Efficacy of Ultraviolet Radiation-C (254 nm) and Low-Intensity Laser in the Healing of Wounds in Irradiated Skin

AbstractRadiotherapy is an integral form of treatment for cancer and is the most widely administered treatment form in India. Following irradiation, slow healing and necrosis are the clinical manifestations of permanent vascular insufficiency. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR-C) and low-intensity laser therapy (LILT; LED Cluster) were studied for their efficacy in the healing of wounds in irradiated tissue because they are known to accelerate the healing process of wounds in non-irradiated tissues. Fourteen female albino rats were the subjects of this study. All 14 animals were irradiated individually with a Cobalt source. Post-radiotherapy, all 14 animals were observed for a period of 3 months to allow subcutaneous fibrosis to develop. At the end of 3 months, an excisional, full thickness circular wound of approximately 2 cm2 was made to the irradiated tissue. In part 1 of the study, the animals belonging to the study group were treated with UVR, whereas in part 2, they were exposed to LILT until the wounds healed completely. In both study parts, the wounds of the animals belonging to the control and study groups were cleaned regularly with saline and betadine. The wounds were traced at each treatment session and the wound area was calculated in mm2 using a Hipad Digitiser. In part 1 of the study, statistical analysis implied that UVR-C did not accelerate the healing process of irradiated tissue. Rather, the lesser average healing rate of the group treated with UVR-C pointed to a delay in the healing of irradiated tissues caused by UVR-C. In part 2, the study showed no difference in the rate of healing of wounds exposed to LILT compared to the wounds that did not receive laser treatment. In conclusion, this study suggests that while use of UVR-C and LILT may not benefit post-irradiation non-healing ulcers, use of UVR-C may actually retard the healing process

Universal Screening of Patients with Cancer for COVID-19: Results from an Observational, Retrospective Cohort Study in Kerala, India

Abstract Introduction There is high risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among patients with cancer with risk of mortality and morbidity being high. Limited data is available on the outcomes of universal screening of cancer patients with asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Objectives Our goal was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with cancer attending the medical oncology department of a tertiary care hospital in Kerala and protect both patients and health care workers before proceeding with the systemic anticancer treatment. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of screening patients receiving systemic anticancer therapy for COVID-19 among hospitalized patients from August 1, 2020, and both outpatients and hospitalized patients from September 1 to November 15, 2020. After clinical triaging, patients were subjected to universal screening with rapid antigen tests and/or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results A total of 1,722 SARS-CoV-2 tests (321 RT-PCR and 1,401 antigen tests) were performed among 1,496 asymptomatic patients before their scheduled chemotherapy/immunotherapy. Eight hundred forty-eight patients were screened more than twice. The patient cohort's median age was 59 years (range 01–92 years); 44.98% of patients were males, and 55.01% were females. 58.77% of patients were on adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 41.22% on chemotherapy for metastatic cancer. The most common malignancy was breast cancer (26.53%), followed by lung (8.35%) and gastrointestinal (16.4%) cancers. The prevalence of asymptomatic infections in our study was 0.86%. Only one patient who had undergone chemotherapy after a negative SARS-CoV-2 test developed confirmed COVID-19 during subsequent testing. From these index cases, none of the other patients, health care workers, or their caretakers contracted COVID-19. Conclusion The prevalence of asymptomatic COVID-19 infections in our study was low (0.86%). With proper health education, clinical triaging, and screening of the high-risk group, it is possible to continue cancer treatment during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, even in LMICs.</jats:p