Confronting the conundrum of treating non-COVID patients in a pandemic

By Professor Gerasimos Siasos *

The pandemic overturned everything we considered self-evident in the international community.

Until now, there have been 140 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and three million deaths, which make it the third deadliest pandemic in human history.

Although three million deaths is a huge number, the cost of the pandemic in terms of human lives is much greater and is difficult to calculate and comprehend.

Its impact on non COVID-19 patients who had the misfortune of falling ill or needing emergency care in the middle of a pandemic is dramatic.

According to a recent study conducted by Britain's NHS, in the first three months of the pandemic, scheduled hospitalisations declined by 1.4 million. Emergency referrals of patients who were believed to possibly have cancer declined by 280,000 and 25,000 diagnosed cancer patients did not begin their treatment.

Studies conducted in Greece and other European countries (Italy and Austria) on patients in need of emergency treatment for cardiovascular disease show a reduction in hospital admissions and skyrocketing heart attack complications.

A major US study drawing on data from 200 hospitals in 36 states found a 24.7 percent drop in admission for stroke cases and a 68 percent decline for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)/asthma cases.

Especially for cancer patients, the repercussions of the pandemic have been dramatic. The timely diagnosis and treatment in early stages are the most important factors for a positive prognosis.

Thousands of cancer patients either did not have immediate access to primary healthcare or did not realise that their disease progressed to a more advanced stage during the waiting period and so their therapy did...