Study Design

The COVIDSurg-Cancer is an international, observational cohort study that assessed treatment pathways and perioperative events in patients undergoing surgery for a tumor during the pandemic.⁹ This study also presents a unique opportunity to assess patient presenting features, neuro-oncology practice, and short-term surgical outcomes in different countries. Investigators from participating centers obtained the appropriate study approval according to the local and national requirements.

This study was a preplanned subgroup analysis of patients from the COVIDSurg-Cancer study who underwent surgery for an intracranial tumor during the first wave (January–August 2020) of the pandemic. Any hospital providing brain tumor surgery in an area affected by COVID-19 was eligible and participation was voluntary. Each investigator identified a start date for the respective center. This start date corresponded to the date of admission of the first patient with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in the hospital. In hospitals operating a Covid-free surgical pathway, the start date was the date of admission of the first SARS-CoV-2 positive patients in another hospital in the city. Patient recruitment ended 3 months after the start date. The follow-up period was 30 days after tumor surgery. Collaborators entered anonymized data into a secure server using the Research Electronic Data Capture online system.¹