3 research outputs found
Time to SARSâCoVâ2 clearance among patients with cancer and COVIDâ19
Abstract Background For cancer patients, coronavirus disease 19 (COVIDâ19) infection can lead to delays in cancer therapy both due to the infection itself and due to the need to minimize exposure to other patients and to staff. Clearance guidelines have been proposed, but expected time to clearance has not been established. Methods We identified all patients at a tertiary care hospital cancer center between 25 March 2020 and 6 June 2020 with a positive nasopharyngeal reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTâPCR) test for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSâCoVâ2), a cancerârelated visit within 3Â years, and at least one followâup assay. We determined the time to clearance using American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UKâNICE), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria. A matched nonâcancer comparison cohort was also identified. Results Thirtyâtwo cancer patients were identified. Nineteen were cleared by ASCO criteria, with estimated median time to clearance of 50Â days. Fourteen patients resumed chemotherapy prior to clearance. Using UKâNICE criteria, median time to clearance would have been 31Â days, and using CDC criteria, it would have been 13Â days. The matched nonâcancer cohort had similar clearance time, but with less frequent testing. Conclusion SARSâCoVâ2 clearance times differ substantially depending on the criteria used and may be prolonged in cancer patients. This could lead to a delay in cancer care, increased use of clearance testing, and extension of infection control precautions