[Ethical considerations in ENT during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions]

The current new SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a profound impact on medical practice. The objective was to analyse the ethical questions raised by the French ENT community during the first wave of COVID-19 infections.

Four open-ended questions concerning ethical considerations in ENT were sent out in April 2020: (i) difficulties to care for COVID-19 positive patients; (ii) impact of the health crisis on COVID-19 negative patients; (iii) communication within the healthcare teams and with hospital staff; and (iv) management of information by the press, or national ENT societies. A thematic analysis was carried out and crossed with the epidemiological data of each respondent.

Thirty-one responses from 13 different French Departments, including 21 from public institutions and 10 from private practice, median age of 45 and 17 men for 14 women, were analysed. The main ethical considerations concerned the management by ENTs of COVID-19 positive patients, the modification of practices in consultation and in the operating room, the fear of loss of chance for COVID-19 negative patients, the appropriate use of teleconsultations and teleworking and the consequences of fake-news for the population.

In preparation of possible future pandemic outbreaks, key ethical aspects are to adapt patient management to local resources and infection prevalence, and circulate clear institutional guidelines.