Otolaryngology Unit, Department of BMS, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, Policlinico di Bari, University of Bari, Italy.
Otolaryngology Unit, Ospedale Di Venere, Bari, Italy.
Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2020 Dec;40(6):399-404. doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N1036. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
The restrictive measures adopted by the Italian Government during the COVID-19 outbreak caused dramatic changes in routine public health care. Surprisingly, emergency activity also registered a reduction in frequency.
This multicentre retrospective study aims to investigate eventual changes in ENT surgical emergencies in a highly populated area of southern Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data concerning the period between the February 1 and the May 31, 2020 were collected from the main three hospitals in the district and compared with the same period of 2019.
A substantial reduction was found in the number of ENT emergency interventions in 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, particularly in the main lockdown phase and in the tertiary referral centre.
The reduction in the absolute number of emergency ENT interventions can be only partially explained by social distancing and home confinement. We have reason to believe that some of these patients may have not sought medical support due to fear of nosocomial SARS-CoV2 infection. This study could represent a trigger for further implementation of health system responses to emergencies in a period of transition that is likely to last for a prolonged period of time.
COVID-19 疫情期间意大利政府采取的限制措施导致常规公共卫生保健发生了巨大变化。令人惊讶的是，急诊活动的频率也有所下降。
本多中心回顾性研究旨在调查 COVID-19 大流行期间意大利南部人口稠密地区耳鼻喉科急诊手术的变化。从该地区的三家主要医院收集了 2020 年 2 月 1 日至 5 月 31 日期间的数据，并与 2019 年同期进行了比较。
与 2019 年同期相比，2020 年耳鼻喉科急诊干预的数量明显减少，特别是在主要封锁阶段和三级转诊中心。
急诊耳鼻喉科干预的绝对数量减少只能部分归因于社会隔离和居家隔离。我们有理由相信，由于担心医院内 SARS-CoV2 感染，其中一些患者可能没有寻求医疗支持。本研究可能会引发进一步采取卫生系统应对措施，以应对可能持续较长时间的过渡时期的紧急情况。
