Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 Decreases Risk of Adverse Events in Patients who Develop COVID-19 Following Cancer Surgery

• Authors: Nathaniel B. Verhagen, Medical College of Wisconsin; Nicolas K. Koerber, Medical College of Wisconsin; Aniko Szabo, Medical College of Wisconsin; Bradley Taylor, Medical College of Wisconsin; J. Njeri Wainaina, Medical College of Wisconsin; Douglas B. Evans, Medical College of Wisconsin; Anai N. Kothari, Medical College of Wisconsin; Gregory Martin, Emory University; Rishikesan Kamaleswaran, Emory University; Richard Moffitt, Emory University
• Journal Title: Annals of Surgical Oncology
• Volume: Volume 30, Number 3
• Publisher: Springer Link | 2023-03-01, Pages 1305-1308
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-022-12916-z
• Subjects: Biology, Virology; Health Sciences, Immunology; Health Sciences, Public Health
• Keywords: Humans; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Neoplasms; Patients; Vaccination

Abstract

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality rates were observed to exceed 25% in patients who developed postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infections.1 This prompted numerous perioperative structural and process changes to mitigate this risk.2,3 As the pandemic has progressed, the emergence of novel therapeutic and preventative measures have proven effective in decreasing the overall burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These advances likely reduce the risk in surgical patients; however, this has not been reexamined at a population level. This study reports 30-day adverse postoperative event rates in patients who develop postoperative COVID-19 and measures the impact of vaccination on these outcomes.