Coronavirus Corona time has lengthened the queues for heart and cancer surgery the tumors are more advanced and bigger than before, say doctors -…

This years total mortality in Finland is at the same level as before. In a year or two, it will be known how many deaths are caused by diseases that have progressed in the shadow of the corona epidemic.

Coronavirus 362 people have died in Finland.

The figure is small internationally. In neighboring Sweden, for example, about 6,000 people have died of corona.

This years total mortality in Finland is very much at the same level as in previous years, says the research professor Pekka Jousilahti From the Department of Health and Welfare.

So far, Korona has not caused an increase in overall mortality in Finland. As in previous years, this year about a thousand people have died every week.

Coronavirus pandemic there are no statistics yet on the effects on other causes of death, but in a year or two, the coronavirus will certainly have left its mark on the causes of death statistics sadly.

The effect of the coronavirus will be especially visible in the columns for cancer and heart disease. The most common causes of death in Finland are heart disease, cancer and dementia.

The pandemic is already stretching access to treatment for thousands of people. At the end of August, there had been almost 18,000 people in the non-emergency care queue for more than six months, compared to 2,000 at the same time last year.

The corona period has thus increased the number of Finns in the care queue ninefold.

There are patients in Hus queues who would normally have been treated, Chief Physician of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District Markku Mkijrvi says.

Although cancer surgeries are urgent, they, too, have been delayed during the Corona period.

Cancer surgeons say that the cancers that are being cut now are more advanced and bigger than before, says Mkijrvi.

This is because people have not sought medical attention in the usual way. In addition, not all surgeries could be performed as quickly as under normal conditions.

The current treatment for cancer recommends that the cancer be resected within four weeks of diagnosis.

If you can cut it in eight or nine weeks, its a whole different matter. Cancer treatment can become more difficult with all indicators, says Mkijrvi.

When cancer surgery is bigger and longer lasting, there is a higher risk of complications. The risk of spread is also higher. If the patient is cut with a delay, the disease has spread. In this case, more chemotherapy, radiation or other treatment is needed.

In Finland, 12,902 people died of cancer in 2018.

Worry the impact of the epidemic on delays in cancer treatment is global. Cancer researchers working in Britain picked up a medical journal In the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last week highlighted an increase in cancer deaths due to the corona pandemic.

In July In The Lancet Oncology according to a published study, a pandemic could cause 3,500 cancer deaths in Britain alone that would normally be preventable.

The study dealt with four common cancer types: breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and esophageal cancer.

In order to calculate cancer deaths, the researchers had only taken into account the delays in detecting cancers caused by various occlusion measures. In addition, mortality will be affected by delays in starting treatment and changes in treatment schedules.

Cancer in addition, the treatment of heart disease is overshadowed by the corona. Huss queue for heart surgery has increased, but the high risks are associated with failure to follow-up of long-term cardiovascular patients.

Heart disease is a chronic disease and often gets worse over the years if lifestyle and medication are not implemented as effectively as possible, says the chief physician of the Heart Association. Anna-Mari Hekkala.

In many cardiac patients, follow-up visits have shifted to the same future, when health centers have been transformed into Corona stations and nursing staff have been transferred to corona testing, for example.

Maintenance debt will be seen in a couple of years. In coronary heart disease, it is common for a person who once had a heart attack to get it again in the next few years. Monitoring is therefore very important, says Hekkala.

He urges as soon as the coronary situation allows patients to go to health centers for their follow-up visits, as it is the responsibility of each patient.

Referrals from a health center doctor are needed for cardiac examinations in specialist care. When the coronary situation eases, there may be a congestion in the cardiac examinations of specialist care, Hekkala estimates.

Type 1 diagnoses of diabetes had dropped 15 percent in the spring when the Diabetes Association asked hospitals about the numbers of cases. If the diagnosis of diabetes is delayed, the patient may be in poor condition at the end of treatment.

As with heart patients, discontinuation of follow-up treatments is a difficult place for diabetics.

Husin Chief Physician Markku Mkijrvi urges people to seek treatment when ailments strike.

You shouldnt be afraid to get a corona from a health center or hospital.

He emphasizes that healthcare personnel know how to protect themselves professionally.

If preventative work and follow-up fail, it can take years for it to show up in specialist care. Then the consequences can be serious, says Mkijrvi.

Doctors are also very concerned about delays in dental care. In the time of the corona, many have completely missed their visits to the dentist.

If long-term inflammatory conditions in the mouth go unnoticed, they have an effect on heart disease, among other things, says Anna-Mari Hekkala.

For example, a low, persistent oral inflammatory condition can contribute to arterial stenosis.

Something even public health has been achieved by pandemic containment measures.

In the spring, for example, the accident stations at hospitals in the Hus area were record-breaking.

When protection against the virus began in mid-March, the occurrence of seasonal influenza was cut off like a knife.

After all, total alcohol consumption has decreased during the corona pandemic, and if consumption remains at a lower level for a longer period of time, it will probably be reflected in a decrease in alcohol mortality in the future, says research professor Pekka Jousilahti.

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Coronavirus Corona time has lengthened the queues for heart and cancer surgery the tumors are more advanced and bigger than before, say doctors -...