COVID-19: what happened to all of the otolaryngology emergencies?

Gelardi, Matteo; Iannuzzi, Lucia; Trecca, Eleonora M C; Kim, Brandon; Quaranta, Nicola; Cassano, Michele

doi:10.1007/s00405-020-06046-z

Cited by 34 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In our retrospective query of patient encounters, we found a reduced number of patient encounters related to peritonsillar abscess during the first wave, which is similar to findings from two other reports [ 26 , 27 ]. Seasonal changes could be a source of bias, but a Danish study from 2017 showed no significance for the seasonal variation in the incidence of peritonsillar abscesses [ 28 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The impact and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with head and neck cancer and acute upper airway infection in a tertiary otorhinolaryngology referral center in Denmark

Andersen

Rasmussen

Channir

et al. 2021

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol

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Purpose To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 at a Danish tertiary referral otorhinolaryngology clinic during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with suspected acute upper airway infection (UAI) and patients operated for head and neck cancer (HNC), respectively. To monitor changes in the number of patient encounters for acute UAI and the number of referrals for the workup of HNC. Trial registration: NCT-04356560 (Clinicaltrials.gov). Methods Prospective enrolled case series of all patients with suspected acute UAI (n = 88) and of patients undergoing surgery for HNC (n = 96), respectively, from March 23rd to May 5th, 2020, at a public tertiary referral otorhinolaryngology clinic in Denmark. SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabbing. Patients with suspected acute UAI had symptoms and definitive diagnoses registered in a database. Trends in the number of referrals and patient encounters were retrieved from an electronic patient journal system and analyzed retrospectively. Results Eighty-eight patients with acute UAI were enrolled including 55 men and 34 women, median age of 31 years (range: 10 months to 82 years). One patient (1.1%) tested positive. Among 96 patients operated for HNC, zero tested positive. The number of referrals for HNC workup, and patient encounters for peritonsillar abscesses, decreased markedly in the first 3 weeks. ConclusionThe prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 during the first 6 weeks of the first wave was minimal among patients with acute UAI and zero among patients operated for HNC. The decrease in referrals for the workup of HNC may increase time to treatment initiation and patient morbidity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The impact and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with head and neck cancer and acute upper airway infection in a tertiary otorhinolaryngology referral center in Denmark

Andersen

Rasmussen

Channir

et al. 2021

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol

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“…It was necessary to adapt the public health system to the epidemiological situation, reorganizing hospitals and restructuring PC, limiting surgical activity to essential cases (emergencies and oncology) and improving the distribution of health resources (human, material and structural) [ [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] ]. Attention in the general emergency services was found to be irremediably focused on the care of COVID-19 patients given the expansion of the disease, and was largely the object of the logistical and personnel restructuring undertaken by the public health system [ 2 , 3 , [12] , [13] , [14] ]. For this reason, the objective of this study was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the assistance to the ENT-ED.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emergency services were one of the main target sectors of the reorganization of the system, given its importance as the first point of contact with many patients, in a situation in which PC was also exhausted. In this sense, the emergency care in ENT patients has also been altered following the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, and, seemingly, many non-COVID-19 illnesses have been disappearing [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ENT emergencies during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: Our experience

Herranz-Larrañeta

Klein-Rodríguez

Menéndez-Riera

et al. 2021

American Journal of Otolaryngology

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“…Italian societies have also recently published their strategic plan for management of surgical patients in the current era 6,7 . Gelardi et al 8 reported an important decrease in emergency ENT consultations (80.8%) in the Apulia region during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to our knowledge the impact of the lockdown on ENT emergency surgical activity has not been previously analysed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ENT surgical emergencies during the COVID-19 outbreak

Pontillo

Iannuzzi

Petrone

et al. 2020

Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital

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Introduction. The restrictive measures adopted by the Italian Government during the COVID-19 outbreak caused dramatic changes in routine public health care. Surprisingly, emergency activity also registered a reduction in frequency. Methods. This multicentre retrospective study aims to investigate eventual changes in ENT surgical emergencies in a highly populated area of southern Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data concerning the period between the February 1 and the May 31, 2020 were collected from the main three hospitals in the district and compared with the same period of 2019. Results. A substantial reduction was found in the number of ENT emergency interventions in 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, particularly in the main lockdown phase and in the tertiary referral centre. Conclusions. The reduction in the absolute number of emergency ENT interventions can be only partially explained by social distancing and home confinement. We have reason to believe that some of these patients may have not sought medical support due to fear of nosocomial SARS-CoV2 infection. This study could represent a trigger for further implementation of health system responses to emergencies in a period of transition that is likely to last for a prolonged period of time.

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COVID-19: what happened to all of the otolaryngology emergencies?

Cited by 34 publications

References 3 publications

The impact and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with head and neck cancer and acute upper airway infection in a tertiary otorhinolaryngology referral center in Denmark

The impact and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with head and neck cancer and acute upper airway infection in a tertiary otorhinolaryngology referral center in Denmark

ENT emergencies during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: Our experience

ENT surgical emergencies during the COVID-19 outbreak

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