Rate of COVID-19 Infection in Patients Following Otolaryngology vs Non-otolaryngology Outpatient Encounters.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
; 167(2): 266-267, 2022 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1440870
ABSTRACT
Routine outpatient otolaryngology visits have been identified as potential vectors for increased transmission of COVID-19 relative to other medical encounters. This is in part due to the inability of patients to mask during comprehensive otolaryngology examination and potential propensity for aerosolization during upper airway procedures, including endoscopy and nasopharyngoscopy. Using a matched-cohort sampling of >20,000 patients seen between April 2020 and January 2021, we found no increased rate of postvisit COVID-19 positivity following an in-office otolaryngology encounter relative to other non-otolaryngology outpatient encounters. This suggests that the perceived elevated risk of provider-to-patient and patient-to-patient transmission during outpatient otolaryngologic care may be unfounded.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Otolaryngology
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
Journal subject:
Otolaryngology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
01945998211049702
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