Volume 26, Issue 122, April 2022

Impact of COVID 19 pandemic on breast cancer management and reconstruction in Saudi Arabia

Anas Abdulqader Fathuldeen¹, Muhannad Saud Alshammari^2♦, Rema Ahmed Almarshedi³, Reem Saud Alabedah³, Raghad Ali Alshareef³

¹department of plastic surgery, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
²Plastic surgery and burn department, King Salman Specialist Hospital, Hail, Saudi Arabia
³college of medicine, university of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of plastic surgery and burn unit at King Salman Specialist Hospital, Hail, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: COVID-19 pandemic was a real challenge to healthcare systems worldwide, particularly in emerging nations; this study aims to provide a vision of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer (BC) management and reconstruction in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across health care practitioners; we accumulated data by an online questionnaire from 58 physicians in different specialties about the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on their practice from March 2021 to May 2021. Results: About 45% of participants reduced medical practice during Covid-19 pandemic by 10 – 30 %, and 41% reduced medical practice by 31-50%. About half of the participants (48%) treated less than five breast cancer patients infected by Covid-19, and about 36% of patients developed Covid-19 infection under chemotherapy. Conclusion: there was a considerable reduction in providing health services to patients affected by breast cancer, yet Saudi Arabia managed to get out of this pandemic with the least damage possible due to governmental efforts. In capable countries and organizations, health authorities should share their expertise and experience to prevent damage to people already suffering from a devastating disease like breast cancer.

Keywords: COVID-19; breast reconstruction; breast cancer; Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms135e2064

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i122/ms135e2064

Published: 18 April 2022