Pituitary Surgery and COVID

Overview

Journal Pituitary

Specialty Endocrinology

Date 2024 Jul 5

PMID 38967764

Authors

Ameen Farsakh

Sandra Li

Fidel Toomey

Mendel Castle-Kirszbaum

Jeremy Kam

Tony Goldschlager

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

An effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was the disruption of healthcare systems, especially surgical services provided to the community. Pituitary surgery was especially impacted, given the majority of cases were deemed non-urgent with very few exceptions, and the high risk of viral transmission conferred by the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. Patients suffering from pituitary lesions with resultant endocrinopathy or visual symptoms saw their treatment delayed or altered, which had implications on their outcomes and care. This disruption extended to surgical training and the usual functioning of academic units, necessitating changes to curricula and implementation of novel methods of progressing surgical education. This review will explore the effect of the COVID pandemic on pituitary surgery, the experiences of various surgeons as well as the adaptations implemented on the frontlines. The lessons learned from the experience of the pandemic may assist specialists in gleaning insights regarding the care of patients in the future.

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PMID: 39012564 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-024-10923-8.

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