The impact of COVID‐19 on elective otolaryngology surgery in a rural hospital in the United Kingdom

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader The impact of COVID‐19 on elective otolaryngology surgery in a rural hospital in the United Kingdom Via Clinical Otolaryngology Abstract A return to normal surgical practice following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was expected to be limited by extra precautions put in place to mitigate the risks posed by the Sars-Cov2 virus to patients and theatre staff. Rates of COVID-19 infection within the local authority area remained well below national levels from August 2020-February 2021 despite a surge in cases during the second wave. Despite low levels of COVID-19 infection there was a 16.2% reduction in the number of operating lists and a 31.2% reduction in the number of surgical procedures performed. There was a significant increase in the number of cancellations (p=0.011) year on year. The results suggest that the ability of Otolaryngological departments to clear the backlog of cases caused by the postponement of non-urgent surgery during 2020 will be limited as long as the extra precautions remain. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.