Psychological Health of Surgeons in a Time of COVID-19: A Global Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of psychological impact among surgical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively impacted global healthcare systems. We hypothesized that the degree of psychological impact would be higher for surgical providers deployed for COVID-19 work, certain surgical specialties, and for those who knew of someone diagnosed with, or who died, of COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a global web-based survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19. The primary outcomes were the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores. RESULTS: 4283 participants from 101 countries responded. 32.8%, 30.8%, 25.9% and 24.0% screened positive for depression, anxiety, stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) respectively. Respondents who knew someone who died of COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD (OR 1.3, 1,6, 1.4, 1.7 respectively, all p < 0.05). Respondents who knew of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, stress and PTSD (OR 1.2, 1.2 and 1.3 respectively, all p < 0.05). Surgical specialities that operated in the Head and Neck region had higher psychological distress among its surgeons. Deployment for COVID-19-related work was not associated with increased psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic may have a mental health legacy outlasting its course. The long-term impact of this ongoing traumatic event underscores the importance of longitudinal mental health care for healthcare personnel, with particular attention to those who know of someone diagnosed with, or who died of COVID-19.

An Adaptive Strategy for Medium-Term Electricity Consumption Forecasting for Highly Unpredictable Scenarios: Case Study Quito, Ecuador during the Two First Years of COVID-19

This research focuses its efforts on the prediction of medium-term electricity consumption for scenarios of highly variable electricity demand. Numerous approaches are used to predict electricity demand, among which the use of time series (ARMA, ARIMA) and the use of machine learning techniques, such as artificial neural networks, are the most covered in the literature review. All these approaches evaluate the prediction error when comparing the generated models with the data that fed the model, but they do not compare these values with the actual data of electricity demand once these are obtained, in addition, these techniques present high error values when there are unexpected changes in the trend of electricity consumption. This work proposes a methodology to generate an adaptive model for unexpected changes in electricity demand through the use of optimization in conjunction with SARIMA time series. The proposed case study is the electricity consumption in Quito, Ecuador to predict the electricity demand in the years 2019 and 2020, which are particularly challenging due to atypical electricity consumption attributed to COVID-19. The results show that the proposed model is capable of following the trend of electricity demand, adapting itself to sudden changes and obtaining an average error of 2.5% which is lower than the average error of 5.43% when using a non-adaptive approach (more than 50% or error improvement).

Telemedicine use in current urologic oncology clinical practice

Introduction In the last fifteen years, there have been important technological advances in telehealth systems and urology, along with other specialties, has been a pioneer in the successful use of this medical care modality. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine has been rapidly embraced by the urology community around the world. A review of the most relevant and updated articles on telemedicine and telehealth in urology has been carried out with the aim of better understanding how it has been implemented to date, as well as reviewing concepts, current regulations, health policies and recommendations for its implementation. Methods A narrative review of the current literature published up to April 2022 on the use of telemedicine in urology was performed. From the search results, 42 publications were obtained for analysis. Results Telemedicine in urology has been shown to be useful in a variety of clinical scenarios within urological practice, from benign diseases to advanced cancers. This is due to the positive impact on medical consultation times, lower patient mobility costs, less work absenteeism and greater protection for both the patient and the doctor. The main limitations for the use of telemedicine lie in the impossibility of a correct physical examination, which is essential in certain situations, as well as the lack of accessibility to technology in disadvantaged populations and in elderly patients who have not adapted to the use of technology, as well as the lack of development of health policies to establish their implementation in some countries. Conclusion Telemedicine is in full growth. There is much information in the current literature on the successful adoption of telemedicine for patients suffering from urological diseases. While the use and implementation of these new practices has been rapid in the urology community, more work is needed to bring more accessible specialty care to underserved and underdeveloped areas. Health policies must promote its development to reduce costs and increase access.

