[Current situation in Urology practice in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic.].

INTRODUCTION

On 11th March 2020the WHO declared COVID19 a global pandemic, a challenge previously unseen for sanitary systems, including the activity in Urology departments.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Web and PubMed searchusing the keywords "SARS-CoV-2", "COVID19", "COVID Urology", "COVID surgery", "consensus methods","nominal group", "Delphi method". A narrative revision of the literature until the 20th May 2020, including articles and documents in English and Spanish.;RESULTS: Medical practice in Spain has been forced to rapidly adapt to the pandemic, dedicating most ofits material and human resources to the care of patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. This has meant a significant reduction of the routine practice in Urology, as in other medical specialities, limiting the medical attention tourgent and emergent cases. Programmed activity has been reserved for selected cases in which a delayed attention could compromise survival. Different scientific associations have made a significant effort to adapt their recommendations to the pandemic, prioritizing high-risk oncologic cases, and reducing the use of ventilators and hospital stays to the minimum. These restrictions must be dynamic, adapting to the de-escalating phases as the pandemic is more controlled, widening the range of services available. In this de-escalate there is an additional challenge, being the difficulty in generating quality scientific evidence. In order to obtain such evidence, consensus methods have been used, such as the nominal group technique or the Delphi method.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID19 pandemic has meant a complete disruption in the routine activity in Urologyin Spain, with a need for prioritizing the attention of urgent and high-risk oncologic pathology. These restrictions must be progressively modified according to the de-escalating process in the general population.