General Safety Guidelines for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Practice in COVID-19 Era

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) originated in Wuhan, China and has increased rapidly globally, making it a global pandemic. It is proven to spread via respiratory droplets of positive patients. As we are not aware of the COVID 19 status of all patients coming to the OutPatient Department (OPD), it is advisable to consider every patient as COVID 19 positive and take the essential precautions to avoid infection. All health care workers, especially otorhinolaryngologists, respiratory medicine physicians, and general medicine physicians, are more exposed to the virus daily, as they work closely with COVID 19 positive patients while treating them. Otorhinolaryngologists deal with patients' nasal and oral cavities daily, making them one of the most exposed categories of health-care workers. Thus, it is extremely important to remain vigilant when examining patients in OPD wards and performing surgeries in the operating room. Hence, proper knowledge is required of the healthcare system's guidelines in each country to prevent the spread of the infection in the medical and paramedical workers. As the disease is spreading rapidly and changing constantly, these recommendations and guidelines may change as the scenario changes. It is of utmost importance to remain up to date with the upcoming guidelines for our healthcare workers' safety.
 This article aims to provide an overview of guidelines for the safe practice of ENT that we follow in our tertiary care center, thus minimizing our exposure to COVID-19.