Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Jichi Medical School, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.
Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
Sci Prog. 2024 Oct-Dec;107(4):368504241301809. doi: 10.1177/00368504241301809.
To investigate the characteristics of outpatients in the pediatric otolaryngology department of a tertiary Japanese hospital before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this retrospective study conducted at a tertiary center in Japan, pediatric patients aged 0-15 years who visited the pediatric otolaryngology department between 2017 and 2022 were included. The number of outpatients in the department was compared between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2017-December 2022) by year, age, sex, and the disease for which the patient was examined. Additionally, the diseases that most substantially contributed to the change in outpatient visits were evaluated in detail regarding their severity.
Among a total of 9219 outpatients, there were no significant differences between 2017-2019 and 2020-2022 (4650 vs. 4569). In contrast, the number of new outpatients decreased by 27.5% (from 1242 to 900) in each of the three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the number of patients aged 1-6 years decreased as did that of male patients. Of eight disease categories, oral cavity- and pharyngeal- related diseases decreased the most significantly, by approximately 50%, and the decrease in the number of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is thought to have had an impact on the decrease in the number of patients. Furthermore, in cases in which polysomnography testing was performed for OSA, the proportion of patients with moderate and severe categories showed a significant decrease.
The number of new pediatric ORL patients, particularly those with severe OSA, reduced during the COVID 19 pandemic. These results may provide indications about the characteristics of OSA incidence and exacerbations.
调查日本一家三级医院儿科耳鼻喉科门诊在 COVID-19 大流行前后的患者特征。
本研究为回顾性研究，在日本一家三级中心进行，纳入 2017 年至 2022 年间在儿科耳鼻喉科就诊的 0-15 岁儿科患者。通过年度、年龄、性别和就诊疾病比较 COVID-19 大流行前后（2017 年 1 月-2022 年 12 月）门诊人数。此外，详细评估了对门诊就诊人数变化贡献最大的疾病，评估其严重程度。
在总共 9219 名门诊患者中，2017-2019 年和 2020-2022 年之间无显著差异（4650 例比 4569 例）。相反，COVID-19 大流行期间的三年中，新门诊患者人数每年减少 27.5%（从 1242 例减少至 900 例）。特别是 1-6 岁患者和男性患者的人数减少。在八个疾病类别中，口腔和咽相关疾病的减少最为显著，约减少了 50%，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）患者人数的减少被认为对患者人数的减少产生了影响。此外，在对 OSA 进行多导睡眠图检查的病例中，中度和重度患者比例显著下降。
COVID-19 大流行期间，新的儿科耳鼻喉科患者人数，特别是严重 OSA 患者人数减少。这些结果可能为 OSA 发病率和恶化的特征提供了依据。
