ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Surgical Volume of Otolaryngology: Experience of a Tertiary Referral Center
COVID-19 Pandemisinin Kulak Burun BoÄŸaz Cerrahi Hacimine Etkisi, Üçüncü Basamak Merkez Deneyimi
Received Date : 12 Jan 2021
Accepted Date : 21 Jan 2021
Available Online : 23 Mar 2021
Fakih Cihat ERAVCIa, Hamdi ARBAĞa, Erdem BAYRAKÇIa, Mehmet Akif DÜNDARa
aDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, TURKEY
Doi: 10.24179/kbbbbc.2021-81258 - Makale Dili: EN
KBB ve BBC Dergisi. 2021;29(2):127-35
Copyright © 2020 by Turkey Association of Society of Ear Nose Throat and Head Neck Surgery. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
ABSTRACT
Objective: In order to prepare for the post-coronavirus
disease era, the aim of this study was to analyze our surgical volume in
otolaryngology (ORL) during the first 6 months of the pandemic compared
with the equivalent period of the previous year. Material and
Methods: A retrospective review of surgical archives was performed.
Analysis was made both gross and in detail for each specific subdivision.
Results: A total of 1,586 patients were identified. During the first
time period (March-May) in 2019, 486 patients were operated, which
declined to 173 in the same period of 2020 (65% reduction). In the second
time period (June-August) this reduction was 39% (from 573 to
354 cases). The greatest decline was in pediatric ORL cases (75%). In
the second three months of the pandemic, the decrease in surgical volume
continued in functional surgeries except in the septorhinoplasty
group. However, head and neck surgeries increased by 24% in the second
time period and in spite of the decrease in the number of early
stage tumors, advanced stage tumors increased 59%. Conclusion: All
of the ORL subdivisions were affected in the first wave of the pandemic,
with pediatric cases affected most profoundly. The delayed admissions
of early stage head and neck tumors in the first 3 months
resulted in an increase at the number of operations for advanced stage
tumors surgery cases. A nationwide management strategy should be
prepared to alleviate the acute and chronic consequences of the reduction
in the number of ORL patient admissions and operations during
the pandemic period.
Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; otolaryngology; surgery
ÖZET
Amaç: Koronavirüs hastalığı sonrası döneme hazırlanmak
amacıyla pandeminin ilk 6 ayında (2020’de Mart ve Ağustos)
kliniÄŸimizdeki Kulak Burun BoÄŸaz (KBB) ameliyat hacmimiz, bir
önceki yılın aynı dönemine kıyas edilerek analiz edilmesi hedeflendi.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Cerrahi arşivlerin retrospektif bir incelemesi
yapıldı. Analizler, her bir alt bölüm için hem kaba hem de ayrıntılı
olarak yapıldı. Bulgular: Toplam 1.586 hasta tespit edildi. 2019 yılının
ilk zaman diliminde (Mart-Mayıs) 486 hasta ameliyat edildi ve bu sayı,
2020’nin aynı döneminde 173’e geriledi (%65 azalma). İkinci zaman
diliminde (Haziran-Ağustos) bu azalma %39 (573’ten 354’e) idi. En
büyük düşüş, pediatrik KBB vakalarında (%75) oldu. Pandeminin 2. 3
ayında ise septorinoplasti grubu dışındaki fonksiyonel ameliyatlarda,
cerrahi hacimdeki azalma devam etti. Ancak 2. dönemde baş ve boyun
ameliyatları %24 artarken, erken evre tümör sayısındaki azalmaya
rağmen ileri evre tümörlerde %59 artış görüldü. Sonuç: Pandeminin
ilk dalgasından tüm KBB alt bölümleri etkilenirken, en ağır olarak pediatrik
KBB vakaları etkilenmiştir. Pandeminin ilk 3 ayında geciken
erken evre baş-boyun tümör başvuruları, ileri evre tümör cerrahisi
vakalarının ameliyat sayısında artışa neden olmuştur. Pandemi döneminde
KBB hasta kabullerinin ve ameliyatlarının sayısındaki azalmanın
akut ve kronik sonuçlarını hafifletmek için ülke çapında bir yönetim
stratejisi hazırlanmalıdır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19; koronavirüs; pandemi; kulak burun boğaz hastalıkları; cerrahi
KAYNAKLAR
- Mannelli G, Ralli M, Bonali M, Capasso P, Guarino P, Iannini V, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Italian Otolaryngology Units: a nationwide study. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2020;40(5):325-31. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Requia WJ, Kondo EK, Adams MD, Gold DR, Struchiner CJ. Risk of the Brazilian health care system over 5572 municipalities to exceed health care capacity due to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Sci Total Environ. 2020;730:139144. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı COVID-19 Bilgilendirme Sayfası [Internet]. Copyright © 2020 T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı [cited 23.12.2020]. Available from: [Link]
- Patel ZM, Fernandez-Miranda J, Hwang PH, Nayak JV, Dodd R, Sajjadi H, et al. Letter: Precautions for endoscopic transnasal skull base surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neurosurgery. 2020;87(1):E66-7. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Mahase E. Covid-19: Pfizer and BioNTech submit vaccine for US authorisation. BMJ. 2020;371:m4552. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Mahase E. Covid-19: Oxford vaccine is up to 90% effective, interim analysis indicates. BMJ. 2020;371:m4564. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Ralli M, Greco A, de Vincentiis M. The effects of the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 pandemic outbreak on otolaryngology activity in Italy. Ear Nose Throat J. 2020;99(9):565-6. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Ralli M, Minni A, Candelori F, Cialente F, Greco A, de Vincentiis M. Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngology surgery in Italy: the experience of our university hospital. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020;163(1):86-8. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Morrison DR, Gentile C, McCammon S, Buczek E. Head and neck oncologic surgery in the COVID-19 pandemic: Our experience in a deep south tertiary care center. Head Neck. 2020;42(7):1471-6. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Izreig S, Zogg CK, Kasle DA, Torabi SJ, Manes RP. Resumption of otolaryngology surgical practice in the setting of regionally receding COVID-19. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020:194599820959671. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Hervochon R, Atallah S, Levivien S, Teissier N, Baujat B, Tankere F. Impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on ENT surgical volume. Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis. 2020;137(4):269-71. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Galli J, Settimi S, Tricarico L, Almadori G, Paludetti G. Clinical and surgical management of patients with head and neck cancer in a COVID-19 dedicated center in Italy. Head Neck. 2020;42(7):1466-70. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Taylor R, Omakobia E, Sood S, Glore RJ. The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on head and neck cancer services: a UK tertiary centre study. J Laryngol Otol. 2020;134(8):684-7. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Zaffanello M, Piacentini G, La Grutta S. The cardiovascular risk in paediatrics: the paradigm of the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Blood Transfus. 2020;18(3):217-25. [PubMed] [PMC]
- Borges LR, Donadon C, Sanfins MD, Valente JP, Paschoal JR, Colella-Santos MF. The effects of otitis media with effusion on the measurement of auditory evoked potentials. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;133:109978. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Heidekrueger PI, Juran S, Patel A, Tanna N, Broer PN. Plastic surgery statistics in the US: evidence and implications. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2016;40(2):293-300. [Crossref] [PubMed]