{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T22:53:44Z","timestamp":1776207224318,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,11]],"date-time":"2025-04-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744329600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted healthcare-seeking behaviors, leading to delayed cancer diagnoses due to hospital-related anxiety. This case highlights the severe consequences of delayed medical consultation in a patient with advanced ovarian cancer. A 47-year-old female presented with severe abdominal distension, massive ascites, and extensive abdominal wall necrosis after avoiding medical care for months due to severe hospital-related anxiety, exacerbated by the loss of her husband during the COVID-19 pandemic. On admission, a CT scan could not be performed due to the patient\u2019s inability to lie supine and extreme abdominal distension. To relieve pressure and improve respiratory function, an abdominal drain was inserted, releasing 72 L of ascitic fluid over five days. Following drainage, imaging confirmed a large ovarian tumor with peritoneal involvement, and a multidisciplinary team (surgeons, gynecologists, plastic surgeons, anesthetists, and intensive care specialists) determined the need for surgical intervention. Histopathology confirmed mucinous adenocarcinoma with pseudomyxoma peritonei (FIGO IIIB). This case underscores the critical impact of delayed oncological diagnosis and the need for enhanced patient education, mental health support, and structured screening programs to prevent similar late-stage presentations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life15040638","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,14]],"date-time":"2025-04-14T09:06:51Z","timestamp":1744621611000},"page":"638","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Legacy of COVID-19: Hospital Fear Led to the Delayed Diagnosis of an Ovarian Tumor with Massive Ascites and Extensive Abdominal Necrosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9359-6058","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janos","family":"Szederjesi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, 540139 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Calin","family":"Molnar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery 1, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, 540139 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Claudiu","family":"Molnar-Varlam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, 540139 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dorin","family":"Doroban\u021bu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Microsurgery, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, 540139 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mihai Claudiu","family":"Pui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, 540139 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Matild","family":"Keresztes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, County Emergency Clinical Hospital of T\u00eergu-Mure\u0219, 540136 T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1240","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)32552-2","article-title":"Epithelial ovarian cancer","volume":"393","author":"Lheureux","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21456","article-title":"Ovarian Cancer Statistics, 2018","volume":"68","author":"Torre","year":"2018","journal-title":"CA A Cancer J. 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