Video Clinics for Nasal Bone Injuries in COVID Times - Is it a Valid Tool for Routine Practice?

Introduction  We previously investigated the impact of video clinics on the management of closed nasal bone injuries during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of that study was to assess the feasibility of managing patients at their homes or workplaces, with instructions to attend outpatient clinics the next working day if they suspected any deviation or reduced nasal airflow, for further evaluation. Objective  To compare the results of our previous research with the traditional, in-person nasal injury clinics, using the same criteria as in our prior investigation. Methods  We analyzed 3 months of preexisting data from video clinics and collected 6 months of data from face-to-face clinics. We gathered information on the number of patients, categorized by age and gender, as well as records of missed appointments (DNAs) and the requirement for nasal manipulations. Data analysis was conducted using the Chi-Squared test in SciPy Python 3.0 (open source). Results  The statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between the 2 groups concerning the number of patients with closed nasal bone injuries, both under and over 18 years of age ( p -value: 0.961), the rate of missed appointments ( p -value: 0.0734), and the need for fracture reduction ( p -value: 0.0734). Conclusions  The findings suggest that video clinics are equally effective in managing suspected nasal bone injuries and should not be restricted to emergency situations. However, it is advisable to adopt a balanced approach considering the additional costs associated with appointments.