Premium
Impact of ongoing COVID ‐19 pandemic on cytology: An institutional experience
Author(s) -
Rana Chanchal,
Kumar Sumit,
Babu Suresh,
Kushwaha Rashmi,
Singh Uma S.,
Ramakant Pooja,
Singh Kulranjan,
Mishra Anand
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/dc.24620
Subject(s) - medicine , cytology , malignancy , covid-19 , pandemic , prioritization , pathology , disease , management science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , economics
Background The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly impacted the health services worldwide, challenging the way modern medicine has been practiced for decades. Aim The present study documents an institutional experience on its impact on cytology services. Materials & Methods The cytology samples received during lock down period in India (24 March to 17 May 2020) were analysis and compared to the samples received during the same time frame in year 2019. Results The data revealed an overall 92.6% reduction in cytology samples received. All sample types were reduced with a statically significant reduction in thyroid cytology samples (P‐value: .023). There was relative increase in breast and lymph node samples; however, this relative increase was not statistically significant. The malignancy rate also significantly increased by 34.1% accompanied by decrease in neoplastic category among the samples received during COVID‐19 lockdown period. Breast samples remain the most frequent sample type both in pre‐COVID‐19 and COVID‐19 periods. Majority of fine‐needle aspiration done in these cases, during the lockdown period, were either in cases for recurrence or primary diagnosis. Conclusion Prioritization of samples, proper precautions and triaging of patients before procedure helped in carrying out this procedure safely.