Alorjani Mohammed, Matalka Ismail, Baker Shaden Abu, Al-Khatib Sohaib, Al Bashir Samir, Al-Qudah Mohammad
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, 22110, Jordan.
Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2021 Mar;63:102155. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2021.02.001. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
The COVID-19 pandemic had many implications on healthcare services, including cellular pathology. The pandemic-related lockdown was applied in Jordan from March to May 2020. King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) was chosen to provide care for COVID-19 patients during that period. Since there was no experience in dealing with COVID-19 patients, the hospital maintained some essential services but canceled elective surgeries and procedures. The rationale was to prioritize care for COVID-19 patients and to provide better adherence to infection control policies and protect non-infected patients and healthcare workers. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on cellular pathology practice patterns at KAUH.
This is a retrospective observational study conducted at KAUH. All cellular pathology reports during the 2020 national lockdown were retrieved. The total numbers of specimens including types and procedures were recorded. Data were compared with the corresponding data in 2019 when there was no pandemic and when hospital and laboratory services were run in full capacity.
2020 lockdown period showed a 57.9% reduction in the total number of specimens received at the cellular pathology laboratory as compared to the corresponding period of 2019 (1400 versus 3322). Emergency procedures have represented 99.1% of the service during the lockdown with a remarkable diversity shift.
There was a significant drop in the number of specimens dealt with at KAUH cellular pathology laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic-related national lockdown. We learned from this pandemic how to adapt to such circumstances by adjusting our way of working to reach the best level of staff safety while maintaining highly productive work. Implementing digital pathology platforms, working from home strategies and alternative training methodologies have emerged as an essential need.
2019冠状病毒病疫情对医疗服务产生了诸多影响，包括细胞病理学。2020年3月至5月，约旦实施了与疫情相关的封锁措施。在此期间，阿卜杜拉国王大学医院（KAUH）被选定为2019冠状病毒病患者提供治疗。由于此前没有应对2019冠状病毒病患者的经验，该医院维持了一些基本服务，但取消了择期手术和操作。这样做的理由是优先为2019冠状病毒病患者提供治疗，并更好地遵守感染控制政策，保护未感染的患者和医护人员。本研究的目的是调查2019冠状病毒病疫情限制措施对KAUH细胞病理学实践模式的影响。
这是一项在KAUH进行的回顾性观察研究。检索了2020年全国封锁期间所有的细胞病理学报告。记录了标本的总数，包括类型和操作。将这些数据与2019年（当时没有疫情，医院和实验室服务满负荷运行）的相应数据进行比较。
与2019年同期相比，2020年封锁期间细胞病理学实验室收到的标本总数减少了57.9%（1400份对3322份）。封锁期间急诊操作占服务的99.1%，且出现了显著的多样性变化。
在与2019冠状病毒病疫情相关的全国封锁期间，KAUH细胞病理学实验室处理的标本数量显著下降。我们从这场疫情中学到了如何通过调整工作方式来适应这种情况，以在确保员工安全的同时保持高效工作。实施数字病理学平台、居家工作策略和替代培训方法已成为迫切需求。
