Outcome of Oncology Patients Infected With Coronavirus.

PURPOSE

This study investigated the features of oncology patients with confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs-Riyadh during the outbreak of June 2015 to determine the clinical course and outcome of affected patients.

METHODS

The patients' demographic information, cancer history, treatment pattern, information about MERS-coronavirus (CoV) infection, history of travel, clinical symptoms, test results, and outcome were collected and analyzed as part of a quality improvement project to improve the care and safety of our patients. Only patients with confirmed infection were included.

RESULTS

A total of 19 patients were identified, with a median age of 66 years (range, 16-88 years), and 12 patients (63%) were males. The most common underlying disease was hematologic malignancies (47.4%), followed by colorectal cancer (21%) and lung cancer (15.8%). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities (57.9% and 52.6%, respectively). Infection was diagnosed by nasopharyngeal swab in all patients. All patients contracted the infection during their hospitalization for other reasons. Sixteen patients (80%) were admitted to the intensive care unit; 13 patients (81%) had acute respiratory distress syndrome, 11 were intubated (68.75%), 9 had acute renal injury (56.25%), and 3 required dialysis (18.75%). Only 3 patients (15.8%) with early-stage cancers survived. Patients with hematologic malignancies and advanced solid tumors had a 100% case fatality rate. The majority of the causes of death were due to multi-organ failure and septic shock.

CONCLUSION

MERS-CoV infection resulted in a high case fatality rate in patients with malignancy. Therefore, it is critical to implement effective primary preventive measures to avoid exposure of patients with cancer to the virus.