Impact of COVID-19 on maxillofacial surgery practice: a worldwide survey

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly changing our habits. To date, April 12, 2020, the virus has reached 209 nations, affecting 1.8 million people and causing more than 110,000 deaths. Maxillofacial surgery represents an example of a specialty that has had to adapt to this outbreak, because of the subspecialties of oncology and traumatology. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this outbreak on the specialty of maxillofacial surgery and how the current situation is being managed on a worldwide scale. To achieve this goal, the authors developed an anonymous questionnaire which was posted on the internet and also sent to maxillofacial surgeons around the globe using membership lists from various subspecialty associations. The questionnaire asked for information about the COVID-19 situation in the respondent's country and in their workplace, and what changes they were facing in their practices in light of the outbreak. The objective was not only to collect and analyse data, but also to highlight what the specialty is facing and how it is handling the situation, in the hope that this information will be useful as a reference in the future, not only for this specialty, but also for others, should COVID-19 or a similar global threat arise again.

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma activity: a French multicentre comparative study

“…It appears that no study has yet been published on the variation in incidence of craniofacial trauma during the COVID-19 lockdown. Maffia et al 2 have published a worldwide survey on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on maxillofacial surgery practice, and Allevi et al 10 have described the impact of the outbreak on maxillofacial surgical care in Italy. However, the decline in trauma activity was not quantified in these studies.…”

“…However, in parallel with the measures enforced and despite the pandemic, it has been necessary to continue to deal with emergencies in an optimal manner. Thus, in many surgical departments and in particular in maxillofacial surgical units, non-COVID-19 patients have also had to be managed according to the recommendations written by national and international academic societies, derived from the practical experiences of other medical teams around the world 2 , 16 , 22 , 23 . Patients requiring urgent or semi-urgent maxillofacial care have therefore been treated in specific units by specialized staff.…”

“…Many of our professional and social habits have been deeply impacted by the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 1 , 2 . Medical staff and material resources have had to be reallocated in order to care for patients with COVID-19.…”

“…Medical staff and material resources have had to be reallocated in order to care for patients with COVID-19. A set of safety procedures has had to be implemented in order to protect healthcare workers and patients from exposure and infection 2 , 3 . Prolonged lockdown measures have been imposed on entire populations in order to slow down the spread of the virus and thus reduce the number of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, confirmed cases, and fatalities 4 .…”

Face to face with COVID-19: highlights of challenges encountered in various ENT practices across the Czech Republic (a national survey)

“…The first section was questions based on the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) scale, the second section was used to obtain a photograph of the respondent's practice before the outbreak and the third section detailed on practice situation during the outbreak. A total of 166 responses were received from 54 countries [22].…”