- Treatment decision for cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Treatment decision for cancer patients with fever during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
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In Hee Lee
 , Sung Ae Koh, Soo Jung Lee, Sun Ah Lee, Yoon Young Cho, Ji Yeon Lee, Jin Young Kim
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Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2021;38(4):344-349. Published online August 23, 2021
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2021.01144
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 Abstract
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- Background
Cancer patients have been disproportionally affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with high rates of severe outcomes and mortality. Fever is the most common symptom in COVID-19 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians may have difficulty in determining the cause of fever (COVID-19, another infection, or cancer fever) in cancer patients. Furthermore, there are no specific guidelines for managing cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 328 cancer patients with COVID-19 symptoms (fever) admitted to five hospitals in Daegu, Korea from January to October 2020. We obtained data on demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, chest computed tomography images, cancer history, cancer treatment, and outcomes of all enrolled patients from electronic medical records.
Results
The most common COVID-19-like symptoms were fever (n=256, 78%). Among 256 patients with fever, only three (1.2%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Most patients (253, 98.8%) with fever were not diagnosed with COVID-19. The most common solid malignancies were lung cancer (65, 19.8%) and hepatobiliary cancer (61, 18.6%). Twenty patients with fever experienced a delay in receiving cancer treatment. Eighteen patients discontinued active cancer treatment because of fever. Major events during the treatment delay period included death (2.7%), cancer progression (1.5%), and major organ dysfunction (2.7%).
Conclusion
Considering that only 0.9% of patients tested for COVID-19 were positive, screening for COVID-19 in cancer patients with fever should be based on the physician’s clinical decision, and patients might not be routinely tested.
- A Case of Intravesical Cidofovir Treatment of BK Virus-Associated Hemorrhagic Cystitis after Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation.
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Seong Hun Kang, Hwa Jeong Lee, Ye Su Jang, Jun Ho Ji, Sun Ah Lee, Won Sik Lee, Jung Lim Lee, Kyung Hee Lee
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Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2009;26(2):143-147. Published online December 31, 2009
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2009.26.2.143
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Abstract
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- Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is a common complication after allogeneic transplantation. Early posttransplant HC occurs in association with cyclophosphamide, while later on HC results from viral infections such as polyomavirus BK (BKV) and adenovirus. We report here the case of a 57-year-old woman who received an instillation of cidofovir into the bladder for the treatment of hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic peripheral stem cell transplantation for her acute myeloid leukemia. Cyclophosphamide and busulfan were used as conditioning treatments. Cyclosporin was administered daily. On the 71st day after transplantation, the patient developed acute severe hemorrhagic cystitis, and BK virus was demonstrated in the urine samples using polymerase chain reaction. Her urinary symptoms did not improve in spite of palliative treatment, but a response was evident after intravesical cidofovir treatment.
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E-Submission
Yeungnam University College of Medicine
