ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 pandemic continues to produce a large number of patients with chronic respiratory failure and ventilator dependence. As such, surgeons will be called upon to perform tracheotomy for a subset of these chronically intubated patients. As seen during the SARS and the SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks, aerosol-generating procedures (AGP) have been associated with higher rates of infection of medical personnel and potential acceleration of viral dissemination throughout the medical center. Therefore, a thoughtful approach to tracheotomy (and other AGPs) is imperative and maintaining traditional management norms may be unsuitable or even potentially harmful. We sought to review the existing evidence informing best practices and then develop straightforward guidelines for tracheotomy during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This communication is the product of those efforts and is based on national and international experience with the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the SARS epidemic of 2002/2003.
Subject(s)
Clinical Decision-Making , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Hospital Mortality/trends , Pandemics/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/therapy , Tracheotomy/methods , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Critical Care/methods , Elective Surgical Procedures/methods , Elective Surgical Procedures/statistics & numerical data , Emergencies , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data , Internationality , Intubation, Intratracheal , Male , Occupational Health , Pandemics/prevention & control , Patient Safety , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Respiration, Artificial/methods , Risk Assessment , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/pathogenicity , Survival Rate , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , United States/epidemiology , Ventilator Weaning/methodsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine which otolaryngology residency programs have social media platforms and to review which programs are utilizing platforms to advertise virtual open houses and virtual subinternships for residency applicants. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study was conducted online by reviewing all accredited otolaryngology residency programs in the United States participating in the Electronic Residency Application Service. METHODS: Otolaryngology residency programs were reviewed for social media presence on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Social media posts were evaluated for virtual open houses and virtual subinternships. Residency websites and the Visiting Student Application Service were evaluated for the presence of virtual subinternships. All data were collected between September 5, 2020, and September 9, 2020. This study did not require approval from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Institutional Review Board for Human Use. RESULTS: Among 118 otolaryngology residency programs, 74 (62.7%) participate on Instagram, 52 (44.1%) participate on Twitter, and 44 (37.3%) participate on Facebook. Fifty-one Instagram accounts, 20 Twitter accounts, and 4 Facebook accounts have been created during 2020. Forty-two (36%), 30 (25.4%), and 15 (13%) programs are promoting virtual open houses on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, respectively. Two programs on the Visiting Student Application Service offered virtual subinternships. Seven residency program websites offered virtual subinternships. Nine, 6, and 1 program offered virtual subinternships on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that social media presence on Instagram and Twitter among otolaryngology residency programs has substantially grown in 2020 at a higher rate compared to previous years. These data suggest that otolaryngology residency programs are finding new ways to reach out to applicants amid an unprecedented type of application cycle due to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Many programs are advertising virtual open houses via social media platforms to connect with applicants, and a few programs are offering virtual subinternships to replace traditional subinternships.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Internship and Residency , Social Media , Humans , Cross-Sectional Studies , PandemicsABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a variety of challenges in the medical education curriculum, one of which is the possible loss of summer and fall away rotations for fourth year students applying into surgical subspecialties. Subsequently, a lack of in-person evaluations may have a major impact on an applicant's perception of the residency and the program's ability to assess the individual applicant. This is especially crucial for applicants without a home program in their specialty of interest, as away rotations are an important opportunity to confirm interest in pursuit of a subspecialty, obtain letters of recommendation, and make positive impressions at programs of interest. The objective of this article is to assess the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in light of away rotations and to provide recommendations for surgical subspecialty programs and applicants to have the best outcome during this upcoming application cycle. In particular, we emphasize the importance of implementing universal processes within each individual subspecialty. This will provide equitable opportunities for all applicants, minimizing potential biases or disadvantages based on geographic location or availability of a program at an applicant's home institution.