Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Freiburg, Killianstraße 5, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Sep;278(9):3417-3423. doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06519-1. Epub 2020 Dec 15.
The COVID-19 pandemic has a major impact on the diagnosis and treatment of ENT patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the pandemic on the number of otolaryngological procedures, particularly for critical diagnoses with potential negative effects due to prolonged symptom duration.
We evaluated 10,716 surgical procedures between January 1, 2018 and May 31, 2020, focusing on the 16-week period around March 16, 2020, which includes 1080 observations. We further analyzed subsets of critical procedures.
We found a decline in critical procedures by 43% although no critical procedures were postponed by the hospital. Meanwhile, the share of critical procedures increased up to 90% caused by the cancellation of elective surgery. Especially worrisome was that diagnostic procedures for suspected malignancies decreased by 41% during the pandemic.
The decline in critical procedures in otorhinolaryngology as collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic is considerable and therefore alarming.
COVID-19 大流行对耳鼻喉科患者的诊断和治疗产生了重大影响。本研究旨在分析大流行对耳鼻喉科手术数量的影响，特别是对于因症状持续时间延长而可能产生负面影响的危急诊断。
我们评估了 2018 年 1 月 1 日至 2020 年 5 月 31 日之间的 10716 例手术，重点关注 2020 年 3 月 16 日前后的 16 周，其中包括 1080 次观察。我们进一步分析了危急手术的亚组。
我们发现危急手术减少了 43%，尽管医院没有推迟任何危急手术。同时，由于择期手术的取消，危急手术的比例增加到 90%。更令人担忧的是，疑似恶性肿瘤的诊断程序在大流行期间减少了 41%。
COVID-19 大流行对耳鼻喉科手术的负面影响相当可观，因此令人担忧。
