Clinical recommendations for the management of cancer patients in the context of the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The WHO classified the new Coronavirus strain disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic. As a result, in Peru, it was decreed a state of national emergency and compulsory social isolation on 15 March. Health systems have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 infection globally, forcing health systems, societies, and medical associations to design priority intervention strategies to give continuity to patient care in COVID-19 and COVID-19-free areas. The cancer patient is classified as vulnerable and represents a risk factor for complications from COVID-19, such as admission to an intensive care unit, intubation, and early death from COVID-19 infection. Thus, the Medical Oncology Ex-Residents Association (AMEROM, by its Spanish initials) in Peru has made an effort to provide recommendations that can be adapted to our health system, to continue to provide priority care for cancer patients. Through the modified expert consensus methodology, under the bibliographic support, recommendations have been created in different phases of the pandemic, reaching a final consensus of clinical recommendations for the management of oncological patients in the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru to provide useful information to health professionals. This article indicates the processes by which agreements were reached to issue the recommendations and create the order of priority adopted by AMEROM.