ABSTRACT
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unfolded with remarkable speed, posing unprecedented challenges for health care systems and society. Otolaryngologists have a special role in responding to this crisis by virtue of expertise in airway management. Against the backdrop of nations struggling to contain the virus's spread and to manage hospital strain, otolaryngologists must partner with anesthesiologists and front-line health care teams to provide expert services in high-risk situations while reducing transmission. Airway management and airway endoscopy, whether awake or sedated, expose operators to infectious aerosols, posing risks to staff. This commentary provides background on the outbreak, highlights critical considerations around mitigating infectious aerosol contact, and outlines best practices for airway-related clinical decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic. What otolaryngologists need to know and what actions are required are considered alongside the implications of increasing demand for tracheostomy. Approaches to managing the airway are presented, emphasizing safety of patients and the health care team.
Subject(s)
Airway Management/standards , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control , Otolaryngologists/organization & administration , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , Tracheostomy/standards , Airway Management/methods , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Female , Head/surgery , Humans , Male , Neck/surgery , Occupational Health , Pandemics/statistics & numerical data , Patient Safety , Personal Protective Equipment/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Practice Guidelines as Topic , SARS-CoV-2 , Safety Management/methods , Safety Management/standardsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 is having a dramatic effect on most medical disciplines. Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery is one of the most engaged disciplines, and otolaryngology specialists are facing a radical change of their role and daily activities that will have severe impact on the return to the ordinary. In this paper, the COVID-19 Task Force of the Young Otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of Otolaryngology comment on the changes that occurred for otolaryngology in Italy during the pandemic. Changes include organizational rearrangement of Otolaryngology Units, with merges and closures that affected a significant portion of them; reallocation of otolaryngology personnel, mainly to COVID-19 wards; reduction of elective clinical and surgical activity, that was mainly limited to oncology and emergency procedures; and execution of screening procedures for SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare providers and patients in otolaryngology units in Italy.