El impacto del COVID-19 en la residencia en urología en España: perspectivas y recomendaciones

La pandemia por COVID-19 ha irrumpido gravemente en el día a día de los hospitales, afectando a la actividad de todos los servicios médicos y quirúrgicos. Del mismo modo ha afectado a los residentes de urología, privándoles a los mismos de seguir la formación en sus puestos de trabajo habituales y viéndose obligados a dar apoyo a las unidades COVID. Esto ha implicado, no solamente la pérdida de las actividades diarias, si no también la incertidumbre en oportunidades laborales de los residentes de último año. Además, la cancelación de numerosos eventos como congresos, exámenes o cursos, ha afectado a la planificación anual de la especialidad. Se ha realizado una revisión de la literatura actual sobre el impacto de la pandemia por COVID-19, así como el proceso de desescalada, en la formación de los residentes mediante búsqueda web y en PubMed. Se ha analizado la situación de los residentes, tanto a través de la información generada por la reciente literatura, como por la experiencia personal de los autores, desde distintos ámbitos: sistemas de evaluación, aspectos docentes y quirúrgicos, así como labor asistencial. Como resultado de esta revisión, se observa el impacto negativo de la crisis en la formación del residente en urología, especialmente, en el ámbito quirúrgico, pero también se observan nuevas oportunidades de aprendizaje o formas de comunicación con el paciente. Estos recursos educativos y asistenciales invitan al residente de urología en concreto, y a la sociedad médica en general, a reinventarse. El objetivo del presente artículo es analizar la formación del residente en urología en la fase de desescalada. Del mismo modo, se sintetizan los recursos educativos emergentes durante la pandemia, invitando al lector y, de manera especial al residente de urología, a continuar su formación y aprendizaje ante estos tiempos de incertidumbre The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted the day-to-day running of hospitals, affecting the activity of all medical and surgical departments. It has also affected urology residents, depriving them of training at their usual workplaces and forcing them to support COVID units. This has implied not only the loss of daily activities, but also the uncertainty of job opportunities for the final year residents. In addition, the cancellation of numerous events such as congresses, exams, or courses has affected the annual planning of the specialty. A review of the current literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the de-escalation process, on resident training has been carried out using web search and PubMed. The situation of the residents has been analyzed, both through the information generated by recent literature and by the personal experience of the authors, from different areas: evaluation systems, educational and surgical aspects, as well as healthcare work. As a result of this review, the negative impact of the crisis on urology resident training can be observed, especially in the surgical field, but new learning opportunities or new forms of communication with the patient can also be observed. These educational and healthcare resources invite the urology resident in particular, and the medical society in general, to reinvent themselves. The aim of this article is to analyse the training of the urology resident in the de-escalation phase. Similarly, the emerging educational resources during the pandemic are synthesized, inviting the reader, and especially the urology resident, to continue their training and learning in these times of uncertainty

Implementación de la teleconsulta en la práctica urológica durante la era Covid-19: ¿qué hemos aprendido?

La actual pandemia por COVID-19 ha requeridola implementación de medidas drásticas para frenar su avance. Las instalaciones y recursos sanitarios se están destinando de forma total o parcial para la atención de pacientes críticos. Los urólogos, nos hemos encontrado durante las semanas pasadas con cambios importantes que dificultan nuestra práctica clínica diaria. Las actividades ambulatorias como consultas externas y procedimientos ambulatorios, así como las intervenciones quirúrgicas, han tenido que ser suspendidas o retrasadas. Mientras dure esta situación, la actividad médica telemática puede proveer un soporte adecuado utilizando herramientas tecnológicas y tratando de simular las consultas médicas con vídeo llamadas o llamadas por teléfono. Pero muchos servicios y departamentos médico-quirúrgicos no se encuentran listos para implementar una práctica de consultas telemáticas a gran escala porque su experiencia es escasa. Los beneficios de la telemedicina en urología son permitir el seguimiento de pacientes, dar recomendaciones, prescribir medicamentos, y realizar un triaje de qué pacientes precisan una atención presencial en urgencias. Los programas de formación de residentes de urología también han sufrido una interrupción importante de sus actividades cotidianas, ya que se han suspendido consultas, cirugías y actividad académica. En esta situación, el uso de recursos virtuales y el "aprendizaje inteligente"se están utilizando para mantener la docencia. El objetivo de este artículo es proporcionar una revisión de la más reciente literatura acerca del uso de telemedicina en la práctica urológica moderna, con nuestras recomendaciones y conclusiones The COVID-19 pandemic has required drastic measures for an attempt in controlling its spread. Health resources and facilities are being destined for the treatment of critically ill infected patients. During the past weeks, we, as urologists have faced increasingly difficult changes in practice, as outpatient activity and elective surgeries must be postponed in order to save resources and limit the mobilization of patients and faculty. During this conflictive situation, telehealth medicine can provide adequate support using technological tools and trying to simulate face-to-face consults with the use of video or telephone calls. However, many outpatient clinics and facilities are not ready yet for telehealth as their experience in this area is low. The benefits for telemedicine in urology are continuing urologic outpatient follow-up, providing recommendations and prescriptions, and the triage of patients who will need urgent procedures. Urology residency training has suffered an abrupt disruption nowadays as outpatient, surgical and academic meetings are cancelled. In this scenario, virtual strategies and "smart learning"activities are being used to continue education. We provide a review of the latest published literature regarding the use of telehealth medicine or telemedicine for the modern urology practice, alongside our recommendations and conclusions

The Impact of COVID-19 on European Health Care and Urology Trainees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had rapid and inevitable effects on health care systems and the training and work plans of urology residents. Smart learning is a valuable strategy for maintaining the learning curve of residents.

