Challenges Faced by an Otolaryngology Resident During Covid-19 Pandemic: An Indian Perspective
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Challenges Faced by an Otolaryngology Resident During Covid-19 Pandemic: An Indian Perspective Raghul Sekar1 • Arun Alexander1
•
Sivaraman Ganesan1
Received: 5 August 2020 / Accepted: 24 August 2020 Ó Association of Otolaryngologists of India 2020
Abstract SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 disease has brought tremendous strain on health care sectors around the world. Being a respiratory disease, COVID-19 has tremendous implications on the otolaryngology residency. Otolaryngology residents are dealing with great apprehension of getting infected while working with both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients. Further, drastic change in the routine has affected their residency training. Outpatient and Inpatient care, elective and emergency surgeries which are a crucial part of the residency training have taken a back seat. India being a densely populated country is still in the midst of the pandemic with cases increasing exponentially each day. This article enumerates the challenges faced by an otolaryngology resident during COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in India. Keywords COVID-19 Otolaryngology Residency
Introduction The world is under the grip of the SARS-Cov-2 virus which causes the novel corona virus disease (COVID-19). This disease was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020 [1]. Around 213 countries have been reported to be affected by this disease. India, being a densely populated country, is one of the worst affected in the world with over half a million cases by the end of June 2020 [2]. This
has brought unprecedented changes in health care system around the world. There is a paradigm shift in the functioning of health care: with the health system struggling to balance the care delivered to COVID and Non-COVID patients. Residents and fellows form the major group of frontline workers along with nurses in tackling this pandemic. They shuffle between working with COVID positive patients and returning to treat non-COVID patients in their respective department following a period of quarantine. This has brought a tremendous strain on their residency training which normally lasts only for a finite period. If the epidemiologic projections hold true, this pandemic may outlast numerous residents’ training programs. COVID-19 being primarily a respiratory disease, has tremendous implications in otolaryngology training and patient care. While respiratory droplet is the major mode of transmission, there are reports of feco-oral transmission and through the conjunctiva [3]. The symptoms similar to influenza and other upper respiratory infections include fever, cough, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, and anosmia [4]. Patients with these symptoms are commonly treated by Otolaryngologists. Thus, every patient seen in the out-patient clinic is approached with great apprehension. This paper aims to discusses the challenges faced by an Otolaryngology resident in the midst of the pandemic in India.
Out-Patient and Endoscopy Unit & Arun Alexander [email protected] 1
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