These restrictive measures were imposed on anyone with symptoms compatible with the infection, with the exception of dyspnea and other criteria of severity. March 12, 2020 is the pivotal date when the management of COVID came to interfere with medical and healthcare organizations. From this date, it is likely that some imaging or endoscopic exams have been de-scheduled for symptoms that are sometimes wrongly judged to be non-urgent and have seen their numbers drop dramatically.Otherwise, concerning lung cancer, preventive measures have been extremely strengthened. For instance, it is recommended to delay surgeries for localized tumors, to relieve or remove some chemotherapy or to delete radiotherapy sessions deemed non-essential. However, symptoms that may initially be attributed to viral infection, such as cough, fever, fatigue, or chest pain may be clinical indicators of early-stage Lung cancer. In addition, lung cancer is likely to make the patient more susceptible to pneumopathy, due to a weakened of immune response to viruses and bacteria. Consequently, as necessary as the restriction measures are, a risk of slowing down in the management of the Lung cancer pathology exists. The CBP-COVID Study intends to assess consequences of restrictive measures linked to the SARS-COV2 epidemic, by comparing clinical characteristics at diagnosis, treatment times and treatments, regarding to 2 distinct time periods identical to the calendar, but one in 2019, the other in 2020.

Conditions