Evaluación de la experiencia de telemedicina en consulta de Cirugía de cabeza y cuello en un centro de referencia en Manizales.

Introduction. The COVID-19 infection drastically affected health care worldwide, creating challenges for primary care. In order to mitigate and manage infection, telemedicine has become an emerging and effective modality in several medical specialties, including head and neck surgery. Methods. Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients seen in virtual consultation over 18 months. Absolute and relative frequencies were estimated, univariate analysis was done with chi-square, and bivariate analysis with binary logistic regression. Variables such as primary diagnosis, the resolution power of the consultation, the need for an in-person appointment, the platform, and its difficulties were included. