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- Frederik Dombrowski, Stefan Wirz, Hannes Hofbauer, Pascal Kowark, Joachim Erlenwein, Ulrike Stamer, and Kristin Kieselbach.
- Zentrum für Orthopädie, Unfallchirurgie und Sportmedizin, Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Bonn, Bonner Talweg 4-6, 53113, Bonn, Deutschland.
- Schmerz. 2024 Sep 5.
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led to significantly restricted access to pain medicine services. Patients with cancer-related pain are considered a vulnerable group in terms of care deficits. A questionnaire among providers providing treatment to this group was used to assess limitations and solutions in this critical situation.Materials And MethodsThe online survey, developed by the 'Tumour Pain Working Group' of the German Pain Society using the Delphi method, included questions on site structure, pandemic-related care problems, and burdens experienced by those treating patients. It was distributed several times via the mailing lists of the German Pain Society and the 'Palliative Medicine Working Group' of the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine.ResultsIn all, 175 fully completed questionnaires were analysed. Over 75% of participants reported pandemic-related staff shortages and closures of pain medicine facilities, with 32% of facilities temporarily not treating elective pain patients and 13% not treating any emergencies. Care was hampered by numerous logistical problems such as very frequent pandemic-related cancellations by patients or in the transmission of prescriptions. Alternative forms of consultation by telephone or telemedicine, rarely used before the pandemic, were reported by 79 and 31% of respondents respectively, but deficiencies were noted. In addition, 52.1% of respondents complained of severe and 26.8% of moderate psychological stress due to the pandemic, and 74.1% evaluated working conditions as moderately to severely difficult. Medical training was still possible for 86% through format changes.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic revealed numerous deficits in the care of patients with cancer-related pain, as well as burdens on healthcare providers. The development of new concepts could help to ensure better care in future crisis situations.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.
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