Weickert Martin O, Robbins Tim, Kyrou Ioannis, Hopper Adam, Pearson Eilish, Barber Thomas M, Kaltsas Gregory, Randeva Harpal S
The ARDEN NET Centre, ENETS Centre of Excellence, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry, CV2 DX, UK.
Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
Endocrine. 2021 Jan;71(1):14-19. doi: 10.1007/s12020-020-02564-2. Epub 2021 Jan 5.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been particular concerns regarding the related impact on specialist tumour services. Neuroendocrine tumour (NET) services are delivered in a highly specialised setting, typically delivered in a small number of centres that fulfil specific criteria as defined by the European Neuroendocrine Tumour Society (ENETS). We aimed to address the COVID-19-related impact on specialist NET tumour services in England and other countries.
Electronic survey addressing patient access and delivery of care distributed to all ENETS Centres of Excellence (CoE) in England and matching number of ENETS CoE elsewhere. Semi-quantitative and qualitative analyses of survey responses were performed.
Survey response of ENETS CoE in England was 55% (6/11). Responses from six non-UK ENETS CoE elsewhere were received and analysed in a similar manner. Relevant disruption of various NET services was noted across all responding Centres, which included delayed patient appointments and investigations, reduced availability of treatment modalities including delayed surgical treatment and a major negative impact on research activities. The comparison between English and non-UK ENETS CoE suggested that the former had significantly greater concerns related to future research funding (p = 0.014), whilst having less disruption to multidisciplinary meetings (p = 0.01). A trend was also noted towards virtual patient appointments in ENETS CoE in England vs. elsewhere (p = 0.092).
Restoration of highly specialised NET services following COVID-19 and planning for future service delivery and research funding must take account of the severe challenges encountered during the pandemic.
在新冠疫情期间，人们特别关注其对专科肿瘤服务的相关影响。神经内分泌肿瘤（NET）服务是在高度专业化的环境中提供的，通常由少数符合欧洲神经内分泌肿瘤学会（ENETS）定义的特定标准的中心提供。我们旨在探讨新冠疫情对英国及其他国家专科NET肿瘤服务的影响。
向英国所有ENETS卓越中心（CoE）以及其他地区数量相当的ENETS CoE分发有关患者就医机会和护理提供情况的电子调查问卷。对调查回复进行半定量和定性分析。
英国ENETS CoE的调查回复率为55%（6/11）。收到了来自其他六个非英国ENETS CoE的回复，并以类似方式进行了分析。所有回复中心均指出各种NET服务受到了相关干扰，包括患者预约和检查延迟、治疗方式的可及性降低，包括手术治疗延迟，以及对研究活动产生重大负面影响。英国与非英国ENETS CoE的比较表明，前者对未来研究资金的担忧明显更大（p = 0.014），而多学科会议受到的干扰较小（p = 0.01）。在英国的ENETS CoE与其他地区相比，虚拟患者预约也呈现出一种趋势（p = 0.092）。
新冠疫情后恢复高度专业化的NET服务以及规划未来的服务提供和研究资金，必须考虑到疫情期间遇到的严峻挑战。
