Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on short-term postoperative outcomes after gastroenterological cancer surgery using data from a nationwide database in Japan

Background: Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment have changed. This study aimed to investigate the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection prior to gastroenterological cancer surgeries on postoperative complications using data from a nationwide database in Japan.

Methods: Data on patients who underwent surgery for cancer including esophageal, gastric, colon, rectal, liver, and pancreatic cancer between July 1, 2019, and September 300, 2022, from real-world sources in Japan were analyzed. The association between preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and short-term postoperative outcomes was evaluated. A similar analysis stratified according to the interval from SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery (<4 vs. >4 weeks) was conducted.

Results: In total, 60 604 patients were analyzed, and 227 (0.4%) patients were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection preoperatively. The median interval from SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery was 25 days. Patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection preoperatively had a significantly higher incidence of pneumonia (odds ratio: 2.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-3.74; p = 0.036) than those not diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the exact logistic regression analysis adjusted for the characteristics of the patients. A similar finding was observed in patients who had SARS-CoV-2 infection <4 weeks before surgery.

Conclusions: Patients with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection had a significantly higher incidence of pneumonia. This finding can be particularly valuable for countries that have implemented strict regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and have lower SARS-CoV-2 infection-related mortality rates.