TY - JOUR T1 - Pattern of cancer patients referral and organisational model of an interventional pulmonology programme during the COVID-19 pandemic JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00152-2021 SP - 00152-2021 AU - R. Trisolini AU - D. Magnini AU - V. Livi AU - F. Leoncini AU - L. M. Porro AU - M. C. Flore AU - D. Paioli AU - G. Sotgiu Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/early/2021/05/06/23120541.00152-2021.abstract N2 - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its related disease (Coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) have heavily impacted any cancer pathway, with population-based modelling studies predicting a substantial increase in the number of avoidable cancer deaths mainly due to a diagnostic delay [1–3]. While the utility of bronchoscopy for the microbiological confirmation of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has been evaluated, the feasibility and safety of a diagnostic programme aimed at guaranteeing timely invasive procedures to patients with suspected/known thoracic malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been thoroughly assessed [4–6]. In a literature review, we found a single important study which described an organisational model for bronchoscopic procedures during the first wave of the pandemic, when no published guidelines were available [7]. However, it could not analyse the referral pattern over time as it covered a short time frame (2 months), included a relatively small number of cancer patients (126), and did not detail how patients and staff were screened for the SARS-CoV-2 infection [7].FootnotesThis manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the ERJ Open Research. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJOR online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.Conflict of interest: Rocco Trisolini reports receiving honoraria for lectures from Pentax Medical and serving on advisory boards for AstraZeneca.Conflict of interest: Daniele Magnini has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Vanina Livi has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Fausto Leoncini has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Lucia Maria Porro has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Maria Chiara Flore has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Daniela Paioli has nothing to disclose.Conflict of interest: Giovanni Sotgiu has nothing to disclose. ER -