We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Rise in complications of acute otitis media during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Authors
Hollborn, Hannes; Lachmann, Christoph; Strüder, Daniel; van Bonn, Sara M.; Mlynski, Robert; Schraven, Sebastian P.
- Abstract
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.
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic; ACUTE otitis media; HEALTH insurance companies; GERMANS; UNIVERSITY hospitals
- Publication
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 2024, Vol 281, Issue 9, p4627
- ISSN
0937-4477
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00405-024-08647-4