[Strategies to advance recovery (STAR) protocol implemented colorectal cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic].

Martínez-Mardones, Mónica; Reyes, Guillermo; Salas, Roberto; Fernández, Rodrigo; Melkonian, Ernesto; Mordojovich, Eduardo; Silva, Cristóbal; Suazo, Cristóbal

BACKGROUND SARS-CoV-2 hampered the resolution of multiple diseases, including cancer. AIM To show that a multidisciplinary program of Strategies to Advance Recovery (STAR) can be implemented in a public hospital in Chile, despite the global pandemic and state of a national catastrophe, to provide a solution to cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective descriptive study, of patients requiring an elective resolution of a colorectal cancer. Patients met the inclusion criteria, established in the STAR program. A total of 24 perioperative interventions were performed in the protocol. Demographic variables, days of hospitalization, complications, mortality, and readmissions were described. RESULTS The 24 interventions of the protocol were successfully implemented, although some partially. Sixteen patients aged 53 to 83 years (50% women) were operated. The median length of hospitalization was four days (range 2 to 9). Four complications were recorded, all were grade I or II according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Two patients were readmitted. There were no reoperations or mortality. One patient was infected with coronavirus, diagnosed at the time of readmission. CONCLUSIONS The STAR protocol reduces the length of hospital stay. In a pandemic context such as COVID-19 it becomes a useful resource and can be implemented in cancer patients, as herein reported.