Article: North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Guide for Neuroendocrine Tumor Patient Health Care Providers During COVID-19
Authors: Emily K. Bergsland, MD, Daniel M. Halperin, MD, Joseph S. Dillon, MD, N. Arvind Dasari, MD, Pamela L. Kunz, MD, Heloisa P. Soares, MD, PhD, Daniel Pryma, MD, Lisa Bodei, MD, PhD, Thomas Hope, MD, Michael C. Soulen, MD, Josh Mailman, MBA, and James R. Howe, MD
Journal: Pancreas. 2020 May 19;10.1097/MPA.0000000000001561. doi: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000001561. Online ahead of print.
Excerpt:
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers have had to make changes to the way they care for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Patients coming into clinics or hospitals are at risk of being exposed to the virus, and many may be immunocompromised due to therapy. Health care providers will also be exposed to patients carrying the virus and are at risk of contracting COVID-19, and the number of providers may become depleted. Many facilities have critical shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing the risk of transmission to both patients and health care professionals. This has important consequences for all aspects of caring for NET/NEC patients, including clinic visits, blood draws, imaging, chemotherapy/biologic therapy, administration of somatostatin analogs (SSAs), peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), interventional radiologic procedures, and selection of patients for surgery.
This document represents suggestions from the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) on how health care providers might make modifications to their care of NET/NEC patients in these unprecedented times, with the focus on decreasing risk to patients and health care professionals and preserving resources while delivering acceptable patient care.
Link to journal online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7253037/