Review

COVID-19: Implications, Reactions and Future Directions

10.5152/tao.2020.5452

  • Rahim Dhanani
  • Muhammad Wasif
  • Hamdan Ahmed Pasha
  • Muntazir Hussain
  • Shayan Khalid Ghaloo
  • Abdul Basit Shah Vardag
  • Khadija Mahmood
  • Raza Hussain

Received Date: 02.05.2020 Accepted Date: 03.06.2020 Turk Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2020;58(2):122-126

Humanity has faced several foes over the centuries, a formidable one amongst them is the current pandemic of COVID-19. The symptoms of COVID-19 are more or less related to the nose and throat. Therefore, patients more often present to Ear Nose Throat (ENT) clinics with symptoms including cough, sore throat, fever and shortness of breath. In the management of head and neck pathologies, as the airway is a direct source of infection, the impact of COVID-19 holds special significance. This review has attempted to explain the various aspects of the disease itself, its diagnosis, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to provide an overview of the evolving recommendations in head and neck patients, the future outlook and the limitations faced in developing countries specifically for ENT patients.

Keywords: COVID-19, otorhinolaryngology, pandemics, elective surgical procedures