Leigh J Sowerby1, Kate Stephenson2, Alexander Dickie1, Federico A Di Lella3, Niall Jefferson4, Hannah North5, R Daniele De Siati6, Rebecca Maunsell7, Michael Herzog8, Raghu Nandhan9, Marilena Trozzi10, Puya Dehgani-Mobaraki11, Antoine Melkane12, Claudio Callejas13, Harald Miljeteig14, Diane Smit15, Daniel Dibildox Reynoso16, Joao Eloi Moura17, Ann Hermansson18, Shazia Peer19, Lisa Burnell20, Nicolas Fakhry21, Carlos Chiesa-Estomba22, Özlem Önerci Çelebi23, Sergei Karpischenko24, Steven Sobol25, Zoukaa Sargi26, Zara M Patel27. 1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, ON, Canada. 2. Department of Paediatric Otolaryngology, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham, UK. 3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 4. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, John Hunter Adult and Children's' Hospitals, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. 5. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Children's Hospital Westmead and Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 6. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Saint-Luc University Hospital, University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. 7. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil. 8. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Carl-Thiem-Klinikum, Cottbus, Germany. 9. Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai, India. 10. Airway Surgery Unit, Pediatric Surgery Department, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Rome, Italy. 11. Association "Naso Sano" Onlus, Umbria Regional Registry of Volunteer Activities, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Gubbio-Gualdo Tadino Hospital, Perugia, Italy. 12. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hotel Dieu de France Hospital, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon. 13. Department of Otolaryngology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 14. Norwegian Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nesttun, Norway. 15. University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands. 16. Department of Otolaryngology Hospital Medica Sur, Mexico, Mexico. 17. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal. 18. Department of Otolaryngology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. 19. Division of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 20. ENT Morningside, Morningside Mediclinic, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. 21. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Marseille Conception, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille (APHM), Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France. 22. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitario de Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain. 23. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. 24. Department of Otolaryngology, Saint Petersburg Research Institute of Ear, Throat, Nose and Speech, First Pavlov State Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russia. 25. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. 26. Department of Otolaryngology, University of Miami, Miami, FL. 27. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It has become clear that healthcare workers are at high risk, and otolaryngology has been theorized to be among the highest risk specialties for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to detail the international impact of COVID-19 among otolaryngologists, and to identify instructional cases. METHODS: Country representatives of the Young Otolaryngologists-International Federation of Otolaryngologic Societies (YO-IFOS) surveyed otolaryngologists through various channels. Nationwide surveys were distributed in 19 countries. The gray literature and social media channels were searched to identify reported deaths of otolaryngologists from COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 361 otolaryngologists were identified to have had COVID-19, and data for 325 surgeons was available for analysis. The age range was 25 to 84 years, with one-half under the age of 44 years. There were 24 deaths in the study period, with 83% over age 55 years. Source of infection was likely clinical activity in 175 (54%) cases. Prolonged exposure to a colleague was the source for 37 (11%) surgeons. Six instructional cases were identified where infections occurred during the performance of aerosol-generating operations (tracheostomy, mastoidectomy, epistaxis control, dacryocystorhinostomy, and translabyrinthine resection). In 3 of these cases, multiple operating room attendees were infected, and in 2, the surgeon succumbed to complications of COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The etiology of reported cases within the otolaryngology community appear to stem equally from clinical activity and community spread. Multiple procedures performed by otolaryngologists are aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) and great care should be taken to protect the surgical team before, during, and after these operations.
BACKGROUND: It has become clear that healthcare workers are at high risk, and otolaryngology has been theorized to be among the highest risk specialties for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to detail the international impact of COVID-19 among otolaryngologists, and to identify instructional cases. METHODS: Country representatives of the Young Otolaryngologists-International Federation of Otolaryngologic Societies (YO-IFOS) surveyed otolaryngologists through various channels. Nationwide surveys were distributed in 19 countries. The gray literature and social media channels were searched to identify reported deaths of otolaryngologists from COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 361 otolaryngologists were identified to have had COVID-19, and data for 325 surgeons was available for analysis. The age range was 25 to 84 years, with one-half under the age of 44 years. There were 24 deaths in the study period, with 83% over age 55 years. Source of infection was likely clinical activity in 175 (54%) cases. Prolonged exposure to a colleague was the source for 37 (11%) surgeons. Six instructional cases were identified where infections occurred during the performance of aerosol-generating operations (tracheostomy, mastoidectomy, epistaxis control, dacryocystorhinostomy, and translabyrinthine resection). In 3 of these cases, multiple operating room attendees were infected, and in 2, the surgeon succumbed to complications of COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The etiology of reported cases within the otolaryngology community appear to stem equally from clinical activity and community spread. Multiple procedures performed by otolaryngologists are aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) and great care should be taken to protect the surgical team before, during, and after these operations.
Authors: Alberto Maria Saibene; Fabiana Allevi; Tareck Ayad; Tomislav Baudoin; Manuel Bernal-Sprekelsen; Giovanni Briganti; Sean Carrie; Per Cayé-Thomasen; Sara Dahman Saidi; Nicolas Dauby; John Fenton; Wojciech Golusiński; Ludger Klimek; Andrée-Anne Leclerc; Yves Longtin; Giuditta Mannelli; Miguel Mayo-Yáñez; Cem Meço; Osama Metwaly; François Mouawad; Kazimierz Niemczyk; Ulrik Pedersen; Krzysztof Piersiala; Jan Plzak; Marc Remacle; Nathalie Rommel; Hesham Saleh; Dawid Szpecht; Miroslav Tedla; Camilla Tincati; Manuel Tucciarone; Karol Zelenik; Jerome R Lechien Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2021-04-15 Impact factor: 2.503
Authors: D D Sommer; D Cote; T McHugh; M Corsten; M A Tewfik; S Khalili; K Fung; M Gupta; N Sne; P T Engels; E Weitzel; T F E Brown; J Paul; K M Kost; J A Anderson; L Sowerby; D Mertz; I J Witterick Journal: J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2021-10-20
Authors: Phillip Staibano; Marc Levin; Tobial McHugh; Michael Gupta; Doron D Sommer Journal: JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg Date: 2021-07-01 Impact factor: 8.961