Separating the Physician and Patient: A Paradigm Shift for Routine Otolaryngology Examinations in COVID-19-Like...

To evaluate the attitudes of physicians and patients toward physical examination in physically separated environments using a laryngoscopic examination model.

Six experienced laryngologists performed laryngoscopic examinations in 30 patients in a closed-chamber examination unit. The physicians and patients were asked to compare all domains with their previous standard laryngoscopic examination experience using a 10-point visual analog scale (0, poor performance; 10, good performance), including effectiveness of communication, difficulty of examination, perception of safety against airborne transmission of COVID-19, applicability of the unit for future examinations, perception of protective environment, and overall comfort.

All laryngoscopic examinations were performed successfully. Effectiveness of communication, difficulty of examination, perception of protective environment, and overall comfort did not differ between physicians and patients (P > .05 for all comparisons). However, both physicians and patients found the examination to be difficult. While physicians evaluated the system as safe against airborne transmission of COVID-19, patients were not confident that the system was safe (8.70 ± 1.93 vs 2.87 ± 2.37, respectively, P = .001). Physicians also gave a higher score to future applicability of the unit for examinations than patients (8.90 ± 1.42 vs 7.10 ± 2.62, respectively, P = .001).

Physically separating the physician and patient is a feasible method of physical examination in aerosol-contaminated environments.