Management of differentiated thyroid cancer through nuclear medicine facilities during Covid-19 emergency: the telemedic
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Management of differentiated thyroid cancer through nuclear medicine facilities during Covid-19 emergency: the telemedicine challenge Michele Klain 1 & Carmela Nappi 1 & Simone Maurea 1 & Marina De Risi 1 & Fabio Volpe 1 & Elisa Caiazzo 1 & Leandra Piscopo 1 & Mariarosaria Manganelli 1 & Martin Schlumberger 1 & Alberto Cuocolo 1 Received: 10 July 2020 / Accepted: 13 September 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose To investigate whether a telemedicine service (TMS) carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods We retrospectively reviewed the number and the findings of outpatient visits in DTC subjects referred between March 11, 2020, and May 31, 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic at the Radiometabolic Unit of the University of Naples Federico II. Office visits scheduled in March and May 2020 were converted in teleconsultation reaching all patients planned for an in-ward access to advise them to use the TMS for all clinical necessity. The number and the findings of DTC patients evaluated by in-ward access in the corresponding period of 2019 were also assessed for direct comparison. Results The number of outpatient visits performed by TMS during the pandemic (n = 445) and by in-ward access in the corresponding period of 2019 (n = 525) was comparable with only 15% of outpatient evaluations missed. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate the utility of telemedicine tools to avoid the potential negative impact of interruption or postponement of diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures. Therefore, investments in medical network system development, including the implementation of telehealth approaches, should be encouraged at national and international levels. Keywords Covid-19 . SARS-CoV-2 . Thyroid cancer . 131I . Southern Italy . Telemedicine
Introduction From March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization characterized the novel coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic, healthcare services were suddenly called to deal with a number of new critical issues [1]. On the one hand, the need to fight Covid-19 to reduce the mortality risk related to the virus infection [2] has rapidly emerged as a priority goal redirecting all available healthcare resources to this emergency response, and on the other hand, the access to medical facilities to manage acute and chronic diseases not related to Covid-19 has been subjected to an unplanned challenge. As regards to oncological units, the need to maintain the planned This article is part of the Topical Collection on Endocrinology * Alberto Cuocolo [email protected] 1
Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University Federico II, Naples, Italy
therapeutic management and surveillance has requested the identification of new monitoring strategies, using all available tools, including new technologies [3]. It should be also taken into account that oncological patients have a higher risk of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, or death compared with patients w
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