Comparison of renal cell cancer surgery during Covid-19 pandemic with prepandemic period, Turkey multicenter study (preprint)

Aim: COVID-19 pandemic changed the priorities in medical field. Many elective surgeries for renal cell cancers (RCC) have been postponed. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the surgical treatment of RCC in Turkey. Methods 457 patients that underwent surgery for kidney tumor in the 2-year period between March 1, 2019 and February 28, 2021 in 9 centers in Turkey were analyzed retrospectively. Results The number of surgical treatments for RCC during the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased significantly compared to the same period before COVID-19. No significant differences were found between the two periods in terms of admission symptoms (p=0.32). However, while the rate of application due to hematuria was 6.1% in the pre-COVID-19 period, it was 13.1% during the COVID-19 period. Despite not being significant, this difference was still proportional. Two study periods differed significantly in terms of the rate of metastatic RCC detected in preoperative imaging (13.1% vs 6.1%, during COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19, respectively) (p=0.01). Moreover, the study periods differed significantly in terms of time between imaging and operation (55.98±51.02 vs 40.30±34.9 days, during COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19, respectively) (p=0.01). However, there was no significant difference between the two periods in terms of tumor size, type of surgery, and pathological stage (p>0.05). Conclusion There was a significant decrease in the number of RCC-related surgeries over 1-year period during the pandemic. However, the rate of surgery for metastatic disease increased. Covid-19 is a pandemic that continues to affect the whole world. Oncological diseases are negative affected in this process in terms of early diagnosis and treatment.

Prospective Classroom Teachers’ Views on Out-of-School Learning Activities Before and During the Covid-19 Outbreak

In the study, the aim was to examine the views of prospective classroom teachers regarding their activities in out-of-school learning environments in face-to-face education before the Covid-19 outbreak and in distance education during the outbreak. The research was carried out in a phenomenological design with 26 prospective classroom teachers. The data were collected with “Out of School Learning Environments Interview Form”. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The opinions of the prospective teachers were examined under the themes of “teaching process”, “teacher activities” and “application”. Based on the findings obtained within the scope of the research, while the prospective teachers emphasized experiential learning in pre-pandemic practices, they drew attention to the variety of environments in activities during the pandemic. Participants stated that they assume the roles of guiding and transmitting information in learning environments. In planning the activities, they attach importance to the compatibility of the environment with the subject / objectives. In addition, the majority of prospective teachers stated that the practices carried out before the pandemic were applicable. In the research, it is suggested to use out of school learning environments with a good planning in line with the aims and possibilities. Covid 19 outbreak, , , .