Rise in complications of acute otitis media during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Autor: Hollborn H; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 'Otto Körner', Rostock University Medical Center, Doberaner Straße 137-139, 18057, Rostock, Germany. hannes.hollborn@med.uni-rostock.de., Lachmann C; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Aachen University Medical Center, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany., Strüder D; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 'Otto Körner', Rostock University Medical Center, Doberaner Straße 137-139, 18057, Rostock, Germany., van Bonn SM; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 'Otto Körner', Rostock University Medical Center, Doberaner Straße 137-139, 18057, Rostock, Germany., Mlynski R; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 'Otto Körner', Rostock University Medical Center, Doberaner Straße 137-139, 18057, Rostock, Germany., Schraven SP; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Aachen University Medical Center, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery [Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol] 2024 Sep; Vol. 281 (9), pp. 4627-4633. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 06.
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-024-08647-4
Abstrakt: Purpose: After the lifting of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical observation showed an increase in complications of acute otitis, followed by a rise in the number of mastoidectomies performed. The aim of this study was to record the number of mastoidectomies performed before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic as an indicator for complications of acute otitis media.
Methods: Data were collected from a tertiary hospital in a university setting, as well as from four major public health insurance companies in Germany. The data of 24,824,763 German citizens during a period from 2014 until 2023 were analyzed.
Results: According to the data, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of mastoidectomies performed dropped by 54% for children aged 0-6 and by 62% for children aged 7-18. For adults, there were 30% fewer mastoidectomies performed between 2020 and 2022. After the lifting of most NPI's in the season from July 2022 to June 2023, there was a sharp increase in the number of mastoidectomies performed on patients of all ages.
Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in the number of mastoidectomies performed was seen, suggesting a lower incidence of complicated acute otitis, most likely linked to the general decrease of upper airway infections due to NPI's. In contrast, a sharp increase in the incidence of complicated otitis occurred after the hygiene measures were lifted. The current development causes a more frequent performance of mastoidectomies, thus entailing a change in the challenges for everyday clinical practice.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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