Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

Globally, 28.4 million non-emergent ('elective') surgical procedures have been deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective breast- or colorectal cancer (CRC) procedure backlogs and attributable mortality, globally. Further, we...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sonia Haribhai, Komal Bhatia, Maryam Shahmanesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0001413&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832539944942305280
author Sonia Haribhai
Komal Bhatia
Maryam Shahmanesh
author_facet Sonia Haribhai
Komal Bhatia
Maryam Shahmanesh
author_sort Sonia Haribhai
collection DOAJ
description Globally, 28.4 million non-emergent ('elective') surgical procedures have been deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective breast- or colorectal cancer (CRC) procedure backlogs and attributable mortality, globally. Further, we evaluated the interaction between procedure deferrals and health systems, internationally. Relevant articles from any country, published between December 2019-24 November 2022, were identified through searches of online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE) and by examining the reference lists of retrieved articles. We organised health system-related findings thematically per the Structures-Processes-Outcomes conceptual model by Donabedian (1966). Of 337 identified articles, we included 50. Eleven (22.0%) were reviews. The majority of included studies originated from high-income countries (n = 38, 76.0%). An ecological, modelling study elucidated that global 12-week procedure cancellation rates ranged from 68.3%-73%; Europe and Central Asia accounted for the majority of cancellations (n = 8,430,348) and sub-Saharan Africa contributed the least (n = 520,459). The percentage reduction in global, institutional elective breast cancer surgery activity ranged from 5.68%-16.5%. For CRC, this ranged from 0%-70.9%. Significant evidence is presented on how insufficient pandemic preparedness necessitated procedure deferrals, internationally. We also outlined ancillary determinants of delayed surgery (e.g., patient-specific factors). The following global health system response themes are presented: Structural changes (i.e., hospital re-organisation), Process-related changes (i.e., adapted healthcare provision) and the utilisation of Outcomes (i.e., SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence among patients or healthcare personnel, postoperative pulmonary complication incidence, hospital readmission, length of hospital stay and tumour staging) as indicators of health system response efficacy. Evidence on procedure backlogs and attributable mortality was limited, partly due to insufficient, real-time surveillance of cancer outcomes, internationally. Elective surgery activity has decreased and cancer services have adapted rapidly, worldwide. Further research is needed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on cancer mortality and the efficacy of health system mitigation measures, globally.
format Article
id doaj-art-01a51edb4fc2498e822be88808a99b92
institution Kabale University
issn 2767-3375
language English
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLOS Global Public Health
spelling doaj-art-01a51edb4fc2498e822be88808a99b922025-02-05T05:50:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752023-01-0134e000141310.1371/journal.pgph.0001413Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.Sonia HaribhaiKomal BhatiaMaryam ShahmaneshGlobally, 28.4 million non-emergent ('elective') surgical procedures have been deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective breast- or colorectal cancer (CRC) procedure backlogs and attributable mortality, globally. Further, we evaluated the interaction between procedure deferrals and health systems, internationally. Relevant articles from any country, published between December 2019-24 November 2022, were identified through searches of online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE) and by examining the reference lists of retrieved articles. We organised health system-related findings thematically per the Structures-Processes-Outcomes conceptual model by Donabedian (1966). Of 337 identified articles, we included 50. Eleven (22.0%) were reviews. The majority of included studies originated from high-income countries (n = 38, 76.0%). An ecological, modelling study elucidated that global 12-week procedure cancellation rates ranged from 68.3%-73%; Europe and Central Asia accounted for the majority of cancellations (n = 8,430,348) and sub-Saharan Africa contributed the least (n = 520,459). The percentage reduction in global, institutional elective breast cancer surgery activity ranged from 5.68%-16.5%. For CRC, this ranged from 0%-70.9%. Significant evidence is presented on how insufficient pandemic preparedness necessitated procedure deferrals, internationally. We also outlined ancillary determinants of delayed surgery (e.g., patient-specific factors). The following global health system response themes are presented: Structural changes (i.e., hospital re-organisation), Process-related changes (i.e., adapted healthcare provision) and the utilisation of Outcomes (i.e., SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence among patients or healthcare personnel, postoperative pulmonary complication incidence, hospital readmission, length of hospital stay and tumour staging) as indicators of health system response efficacy. Evidence on procedure backlogs and attributable mortality was limited, partly due to insufficient, real-time surveillance of cancer outcomes, internationally. Elective surgery activity has decreased and cancer services have adapted rapidly, worldwide. Further research is needed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on cancer mortality and the efficacy of health system mitigation measures, globally.https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0001413&type=printable
spellingShingle Sonia Haribhai
Komal Bhatia
Maryam Shahmanesh
Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
PLOS Global Public Health
title Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
title_full Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
title_fullStr Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
title_full_unstemmed Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
title_short Global elective breast- and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs, attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
title_sort global elective breast and colorectal cancer surgery performance backlogs attributable mortality and implemented health system responses during the covid 19 pandemic a scoping review
url https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0001413&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT soniaharibhai globalelectivebreastandcolorectalcancersurgeryperformancebacklogsattributablemortalityandimplementedhealthsystemresponsesduringthecovid19pandemicascopingreview
AT komalbhatia globalelectivebreastandcolorectalcancersurgeryperformancebacklogsattributablemortalityandimplementedhealthsystemresponsesduringthecovid19pandemicascopingreview
AT maryamshahmanesh globalelectivebreastandcolorectalcancersurgeryperformancebacklogsattributablemortalityandimplementedhealthsystemresponsesduringthecovid19pandemicascopingreview