Implementation of Remote Clinics in urology practice during the COVID-19 era: What have we learned? / Implementacion de la teleconsulta en la practica urologica durante la era Covid-19: que hemos aprendido?

The COVID-19 pandemic has requiredd rastic measures for an attempt in controlling its spread. Health resources and facilities are being destined for the treatment of critically ill infected patients. During the past weeks, we, as urologists have faced increasingly difficult changes in practice, as out patient activity andelective surgeries must be postponed in order to save resources and limit the mobilization of patients and faculty. During this conflictive situation, telehealth medicine can provide adequate support using technological tools and trying to simulate face-to-face consults with the use of video or telephone calls. However, many out patient clinics and facilities are not ready yet for telehealth as their experience in this area is low. The benefits for telemedicine in urology are continuing urologic outpatient follow-up, providing recommendations and prescriptions, and the triage of patients who will need urgent procedures. Urology residency training has suffered an abrupt disruption nowadays as outpatient, surgical and academic meetings are cancelled. In this scenario, virtual strategies and "smart learning" activities are being used to continue education. We provide a review of the latest published literature regarding the use of telehealth medicine or telemedicine for the modern urology practice, along side our recommendations and conclusions. La actual pandemia por COVID-19 ha requeridola implementacion de medidas drasticas para frenar su avance. Las instalaciones y recursos sanitarios se estan destinando de forma total o parcial para la atencion de pacientes criticos. Los urologos, nos hemos encontrado durante las semanas pasadas con cambios importantes que dificultan nuestra practica clinica diaria. Las actividades ambulatorias como consultas externas y procedimientos ambulatorios, asi como las intervenciones quirurgicas, han tenido que ser suspendidas o retrasadas. Mientras dure esta situacion, la actividad medica telematica puede proveer un soporte adecuado utilizando herramientas tecnologicas y tratando de simular las consultas medicas con video llamadas o llamadas por telefono. Pero muchos servicios y departamentos medico-quirurgicos no se encuentran listos para implementar una practica de consultas telematicas a gran escala porque su experiencia es escasa. Los beneficios de la telemedicina en urologia son permitir el seguimiento de pacientes, dar recomendaciones, prescribir medicamentos, y realizar un triaje de que pacientes precisan una atencion presencial en urgencias. Los programas de formacion de residentes de urologia tambien han sufrido una interrupcion importante de sus actividades cotidianas, ya que se han suspendido consultas, cirugias y actividad academica. En esta situacion, el uso de recursos virtuales y el aprendizaje inteligente se estan utilizando para mantener la docencia. El objetivo de este articulo es proporcionar una revision de la mas reciente literatura acerca del uso de telemedicina en la practica urologica moderna, con nuestras recomendaciones y conclusiones.

[Implementation of Remote Clinics in urology practice during the COVID-19 era: What have we learned?]

The COVID-19 pandemic has requiredd rastic measures for an attempt in controlling its spread. Health resources and facilities are being destined for the treatment of critically ill infected patients. During the past weeks, we, as urologists have faced increasingly difficult changes in practice, as out patient activity and elective surgeries must be postponed in order to save resources and limit the mobilization of patients and faculty. During this conflictive situation, telehealth medicine can provide adequate support using technological tools and trying to simulate face-to-face consults with the use of video or telephone calls. However, many out patient clinics and facilities are not ready yet for telehealth as their experience in this area is low. The benefits for telemedicine in urology are continuing urologic outpatient follow-up, providing recommendations and prescriptions, and the triage of patients who will need urgent procedures. Urology residency training has suffered an abrupt disruption nowadays as outpatient, surgical and academic meetings are cancelled. In this scenario, virtual strategies and "smart learning" activities are being used to continue education. We provide a review of the latest published literature regarding the use of telehealth medicine or telemedicine for the modern urology practice, along side our recommendations and conclusions.