Effects of COVID-19 on Pediatric Cancer Care: A Multicenter Study of 11 Middle Eastern Countries
childhood cancer; article; cancer chemotherapy; human; Middle East; cancer palliative therapy; health care access; low income country; middle income country; health care availability; social status; cancer center; coronavirus disease 2019; pandemic; telemedicine; cancer radiotherapy; cancer therapy; cancer surgery; pediatric oncologist; high income country; drug shortage; emergency surgery; granulocyte colony stimulating factor/pv [Special Situation for Pharmacovigilance]; prophylaxis; social distancing; therapy delay
During the COVID-19 pandemic, major challenges are facing pediatric cancer centers regarding access to cancer centers, continuity of the anti-cancer therapy, hospital admission, and infection protection precautions. Pediatric oncologists actively treating children with cancer from 29 cancer centers at 11 countries were asked to answer a survey from May 2020 to August 2020 either directly or through the internet. COVID-19 pandemic affected the access to pediatric cancer care in the form of difficulty in reaching the center in 22 (75.9%) centers and affection of patients'flow in 21 (72.4%) centers. Health care professionals (HCP) were infected with COVID-19 in 20 (69%) surveyed centers. Eighteen centers (62%) modified the treatment guidelines. Care of follow-up patients was provided in-hospital in 8(27.6%) centers, through telemedicine in 10 (34.5%) centers, and just delayed in 11 (38%) centers. Pediatric oncologists had different expectations about the future effects of COVID-19 on pediatric cancer care. Seventy-six percent of pediatric oncologists think the COVID-19 pandemic will increase the use of telemedicine. Fifty-five percent of pediatric oncologists think if the COVID-19 pandemic persists, we will need to change chemotherapy protocols to less myelosuppressive ones. Collaborative studies are required to prioritize pediatric cancer management during COVID-19 era.Copyright © 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Elzembely MM; Al Rawas A; Al-Hebshi A; Alhadi A; Ibrahim AK; Zein AA; Ragab I; Alshamsi ET; Dammag E; Gachi F; Zain GH; Mohammad HS; Haddad H; Boudiaf H; Alharbi I; Sultan I; Salami KH; Bayoumy MS; Al-Mulla NA; Al Mashaikhi N; Almajali RM; Farah R; Al Daama SA; Ahmad S; Ragab SM; Fadel SH; Ahmed S; Al-Sweedan S; Abdelmabood S; Kaleem WK; Madney Y
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
2023
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/MPH.0000000000002564" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1097/MPH.0000000000002564</a>
A scoping review of palliative care for children in low- and middle-income countries
hospice care; analgesia; government; feasibility study; terminal care; palliative therapy; child health care; health care access; health care availability; health care personnel; health care quality; low income country; middle income country; systematic review; emotionality; psychosocial care; human; article; child; bereavement support; community program; health care need; paramedical education; pharmaceutical care
Sasaki H; Bouesseau MC; Marston J; Mori R
BMC Palliative Care
2017
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-017-0242-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1186/s12904-017-0242-8</a>
Improving cancer care for children in the developing world: Challenges and strategies
Child Care;childhood Cancer; Accreditation; Antineoplastic Agent; Awareness; Cancer Diagnosis; Cancer Recurrence; Cancer Registry; Cancer Research; Cancer Survival; Cancer Therapy; Clinical Effectiveness; Clinical Trial (topic); Cost Effectiveness Analysis; Country Economic Status; Cultural Factor; Delayed Diagnosis; Diagnostic Error; Family Therapy; Health Care Availability; Health Care Cost; Health Care Personnel; Human; Job Change; Medical Education; Medical Technology; Palliative Therapy; Patient Abandonment; Patient Referral; Poverty; Priority Journal; Program Sustainability; Review; Sepsis; Stratification; Toxicity
Cancer is a global health problem particularly in developing countries where the burden of cancer is ever increasing and claiming the lives of about 100,000 children under the age of 15 years every year. Majority of these occur in the Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) where 90% of world children live. Contributing factors to this trend is the reduction of communicable diseases and emergence of new infections, improvement of nutrition and socio-economic conditions, industrialization and urbanization. However, due to its complexity, childhood cancer is given the least priority by the governments' funding. The weak health systems, poor and late access to diagnosis and care, fewer numbers of trained health care professionals and lack of cancer drugs are amongst the many challenges faced. A major challenge for the future is extending the work to reach the many children who die without access to cancer treatment and palliation. Given the inequalities in the survival rates of children with cancer there is therefore an urgent need to close the gap between developed and developing countries. Strategies at individual, institutional, country, regional and global levels must be implemented to improve cancer survival and its effects on human suffering. These strategies are able to strengthen the health systems, improve care and research, increase awareness and coordinate training of professionals thus meeting the challenges. Financial support should be an integral part of the strategy as the cost of drugs is often a substantial barrier to treatment of cancer in poor countries. However, in resource-limited settings without specialized services, much can still be done to support and offer curative and palliative treatment. As have been shown for several cancers, life can be extended with low-tech treatment protocols, which are effective at the same time, decrease sepsis and toxicity. The concept of twinning with privileged nations is paramount to the success of any national cancer program. International partnership offers the opportunity to provide expertise, advice, support and transfer technology from established pediatric oncology unit. Their mission is to build capacity for cancer treatment and research with a vision of developing network of dedicated advocates. The LMIC teams must locally drive projects and volunteers and funding organizations can help to make progress possible. This will require a tremendous effort on the part of both high and low-middle-income countries, if we are all to work together to achieve this goal.
Al Lamki Z
Current Pediatric Reviews
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.2174/1573396312666161230145417" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10.2174/1573396312666161230145417</a>