Open AccessChallenges and Adaptation in Otorhinolaryngology Practice During Pandemic Lockdown: Experience from a Malaysian COVID-19 Hospital
Author(s) -
Mohamed Iliyas Sultan Abdul Kader,
Siti Sarah Razak,
Vijayaprakas Rao Ramanna,
Nor Kamaruzaman Esa,
Anuar Ahmad,
Irfan Mohamad
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the malaysian journal of medical sciences/the malaysian journal of medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2180-4303
pISSN - 1394-195X
DOI - 10.21315/mjms2021.28.3.13
Subject(s) - otorhinolaryngology , medicine , covid-19 , pandemic , christian ministry , throat , nose , medical emergency , china , head and neck surgery , family medicine , medical education , disease , surgery , infectious disease (medical specialty) , political science , pathology , law
COVID-19 has taken the world by storm: since the first few cases appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and by June 2020 there were more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 cases worldwide. Malaysia had its first case in January 2020 and acted promptly by implementing several drastic measures to contain the disease. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health Malaysia has implemented guidelines and recommendations on the management of COVID-19. The Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) provides services for patients with ear, nose, throat, head and neck diseases and provides audiology, speech and language therapy, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate training. As the department's staff is heavily involved in examinations and interventions of upper aerodigestive tract problems, the challenges are distinctly different from other specialties. This article discusses how COVID-19 affected ORL-HNS services and what measures were taken in Hospital Melaka, Malaysia.