Publications by authors named "Belle K Lin"
Use of Industrial Filters by Health Care Workers During Shortages of N95 Respirators in Pandemic Times.
Infect Dis Clin Pract (Baltim Md)
September 2021
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a significant shortage of personal protective equipment in multiple health care facilities around the world, with the highest impact on N95 respirator masks. The N95 respirator is a mask that blocks at least 95% of very small (0.3 μm) particles and is considered a standard for enhanced respiratory precautions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with lung cancer may experience treatment delays. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of extended treatment delays on survival among patients with stage I typical bronchopulmonary carcinoid (BC), lepidic predominant adenocarcinoma (LPA) or invasive adenocarcinoma with a lepidic component (ADL).
Methods: Using National Cancer Database data (2004-2015), multivariable Cox regression analysis with penalized smoothing splines was performed to examine the association between treatment delay and all-cause mortality for stage I BC, LPA, and ADL.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated survival rates in patients with operable stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent early stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) versus delayed surgery.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines suggested delaying surgery for at least 3 months or opting for immediate SBRT, but the best approach for patient outcomes was unclear.
- Results showed that patients who had delayed surgery (90-120 days after diagnosis) had better overall survival rates compared to those who received early SBRT (0-30 days after diagnosis).
Background: A right-sided pneumonectomy after induction therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been shown to be associated with significant perioperative risk. We examined the effect of laterality on long-term survival after induction therapy and pneumonectomy using the National Cancer Data Base.
Methods: Perioperative and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent pneumonectomy after induction chemotherapy, with or without radiotherapy, from 2004 to 2014 in the National Cancer Data Base were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling and propensity score-matched analysis.