Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Otolaryngology Residency Training: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Training in surgical specialties has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. A study was carried out to further analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on specific aspects of clinical, training, and research activities performed by the otolaryngology residents in Spain. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted during the last two weeks of February 2021. The study consisted of an online survey taken by otolaryngology residents who had undertaken one-year continuing training from February 15, 2020 to February 15, 2021 and consisted of 26 questions exploring the impact of the COVID-19 on the health of the ENT residents and training activities. Categorical variables were reported as frequency and percentage. When indicated, Pearson´s Chi-square test (c2) with Yates´s correction and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) were used. Results: 143 completed surveys were received from 264 Residents (54.17%). 36 residents (25.2%) have suffered from the disease due to SARS-CoV-2. Most of them only developed mild symptoms (86.1%), with 3 requiring hospitalization (8.3%). The origin of infection was unknown in all cases and the need for confinement was principally due to either attending an asymptomatic patient in 9 cases (6.3%) or to being in close contact with an asymptomatic person off hospital grounds in 22 (15.4%). 60.1% of the residents surveyed reported having lost more than 6 months of their training period, and in 18.8% of cases, it was as high as 10 and 12 months. There has been a reduction of more than 75% of what was planned in surgical training ( p < 0.05) of tympanoplasty, mastoidectomy, stapedectomy, cochlear implants, endoscopic sinonasal and anterior skull base surgery, septoplasty and turbinoplasty. Conclusions: The decline in ENT activity and residents having to assist in other COVID-19 units during the most critical moments of the pandemic, has caused the main reduction in their training capacity. Virtual activities have been widely accepted, but they have not completely replaced all residents’ training needs. Specialized ENT training should be extended from 6 months to 1 year to ensure adequate training, especially for recovering the surgical Otology and Rhinology hands-on training lost during the pandemic.