Department of Endocrinology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Division of Neurosurgery, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Pituitary. 2021 Apr;24(2):262-268. doi: 10.1007/s11102-020-01106-3. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is widely believed to have had a major impact on the care of patients with pituitary disease. The virus itself may directly result in death, and patients with adrenal insufficiency, often a part of hypopituitarism, are thought to represent a particularly susceptible subgroup. Moreover, even in patients that do not contract the virus, the diversion of resources by healthcare institutions to manage the virus may indirectly result in delays in their management. To this end, the aim of this study was to determine the direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with pituitary disease.
A cross-sectional study design was adopted, with all adult patients seen by our pituitary service in the year prior to the nationwide lockdown on March 23rd 2020 invited to participate in a telephone survey.
In all, 412 patients (412/586; 70.3%) participated in the survey. 66 patients (66/412; 16.0%) reported having suspected COVID-19 infection. Of the 10 patients in this group tested for COVID-19 infection, three received a positive test result. No deaths due to COVID-19 were identified. 267 patients (267/412; 64.8%) experienced a delay or change in the planned care for their pituitary disease, with 100 patients (100/412; 24.3%) perceiving an impact to their care.
Whilst only a small percentage of patients had confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection, over half were still indirectly impacted by the pandemic through a delay or change to their planned care.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行被广泛认为对垂体疾病患者的治疗产生了重大影响。该病毒本身可能直接导致死亡，而肾上腺功能不全的患者（通常是垂体功能减退症的一部分）被认为是特别易感的亚组。此外，即使在未感染病毒的患者中，医疗机构为管理病毒而转移资源也可能间接地导致其治疗延迟。为此，本研究旨在确定 COVID-19 大流行对垂体疾病患者的直接和间接影响。
采用横断面研究设计，邀请在 2020 年 3 月 23 日全国封锁之前一年中由我们垂体服务诊治的所有成年患者参加电话调查。
共有 412 名患者（412/586；70.3%）参加了调查。66 名患者（66/412；16.0%）报告疑似 COVID-19 感染。在该组中接受 COVID-19 感染检测的 10 名患者中，有 3 名检测结果为阳性。未发现 COVID-19 死亡病例。267 名患者（267/412；64.8%）的垂体疾病计划治疗出现延迟或改变，100 名患者（100/412；24.3%）认为其治疗受到影响。
尽管只有一小部分患者确诊或疑似 COVID-19 感染，但仍有超过一半的患者因大流行而间接受到计划治疗的延迟或改变的影响。
