BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic has changed the course of diseases that require emergency surgery. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer disease stage. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective analysis in the city of Rize, Turkey. METHODS: This was a comparative analysis on two groups of patients with various symptoms who underwent surgical colorectal cancer treatment. Group 1 comprised patients operated between March 11, 2019, and December 31, 2019; while group 2 comprised patients at the same time of the year during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Groups 1 and 2 included 56 and 48 patients, respectively. The rate of presentation to the emergency service was higher in Group 2 (P < 0.02). The stage of the pathological lymph nodes and the rate of liver metastasis was higher in Group 2 (P < 0.004 and P < 0.041, respectively). The disease stage was found to be more advanced in Group 2 (P < 0.005). The rate of postoperative complications was higher in Group 2 (P < 0.014). CONCLUSION: The presentation of patients with suspicious findings to the hospital was delayed, due both to the fear of catching COVID-19 and to the pandemic precautions that were proposed and implemented by healthcare authorities worldwide. Among the patients who presented to the hospital with emergency complaints and in whom colorectal cancer was detected, their disease was at a more advanced stage and thus a higher number of emergency oncological surgical procedures were performed on those patients.

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Fournier's gangrene is a surgical emergency arising in the perineum and genital area and is characterized as necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum and genital area. It quickly spreads between the fascial planes and causes soft tissue necrosis. Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent predisposing factor. Early diagnosis and management are critical in the progression of the disease. Surgical debridement and wide-spectrum antibiotic therapy are the first steps in treatment. Despite advancements in diagnosis and treatment procedures and changes in critical care techniques, the disease has a death rate of 16-40%. This research compares patients operated on for Fournier's gangrene between January 2016 and January 2022, including those treated with vacuum-assisted closure technique, vs those who were not. We acquired and analyzed the data on the patients' demographic and clinical features from hospital records. The study involved 16 patients, six (38%) in Group 1 and 10 (62%) in Group 2, 11 men (68 %) and five women (32%). Swelling in the wound region was the most prevalent complaint. The most common gangrene site was the perianal region, and diabetes was the most common predisposing condition. Group 2 had a significantly shorter hospital stay (p=0.02). There was no statistically significant difference in mortality or other parameters between the groups. The main advantages of VAC therapy are that it requires fewer dressings, causes less pain, and reduces the risk of contamination. The advantages of the traditional wet dressing include its ease of use and low cost and the fact that VAC therapy promotes faster wound healing and shorter hospital stays.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on thyroid cancer stage. Methods : Our study includes comparative analysis on two patient groups treated for thyroid cancer. Patients who were treated for thyroid cancer between 11 April 2018 and 11 March 2020 were included in Group 1, and patients who were treated for thyroid cancer between 11 March 2020 and 11 February 2022 during the COVID-19 epidemic were included in Group 2. Results: Groups 1 and 2 included 163 and 117 patients, respectively. Patients with preoperative fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) as potentially malignant or malignant were significantly higher in Group 2 (p=0.001). When compared according to the postoperative pathological diagnoses, there was a significant difference between the groups, poorly differentiated thyroid cancer was more common in Group 2 (p=0.018). Pathological tumor diameter was significantly larger in Group 2 (p=0.001). Conclusions: Patients with suspicious findings in terms of thyroid diseases and cancer applied to the hospital later, both because of the fear of contracting COVID-19 and as a result of the pandemic measures recommended and implemented by all world health authorities. These patients applied to the hospital with their complaints gradually increasing in the following periods, parallel to this, there was a delay in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer and the disease could be detected at a more advanced stage.

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