A cross-sectional questionnaire study in a phototherapy unit during COVID-19.
BACKGROUND
In March 2020, social isolation measures were imposed in Brazil to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), requiring health services to implement contingency plans. The main objective of the study was to verify the status of the disease, self-reported by patients who discontinued phototherapy, during a period of social isolation.


METHODS
All patients receiving phototherapy at the Santa Casa de Porto Alegre, Brazil, prior to the implementation of social distancing measures were eligible for inclusion in the study. 86 patients answered a questionnaire during a medical evaluation.


RESULTS
95% of patients who stopped phototherapy reported a worsening of disease status. Only 19% of patients continued to attend phototherapy sessions during the social isolation period.


CONCLUSION
The COVID-19 pandemic led most patients to stop phototherapy, resulting in the perception of increased disease severity in an outpatient sample in southern Brazil.
['Costa|Francine Batista|FB|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2274-7546', 'Baptista|Patrícia Lima|PL|', 'Duquia|Rodrigo Pereira|RP|']
D001938:Brazil D000086382:COVID-19 D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D016410:Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous D008297:Male D010789:Phototherapy D011565:Psoriasis D012720:Severity of Illness Index D012934:Social Isolation D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D016312:Treatment Refusal D014820:Vitiligo
Phototherapy COVID-19 Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma Psoriasis Vitiligo