FATİH AYDEMİR, DUYGU BAYKAL, MEHMET ZİYA ÇETİNER, AYŞEN AKKURT KOCAELİ, CANAN DEMİR, SERRA TOPAL
Comprehensive Medicine - 2023;15(3):234-239
INTRODUCTION: Endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETS) is considered to be among the high-risk procedures for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure. This study aimed to investigate postoperative COVID-19 infection rate and mortality in patients undergoing ETS and contribute to the literature by establishing the factors causing viral transmission. METHODS: This single-center, retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent surgery between July 2020 and March 2021. Data comprised the patients’ demographic, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative characteristics and their postoperative COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. Results: We included 37 patients with a mean age of 51.32±13.55 years and a female-to-male ratio of 15: 22. Further, 26 (70.30%) of 37 patients had non-functioning pituitary adenoma, 6 (16.20%) had acromegaly, 2 (5.40%) had Cushing’s disease, 2 (5.40%) had meningioma, and 1 (2.70%) had chordoma. The mean duration of postoperative follow-up was 5.58±2.27 (210 months). The COVID-19 infection rate was 13.50% (5/37), and the mortality rate was 2.70% (1/37). There was no significant difference between postoperative COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative patients regarding age, gender, comorbidities, length of hospital stay, pathology type, diaphragma sellae injury, use of high-speed drill, and hormone insufficiency (p>0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated no effect of ETS on COVID-19 transmission risk in health-care staff and patients if appropriate measures recommended in the guidelines are followed. We believe that pre-existing comorbidities or post-operative complications pose the highest COVID-19 transmission risk in pituitary adenoma patients; however, appropriate management can minimize the transmission rates.
