ABSTRACT
Background: Empathy is one of the most vital parts of medical ethics that is a prerequisite for good clinical practice, yet the level of empathy of the doctors has not been up to the mark. Objective(s): To measure empathy of healthcare professionals during COVID-19 crisis Material(s) and Method(s): This was a cross Sectional Study done in almost all public and private tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar. The study duration was 6 months (10 September 2021-10 Febuary 2022) after the approval of research proposal. The sampling method was non probability convenient sampling. The inclusion criteria were health professionals involved in the care of the COVID 19 patients like pulmonogists, physicians, trainee doctors, nurses and chest physiotherapists. Exclusion criteria were the doctors from other specialties who were not taking in the management of such patients. Empathy scale was used to collect responses of the participants.The data was analyzed using SPSS latest version Results: Significant association was seen between Consultants, Nurses and PGRs with that they were not interested in patient's personal matters as these are not relevant to medical treatment. i.e. p-value <0.001. Significant association was seen between Consultants, Nurses and PGRs they Viewed things from patient' perspectives might confuse me and make me too distracted to take the right clinical decision (cognitive). I.e. p-value=0. 026 Conclusion(s): The level of empathy did get affected to a colossal extent during the COVID-19 pandemic as reflected by the above results. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic forced many governments to impose nation-wide lockdowns. Government legislation forced limited travel on the population with restrictions on the normal way of life to limit spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of lockdown on the presentation of maxillofacial trauma in a level I trauma centre. METHODS: Comparative analysis was carried out using prospective and retrospective review of all consecutive patients admitted with any maxillofacial fracture in the lockdown period between 15th March and 15th June 2020 with the same period in 2019 to a Regional Trauma Maxillofacial Surgery Unit. Data included basic demographics and mechanism of injury including alcohol/drug influence, polytrauma, site of injury and treatment modality including escalation of care. RESULTS: Across both periods, there were a total of one hundred and five (n = 105) recorded episodes of traumatic fractures with fifty-three (n = 53) in the pre-lockdown cohort and fifty-two (n = 52) in the lockdown. Included patients were significantly (p = 0.024) older during lockdown (mean age 41.44 years SD 20.70, range 5-96) with no differences in gender distribution between cohorts (p = 0.270). Patients in lockdown were more likely to be involved in polytrauma (p < 0.05) and have sustained their injury by cycling/running or any outdoor related activity (p = 0.013). Lockdown saw a significant reduction in alcohol and drug related violence (p < 0.05). Significantly more patients required operative management (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: Local lockdowns form part of the governments public health strategy for managing future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2. Our study showed no significant reduction in volume of trauma during lockdown. It is vital that hospitals maintain trauma capacity to ensure that patients are treated in a timely manner.