EC Microbiology

Review Article Volume 16 Issue 12 - 2020

Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns on Cervical and Breast Screening and Follow Ups in the Primary Health Care Setting: Literature Review

Muhammad Mubashir Niaz1*, Ahmed Marzouq Alamri2, Orjuwan Abdulbari Mazi3, Esra Abdulrahman Majrashi4, Lulwa Faisal Alaradi5, Othman Mohammed Bahattab2, Amnah Makki Al Abdulwahab6, Abdullah Khalid Alomar7, Abdulmalik Ahmed Bakhsh8, Bandar Waleed AlmeerAbdullah9 and Mansour Adel Shourbaji9

1Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Khulais General Hospital, Khulais, Saudi Arabia
2General Physician, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
3General Physician, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
4College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
5General Physician, Al Kindi Hospital, Manama, Bahrain 6GGeneral Physician, Ministry of Health, Albatha Hospital, Al Batha, Saudi Arabia
7General Practice, Ministry of Health, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
8College of Medicine, Ibn Sina National College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
9College of Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

*Corresponding Author:Muhammad Mubashir Niaz, Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Khulais General Hospital, Khulais, Saudi Arabia.
Received: November 11, 2020; Published: November 28, 2020


The newly emerging coronavirus has affected many fields in the healthcare systems. Many resources have been declared lacking due to the high consumption during the pandemic. Among the fields that were hugely affected, cancer care is one of them that requires more attention to save what can be saved. In this review, we aimed to shed more insight into how the lockdown affected the screening and follow-up procedures of both the breast and cervix. Since the start of the pandemic, reports showed that lacking continuous screening and follow-up was remarkable which may have affected the prognosis for many potential breast and cervical cancers. These showed that delays in diagnosis and screening may have increased the incidence of mortality from breast and cervical cancers. However, many recommendations have been proposed by many relevant organizations to reduce this burden and also control the spread of the pandemic. Personal protective measures and reducing the number of individuals visiting a hospital per day are maybe the most highlighted measures. Follow-ups have been also organized to be through telemedicine for non-severe cases, and in-person and/or at a primary healthcare hospital for severe cases requiring frequent follow-up.

Keywords: Lockdown; Pandemic; COVID-19; Breast; Cervix

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Muhammad Mubashir Niaz., et al. “Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns on Cervical and Breast Screening and Follow Ups in the Primary Health Care Setting: Literature Review”. EC Microbiology  16.12 (2020): 68-74.

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