Page 128 - Portuguese Journal - SPORL - Vol 61. Nº1
P. 128
Figure 5
Type of curative treatment
Time intervals post-COVID-19 period (A=9; B=5) (p=0.009).
With regard to the analyzed time intervals, as However, in the subgroup of patients who
described in Figure 6, the median duration underwent non-surgical treatment, the
of symptoms in the post-COVID-19 group median time until the start of treatment was
(B=12.9) was longer than that in the pre- similar in both periods (A=7.5; B=7) (p=0.317).
COVID-19 group (A=8.6), and the difference was Moreover, there was a statistically significant
statistically significant (p=0.009). With regard negative correlation between the tumor stage
to the timing of referral and time interval and time interval between the first medical
between the ORL consultation and histological evaluation and treatment initiation (r=-0.195; p
diagnosis, there were no differences between = 0.019).
the two groups. On the other hand, the time
interval between the diagnosis and the start Prognosis
of treatment was significantly shorter in the The time interval (in months) between the
post-COVID-19 group (B=6) than in the pre- histological diagnosis and date of death for
COVID-19 group (A=8) (p=0.008). The analysis each patient was recorded. The proportion of
of assistance-related delay (time elapsed since patients with survival ≤ 12 months was similar
the first medical evaluation until the start of in both groups (A=28.6%; B=29%) (p=0.95).
treatment) showed no differences between
the two groups (A=13.5; B=13) (p=0.523). Discussion
Overall, the median time from symptom The timely diagnosis and treatment of
onset to treatment initiation was 20.6 weeks in patients with HNC are associated with a better
the pre-COVID-19 group and 24.1 weeks in the long-term prognosis . The diagnosis requires
7
post-COVID-19 group; however, the difference a biopsy (often performed in the operating
was not statistically significant (p=0.141). room) as well as complementary diagnostic
As shown in Table 3, in the subgroup of tools to determine the tumor stage. The
patients who underwent surgery, there was involvement of a multidisciplinary team in this
a statistically significant reduction in the complex process is essential for the optimal
number of weeks that elapsed between the clinical management of patients with HNC.
histological diagnosis and intervention in the However, the restrictions imposed by the
128 Portuguese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
