Personal protection and delivery of rhinologic and endoscopic skull base procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak

L Van Gerven; P W Hellings; T Cox; W Fokkens; C Hopkins; V Hox; M Jorissen; A Schuermans; P Sinonquel; K Speleman; V Vander Poorten; K Van Gool; T Van Zele; I Alobid

doi:10.4193/Rhin20.119

Personal protection and delivery of rhinologic and endoscopic skull base procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak

Rhinology. 2020 Jun 1;58(3):289-294. doi: 10.4193/Rhin20.119.

Authors

L Van Gerven¹, P W Hellings², T Cox³, W Fokkens⁴, C Hopkins⁵, V Hox⁶, M Jorissen¹, A Schuermans⁷, P Sinonquel⁸, K Speleman⁹, V Vander Poorten¹⁰, K Van Gool¹¹, T Van Zele¹², I Alobid¹³

Affiliations

¹ University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Leuven, Belgium.
² University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Leuven, Belgium; University of Ghent, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Laboratory of Upper Airways Research, Ghent, Belgium; Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
³ Jessa Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hasselt, Belgium.
⁴ Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
⁵ Guy's and St Thomasâ€™ Hospitals, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, London, United Kingdom.
⁶ Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
⁷ University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leuven, Belgium.
⁸ University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Gastro-enterology and Hepatology, Leuven, Belgium.
⁹ Sint-Jan Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Bruges, Belgium.
¹⁰ University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Leuven, Belgium; University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Oncology, section Head and Neck Oncology, Leuven, Belgium.
¹¹ University Hospital Antwerp, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Antwerp, Belgium.
¹² University of Ghent, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Laboratory of Upper Airways Research, Ghent, Belgium.
¹³ Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Rhinology Unit and Smell Clinic, ENT Department, Centro Medico TEKNON, Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 32441710
DOI: 10.4193/Rhin20.119

Abstract

On March 11th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 pandemic, with subsequent profound impact on the entire health care system. During the COVID-19 outbreak, activities in the rhinology outpatient clinic and operation rooms are limited to emergency care only. Health care practitioners are faced with the need to perform rhinological and skull base emergency procedures in patients with a positive or unknown COVID-19 status. This article aims to provide recommendations and relevant information for rhinologists, based on the limited amount of (anecdotal) data, to guarantee high-quality patient care and adequate levels of infection prevention in the rhinology clinic.

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus*
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Endoscopy* / methods
Humans
Infection Control
Nose Diseases* / surgery
Pandemics*
Personal Protective Equipment*
Pneumonia, Viral* / epidemiology
SARS-CoV-2
Skull Base* / surgery