Ramaswami, U;
D'Amore, S;
Finnegan, N;
Hughes, D;
Kazemi, M;
(2021)
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with lysosomal storage disorders and restoration of services: experience from a specialist centre.
Internal Medicine Journal
10.1111/imj.15473.
(In press).
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Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lysosomal disorders unit (LSDU) at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL), a highly specialised national service for diagnosis and management of adults with lysosomal storage disorders (LSD). Review of home care enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and emergency care, and COVID-19 shielding categories as per UK government guidance. New clinical pathways were developed to manage patients safely during the pandemic; staff well-being initiatives are described. LSDU staff were redeployed and/or had additional roles to support increased needs of hospitalised COVID-19 patients. During the first lockdown in March 2020, 286 of 602 LSD patients were shielding; 72 of 221 had home care ERT infusions interrupted up to 12 weeks. During the pandemic, there was a 3% reduction in home care nursing support required, with patients learning to self-cannulate or require support for cannulation only. There were no increased adverse clinical events during this period. Twenty-one contracted COVID-19 infection, with one hospitalised and no COVID-19 related deaths. In 2020, virtual clinics were increased by 88% (video and/or telephone) compared to 2019. RFL well-being initiatives supported all staff. We provide an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on staff and patients attending a highly specialised rare disease service. As far as we are aware, this is the first detailed narrative on the challenges and subsequent rapid adaptations made, both as part of a large organisation and as a specialist centre. Lessons learnt could be translated to other rare disease services and ensure readiness for any future pandemic.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with lysosomal storage disorders and restoration of services: experience from a specialist centre |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1111/imj.15473 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1111/imj.15473 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Cancer Institute UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Cancer Institute > Research Department of Haematology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136318 |
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