[Practice of urological departments during the COVID-19 pandemic]
E V Kulchavenya1,2,3, D P Kholtobin1,2,3, E V Telina1,2,3
1TB Research Institute of Ministry of Health of Russia, Novosibirsk, Russia.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted urology departments, but well-organized anti-epidemic measures in both public and private clinics prevented negative outcomes. Effective strategies ensured continuity of urological care despite novel coronavirus infection challenges.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare systems globally.
- Urological departments faced unique challenges in adapting to pandemic-related restrictions and maintaining patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of pandemic restrictions on the operational workflow of urological departments in different healthcare settings.
- To evaluate changes in surgical procedures and patient visit patterns during the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of urological departments in private and public hospitals before and during the pandemic (2019-2020).
- Evaluation of patient demographics, types of urological conditions treated, and surgical interventions performed.
- Assessment of implemented anti-epidemic measures and their effectiveness.
Main Results:
- Some community departments experienced increased patient numbers for conditions like bladder cancer and kidney stones, while others saw decreases in patients with chronic urological issues.
- Restructuring of departments into observational or infectious disease units led to reduced urological care volume in some facilities.
- A private medical center successfully maintained and even increased surgical care volume through stringent anti-epidemic protocols.
Conclusions:
- Implementing comprehensive anti-epidemic measures, including patient flow management and early detection, was crucial for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in urological settings.
- Well-organized operations in both municipal and private urological clinics effectively mitigated the negative impact of the pandemic on patient care and services.
Introduction:
The pandemic of novel coronavirus infection has had a strong impact on the whole medical system, including urological departments.
Material And Methods:
We assessed the impact of restrictions due to the pandemic on the work of urological departments of private (Medical Center "Avicenna", Novosibirsk) and community (KGBUZ "City Clinical Hospital No. 11, Barnaul") hospitals; GBUZ of the Novosibirsk region "City Clinical Emergency Hospital" (GBUZ CCEH) No. 2, Novosibirsk) clinics, as well as the urogenital department of the TB Research Institute of Ministry of Health of Russia during the period from 2019 to 2020. The changes in the spectrum of surgical procedures, as well as the structure of patients' visits to a urologist were evaluated.
Results:
In March 2020, the urogenital department of the TB Research Institute of Ministry of Health of Russia was redesigned into an observational one. Community departments worked with small restrictions or without any limitations. In KGBUZ "City Clinical Hospital No. 11, Barnaul", an increase in the number patients with bladder cancer, ureteral stones, concomitant kidney and ureteral stones by 3-27% was noted (p<0.05), as well as those with acute epididymo-orchitis, including testicular abscess. At the same time, a significant decrease in the number of patients with varicocele, pyelonephritis, chronic cystitis, chronic prostatitis, and phimosis was found. A surgical department of GBUZ CCEH from October to December 2020 was restructured to an infectious hospital; this led to a decrease in the volume of urological care and the number of procedures. The Avicenna Medical Center also established anti-epidemic measures, which made it possible not only not to reduce, but in a number of procedures to increase the volume of surgical care.
Conclusion:
Owing to anti-epidemic measures, including the patient flow distribution, an introduction of mandatory testing, an early detection of patients and carriers among employees, mask regime, the opening of an observational department, single rooms, the lack of contact between patients, short length of stay, it was possible to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus infection among patients and personnel. Both in the municipal and private urological clinics, well-organized work precluded the negative impact of the pandemic.
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