The Impact of the COVID Pandemic on Adrenal Surgery at an Academic Endocrine Surgery Unit

Horm Metab Res 2023; 55: 765-770 DOI: 10.1055/a-2187-3547COVID-19 has severely affected the delivery of surgical care worldwide. The aim
of the present study was to evaluate its impact on adrenal surgery at our
academic endocrine center. All primary adrenal surgeries performed at the
University Hospital of Cologne, Germany between 01.01.2019 and 31.07.2022 were
included. This time frame was divided into pre-Covid (before 02/20),
acute Covid (until 05/21), and post acute period (after
05/2021). Demographics, clinic-pathologic characteristics and treatment
of these patients were analyzed. One hundred adrenalectomies were included: 22
before, 30 during, and 48 after the acute phase. The percentage of Conn adenomas
and pheochromocytomas decreased during the acute phase (from 45.4 to
26.6% and from 18 to 10%, respectively) in favor of Cushing
adenomas and suspicious tumors (from 4.5 to 20% and from 31.8 to
36.6%). About 90.9% of tumors resected for suspicion of
malignancy were confirmed malignant by final histopathology, as opposed to
71.4% and 52.6% before and after the acute phase. The operative
technique was similar during the three phases (63% retroperitoneoscopic,
34% laparoscopic and 2% open resections), with a significantly
shorter operative time for retroperitoneoscopy (p=0.04). ICU monitoring
de...

Source: Hormone and Metabolic Research - October 30, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Authors: Chiapponi, Costanza Faust, Michael Schmidt, Matthias Schier, Robert Thomas, Michael Stippel, Dirk L. Bruns, Christiane Josephine Alakus, Hakan Tags: Original Article: Endocrine Care Source Type: research