Impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany on the rate of acute infections during intensive chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma.

Feb 21, 2022

Contributor: Anne Sophie Jacob,Helen Kaul,Michael Fuchs,Sarah Gillessen,Stefanie Kreissl,Annette Pluetschow,Jesko Momotow,Valdete Schaub,Andreas Huettmann,Mathias Haenel,Andreas Zimmermann,Judith Dierlamm,Julia Meissner,Stephan Mathas,Sonja Martin,Andreas Engert,Michael Hallek,Peter Borchmann,Clara Lehmann

Evidence on the effect of self-protection via social distancing and wearing face-masks on infections during chemotherapy is currently not available. We asked if the occurrence of acute infections during chemotherapy for advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) decreased when COVID-19 protection measures were in effect.
We analyzed the occurrence of infections during all documented eBEACOPP cycles starting between 01 March and 30 June of 2017 to 2020 in patients treated within the GHSG HD21 study in Germany and compared the infection rates and characteristics by logistic regression models and means of descriptive statistics.
We analyzed 911 cycles of 313 adult patients treated with 4 to 6 cycles of eBEACOPP. We found a significant decrease in the occurrence of infections during chemotherapy for HL during COVID-19 lockdown from 131 (19.6%) of 670 cycles in 2017-2019 to 30 (12.6%) of 239 cycles during COVID-19 lockdown [OR 0.574 (95% CI 0.354-0.930), P = 0.024]. The strongest effect was evident for unspecified infections with 39 cycles (5.8%) during 2017-2019 in comparison to 5 cycles (2.1%) during COVID-19 lockdown. 20 (24.1%) of 83 patients had an infection during the COVID-19 lockdown versus 99 (43.2%) of 229 patients in the years 2017-2019 (P = 0.0023).
The significant decrease of infections during chemotherapy for HL during COVID-19 lockdown reveals the protective measures’ potential to shield patients from transmissible pathogens. We conclude that these measures could be recommended for HL patients at risk for infections during chemotherapy.

© 2022. The Author(s).

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About The Expert

Anne Sophie Jacob

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Helen Kaul

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Michael Fuchs

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Sarah Gillessen

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Stefanie Kreissl

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Annette Pluetschow

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Jesko Momotow

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Valdete Schaub

Eberhard-Karls-Universität-Universitätsklinik Tübingen, Inneren Medizin II, Tübingen, Germany.

Andreas Huettmann

Universitätsklinik Essen, Klinik Für Hämatologie/WTZ Ambulanz, Essen, Germany.

Mathias Haenel

Klinikum Chemnitz, Krankenhaus Küchwald, Klinik Für Innere Medizin III/Studiensekretariat, Chemnitz, Germany.

Andreas Zimmermann

Medizinische Klinik Und Poliklinik III, Klinikum Der Universität München, LMU München, Munich, Germany.

Judith Dierlamm

Abt. Hämatologie/Onkologie, Onkologisches Zentrum, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

Julia Meissner

Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Medizinische Klinik Und Poliklinik V, Heidelberg, Germany.

Stephan Mathas

Charite Campus Benjamin Franklin, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hämatologie, Onkologie u. Tumorimmunologie, Berlin, Germany.

Sonja Martin

Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus Stuttgart, Innere Medizin II, Hämatologie/Onkologie, Stuttgart, Germany.

Andreas Engert

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Michael Hallek

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Peter Borchmann

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany. peter.borchmann@uk-koeln.de.

German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. peter.borchmann@uk-koeln.de.

Clara Lehmann

Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany.

CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), 50937, Cologne, Germany.

German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

References

PubMed