THE IMPACT OF SARS-COV-2 PANDEMIC ON THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER IN OLD PATIENTS

Abstract

Since the pandemic began, in March 2020, the healthcare activity has been affected. The Hospital Español of Buenos Aires became a referral center for patients with SARS-COV-2 PAMI, reaching a high degree of saturation in bed occupancy.  For this reason, the scheduled surgical activity was suspended, intervening only emergency or cancer patients. Likewise, outpatient clinics and shifts for endoscopies or imaging studies were suspended, causing not only a delay in the diagnosis of patients with CRC, for screening and staging, but also their surgical treatment.

Hence the importance of analyzing the impact of the pandemic on the surgical treatment of colorectal cancer in our institution.