Australian and New Zealand consensus statement on the management of lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and myeloma during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Author(s)
Di Ciaccio, Pietro
McCaughan, Georgia
Trotman, Judith
Ho, Phoebe Joy
Cheah, Chan Y
Gangatharan, Shane
Wight, Joel
Ku, Matthew
Quach, Hang
Gasiorowski, Robin
Polizzotto, Mark N
Prince, Henry Miles
Mulligan, Stephen
Tam, Constantine S
Gregory, Gareth
Hapgood, Greg
Spencer, Andrew
Dickinson, Michael
Latimer, Maya
Johnston, Anna
Armytage, Tasman
Lee, Cindy
Cochrane, Tara
Berkhahn, Leanne
Weinkove, Robert
Doocey, Richard
Harrison, Simon J
Webber, Nicholas
Lee, Hui-Peng
Chapman, Scott
Campbell, Belinda A
Gibbs, Simon DJ
Hamad, Nada
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique challenge to the care of patients with haematological malignancies. Viral pneumonia is known to cause disproportionately severe disease in patients with cancer, and patients with lymphoma, myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are likely to be at particular risk of severe disease related to COVID-19. This statement has been developed by consensus among authors from Australia and New Zealand. We aim to provide supportive guidance to clinicians making individual patient decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular during periods that access to healthcare resources may be limited. ...
View more >The COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique challenge to the care of patients with haematological malignancies. Viral pneumonia is known to cause disproportionately severe disease in patients with cancer, and patients with lymphoma, myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are likely to be at particular risk of severe disease related to COVID-19. This statement has been developed by consensus among authors from Australia and New Zealand. We aim to provide supportive guidance to clinicians making individual patient decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular during periods that access to healthcare resources may be limited. General recommendations include those to minimise patient exposure to COVID-19, including the use of telehealth, avoidance of non-essential visits and minimisation of time spent by patients in infusion suites and other clinical areas. This statement also provides recommendations where appropriate in assessing indications for therapy, reducing therapy-associated immunosuppression and reducing healthcare utilisation in patients with specific haematological malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific decisions regarding therapy of haematological malignancies will need to be individualised, based on disease risk, risks of immunosuppression, rates of community transmission of COVID-19 and available local healthcare resources.
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View more >The COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique challenge to the care of patients with haematological malignancies. Viral pneumonia is known to cause disproportionately severe disease in patients with cancer, and patients with lymphoma, myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are likely to be at particular risk of severe disease related to COVID-19. This statement has been developed by consensus among authors from Australia and New Zealand. We aim to provide supportive guidance to clinicians making individual patient decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular during periods that access to healthcare resources may be limited. General recommendations include those to minimise patient exposure to COVID-19, including the use of telehealth, avoidance of non-essential visits and minimisation of time spent by patients in infusion suites and other clinical areas. This statement also provides recommendations where appropriate in assessing indications for therapy, reducing therapy-associated immunosuppression and reducing healthcare utilisation in patients with specific haematological malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific decisions regarding therapy of haematological malignancies will need to be individualised, based on disease risk, risks of immunosuppression, rates of community transmission of COVID-19 and available local healthcare resources.
View less >
Journal Title
Internal Medicine Journal
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Royal Australasian College of Physicians. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Australian and New Zealand consensus statement on the management of lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and myeloma during the COVID‐19 pandemic, Internal Medicine Journal, 2020, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.14859. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
Note
This publication was entered as an advanced online version.
Subject
Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
Clinical sciences
Health services and systems
Public health
COVID-19
chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
lymphoma
myeloma