COVID-19-related Physical Interventions Linked to Reduced Hospitalisations for ENT Infections

Takeaway

A study showed a substantial reduction in adult admissions for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) infections following the introduction of COVID-19-related physical interventions (PIs; hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing).

Why this matters

Preventing severe ENT infections through simple PIs may improve quality of life and offer economical benefit to healthcare systems.

Study design

A retrospective cohort study used data from 3 large National Health Service hospitals, UK.
1864 patients with acute ENT infections admitted to hospital over a 12-month period (2019-2020) before the COVID-19 pandemic were compared with 791 patients with acute ENT infections admitted to hospital over a 12-month period (2020-2021) when the first national lockdown was implemented.
Funding: None.

Key results

Hospital admission for ENT infections were significantly lower in the 2020-2021 period compared with in the 2019-2020 period (57.56% reduction; relative risk [RR], 2.36; 95% CI, 2.17-2.56; P<.001).
There was a significant reduction in hospital admissions for (RR; 95% CI):
- tonsillitis (64.4% reduction; 2.81; 2.49-3.18; P<.001);
- peritonsillar abscess (60.68% reduction; 2.54; 2.16-3.0; P<.001);
- epiglottitis (66.67% reduction; 3.0; 1.60-5.62; P<.001);
- glandular fever (38.79% reduction; 1.63; 1.22-2.20; P=.001);
- acute otitis media (26.85% reduction; 1.37; 1.07-1.75; P=.01); and
- retropharyngeal and/or parapharyngeal abscesses (45.45% reduction; 1.8; 1.03-3.26; P=.04).
There was a reduction in hospital admissions for peri‑orbital cellulitis (34.04% reduction; RR, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.96-2.39; P<.07) and acute mastoiditis (14.29% reduction; RR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.39-3.47; P=.78) but was not statistically significant.

Limitations

Retrospective design.

Quraishi N, Ray M, Srivastava R, Ray J, Quraishi MS. A multicentre retrospective cohort study on COVID-19-related physical interventions and adult hospital admissions for ENT infections. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Nov 22:1–8 [Epub ahead of print] .doi: 10.1007/s00405-021-07180-y. PMID: 34807284 View abstract.

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Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. COVID-19-related Physical Interventions Linked to Reduced Hospitalisations for ENT Infections - Medscape - Dec 03, 2021.

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