| Title: | The impact of Covid 19 on the red flag respiratory pathway: An audit of the 2019 and 2020 patient red flag pathways. |
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| Author(s): | C. Donaghy, J. Gill, K. Harper, M. Kelly, C. King, M. McCloskey |
| Institution: | Western Health and Social Care Trust |
| Poster: | Click to view poster |
| Category: | COVID 19 |
| Abstract: | This audit’s purpose was to investigate the management of patients with lung cancer in 2019 compared to 2020 and assess what influence the Covid-19 pandemic may have had. We audited the process of lung cancer management from initial presenting stage to available treatments. We looked at the distribution of treatments available in 2019 compared to 2020 and the number of days from presentation to treatment. When auditing the mode of referrals to red flag respiratory in 2019 30% (65/216) were GP referrals compared to 33% (60/182) in 2020. Endobronchial Ultrasound biopsy remained the most used method for obtaining tissue across both years. The key discrepancy between 2019 and 2020 when obtaining tissue was with CT guided biopsy. 11.2% less patients were referred for this procedure in 2020. Changes between 2019 and 2020 regarding treatment options available were highlighted, such as in 2020 40% of patients underwent referral for palliative treatment compared to 14% in 2019 and 11.6% of patients in 2020 had been referred for radiotherapy treatment compared to 26.5% in 2019. In conclusion, we can see variations in the red flag pathway between 2019 and 2020 because of Covid-19. A review of the 2021 data may further support this. |
