Table_1_Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer in Brazil.pdf

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic delayed the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up visits of patients with thyroid cancer. However, the magnitude with which these restrictions affected the Brazilian health care is still unknown.MethodsRetrospective analysis of thyroid cancer-related procedures performed in the Brazilian public health system from 2019 to 2021. Data were retrieved from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS). The following procedures were evaluated: fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs), oncologic thyroidectomies, and radioiodine (RAI) therapies for thyroid cancer. The year of 2019 served as baseline control.ResultsCompared with 2019, FNABs, oncologic thyroidectomies, and RAI therapies performed in 2020 decreased by 29%, 17% and 28%, respectively. In 2021, compared with 2019, FNABs increased by 2%, and oncologic thyroidectomies and RAI therapies decreased by 5% and 25%, respectively. Most pronounced reductions were observed in the first months of the pandemic. In April 2020, FNABs decreased by 67%, oncologic thyroidectomies by 45%, and RAI therapies by 75%. In 2021, RAI therapies were the only procedure with a statistically significant decrease.ConclusionThe restrictions to public health care during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant reduction in diagnostic and treatment procedures for thyroid cancer in Brazil. The effects of these transitory gaps in thyroid cancer care, due to COVID-19, are still unclear.

引言：COVID-19疫情延迟了甲状腺癌患者的诊断、治疗及随访过程。然而，此类限制对巴西医疗卫生系统所产生的影响程度尚属未知。方法：对2019年至2021年间在巴西公共卫生系统中进行的甲状腺癌相关程序进行回顾性分析。数据来源于统一卫生系统（DATASUS）的情报部门。所评估的程序包括：细针穿刺活检（FNABs）、肿瘤学甲状腺切除术以及甲状腺癌的放射性碘（RAI）治疗。2019年作为基线对照。结果：与2019年相比，2020年的FNABs、肿瘤学甲状腺切除术和RAI治疗分别减少了29%、17%和28%。2021年，与2019年相比，FNABs增加了2%，而肿瘤学甲状腺切除术和RAI治疗分别减少了5%和25%。疫情初期，降幅最为显著。2020年4月，FNABs减少了67%，肿瘤学甲状腺切除术减少了45%，RAI治疗减少了75%。2021年，RAI治疗是唯一一个具有统计学显著降低的手术。结论：COVID-19疫情期间对公共卫生的限制导致巴西甲状腺癌诊断和治疗程序显著减少。这些因COVID-19导致的甲状腺癌护理过程中的暂时性缺口所产生的影响仍不明确。