Resumption of Cochlear Implant Surgery under COVID-19 Pandemic Conditions

(1) Background: The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international concern and has caused cancellation of elective cochlear implantation in many countries. This article sets out our experience with resuming cochlear impla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Life (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-09, Vol.11 (9), p.929
Main Authors: Skarzynski, Henryk, Lorens, Artur, Dziendziel, Beata, Wlodarczyk, Elzbieta, Obrycka, Anita, Walkowiak, Adam, Skarzynski, Piotr Henryk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adults
children
Cochlea
cochlear implant
Cochlear implants
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 diagnostic tests
Deafness
Disease transmission
Epidemics
Hearing loss
Hospitalization
Hospitals
Implantation
Infections
Infectious diseases
Masks
Medical referrals
Medical supplies
Pandemics
partial deafness treatment
Patient safety
Patients
Pediatrics
Personal protective equipment
Polymerase chain reaction
Psychologists
Public health
Quality of life
Quarantine
Questionnaires
Surgery
Transplants & implants
Viral diseases
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Summary:(1) Background: The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international concern and has caused cancellation of elective cochlear implantation in many countries. This article sets out our experience with resuming cochlear implant (CI) surgery under COVID-19 conditions over a period of 3 months. In addition, early results of hearing preservation (HP) after CI surgery are presented; (2) Methods: We adopted epidemic management policies and procedures according to the National Consultant for Infectious Diseases recommendations. During preoperative visits, all patients were tested for COVID-19 with a RT-PCR test. One month postoperatively, HP values in the Partial Deafness Treatment (PDT) group of patients was established using the HEARRING group formula; (3) Results: Between January and March 2021, we performed 312 CI procedures in adult and pediatric patients. Of these, none were subsequently re-admitted to hospital and found to be COVID-19 positive. Postoperative audiometric results showed that complete or partial HP was achieved in more than half the PDT patients; (4) Conclusion: Cochlear implantation during the coronavirus disease pandemic is essential and, with careful planning, is perfectly feasible.
ISSN:2075-1729
2075-1729
DOI:10.3390/life11090929