The Unique Balancing Act of Managing Children With Cancer and COVID-19 Infection: A Single Center Experience From South India
Overview
Authors
Affiliations
Children with cancer are vulnerable to severe infections. Balancing the intensive treatment of cancer, with the potential risk of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) related morbidity and mortality is a unique challenge. Children with cancer testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction at our center were studied. Thirty-seven children tested positive for COVID-19 during the study period. The severity of the illness was mild, moderate, severe, and critical in 10 (27%), 13 (35%), 12 (32%), and 2 (5%) patients, respectively. Of the 14 patients with a severe/critical illness, 2 had oncological emergencies, 4 had dengue co-infection, and 1 had an inguinal bacterial abscess. All patients were discharged in a stable condition. Modification of the treatment protocol was performed in 11 (33%) of 33 patients who were on active treatment for cancer. There was a median delay of 32.5 days to administer the next cycle of chemotherapy in patients who acquired COVID-19 during cancer treatment. Six of 7 patients who were retested after 14 days remained positive by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Children with cancer with COVID-19 recover with good supportive care. Curative chemotherapy can be administered safely with appropriate modifications in children with cancer with COVID-19.
COVID-19 infection in children with blood cancer: A systematic review.
Alhumaid S, Al Noaim K, Almuslim A, Turkistani J, Alqurini Z, Alshakhs A Ann Hematol. 2024; .
PMID: 39496811 DOI: 10.1007/s00277-024-06057-4.
The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Childhood Cancer Outcomes and Care Delivery - A Systematic Review.
Majeed A, Wright T, Guo B, Arora R, Lam C, Martiniuk A Front Oncol. 2022; 12:869752.
PMID: 35463381 PMC: 9023072. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.869752.
COVID-19 outcomes in paediatric cancer: A large scale pooled meta-analysis of 984 cancer patients.
El-Qushayri A, Benmelouka A, Dahy A, Hashan M Rev Med Virol. 2022; 32(5):e2344.
PMID: 35247015 PMC: 9111056. DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2344.
COVID-19 in Children with Cancer.
Kahn A, Schwalm C, Wolfson J, Levine J, Johnston E Curr Oncol Rep. 2022; 24(3):295-302.
PMID: 35113354 PMC: 8811341. DOI: 10.1007/s11912-022-01207-1.