Clinical Hematology International

Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2021, Pages 119 - 129

The Management of a Comprehensive Cancer Center during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South of France: Lessons from the Paoli-Calmettes Institute’s Experience

Authors
Didier Blaise1, 2, 3, *, , ORCID, Pierre Berger4, Djamel Mokart5, Jacques Camerlo6, Emmanuelle Fougereau7, Marc Giovannini8, Gilles Houvenaeghel3, 9, Olivier Turrini3, 10, Christian Chabannon2, 3, 11, Gilles Piana12, Isabelle Brenot-Rossi13, Agnès Tallet14, Anthony Gonçalves2, 3, 15, Aude Charbonnier1, Norbert Vey1, 2, 3, Sabrina Grossi16, Patrice Viens3, 15, 16, 17,
1Department of Hematology, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
2Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie de Marseille (CRCM), Inserm, CNRS, Marseille, France
3Aix-Marseille University (AMU), Marseille, France
4Infectious Diseases Committee, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
5Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
6Department of Cancer Ambulatory Care, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
7Pharmacy, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
8Medical and Surgical Endoscopy Cancer Unit, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
9Department of Cancer Surgery 2, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
10Department of Cancer Surgery 1, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
11Cellular Therapy Platform, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
12Department of Cancer Imagery, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
13Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
14Department of Radiotherapy, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
15Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
16General Direction, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
17Sport Cancer Laboratory EA4670, Luminy Campus, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille

DB and PV contributed equally to this paper.

*Corresponding author. Email: blaised@ipc.unicancer.fr
Corresponding Author
Didier Blaise
Received 16 June 2021, Accepted 5 September 2021, Available Online 27 September 2021.
DOI
10.2991/chi.k.210919.001How to use a DOI?
Keywords
COVID-19; pandemic; hospital management; real-world experience; lessons learned
Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rapidly established that cancer patients have an increased risk of developing severe forms of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to a backlog of cancer diagnostics and immunosuppressive treatments. Cancer centers had to quickly adapt to continue cancer therapies despite the high infection risks and major disruptions in the French healthcare system. We described and analyzed the impact of the pandemic in our institution: management adjustments, COVID-19 infection rates in patients and staff, and impacts on clinical activities and finances during the first wave of the pandemic from March to September 2020. We also compared the results to the clinical activity data from preceding periods. A crisis unit was rapidly created that met 27 times over 66 days, generating numerous changes in hospital protocol. While our area was devastated by the pandemic, the infection rate of our staff and patients remained low (less than 1.5% of all employees). However, the lockdown period was accompanied with a reduction of most clinical activities, leading to decreases of 43%, 36%, 36%, 1%, and 10% in surgery, endoscopy, radiotherapy, and in- and out-patient chemotherapy sessions, respectively, with substantial financial loss. Our report highlights the need for the rapid creation, implementation, and adaptation of new protocols during a pandemic’s evolution to prevent disease transmission. Lessons from this situation should provide motivation to better prepare for/limit the dismantling of cancer therapies that can dramatically impact patient care and have deleterious consequences on an institution’s financial situation.

Copyright
© 2021 International Academy for Clinical Hematology. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Journal
Clinical Hematology International
Volume-Issue
3 - 4
Pages
119 - 129
Publication Date
2021/09/27
ISSN (Online)
2590-0048
DOI
10.2991/chi.k.210919.001How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2021 International Academy for Clinical Hematology. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Didier Blaise
AU  - Pierre Berger
AU  - Djamel Mokart
AU  - Jacques Camerlo
AU  - Emmanuelle Fougereau
AU  - Marc Giovannini
AU  - Gilles Houvenaeghel
AU  - Olivier Turrini
AU  - Christian Chabannon
AU  - Gilles Piana
AU  - Isabelle Brenot-Rossi
AU  - Agnès Tallet
AU  - Anthony Gonçalves
AU  - Aude Charbonnier
AU  - Norbert Vey
AU  - Sabrina Grossi
AU  - Patrice Viens
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/09/27
TI  - The Management of a Comprehensive Cancer Center during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South of France: Lessons from the Paoli-Calmettes Institute’s Experience
JO  - Clinical Hematology International
SP  - 119
EP  - 129
VL  - 3
IS  - 4
SN  - 2590-0048
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/chi.k.210919.001
DO  - 10.2991/chi.k.210919.001
ID  - Blaise2021
ER  -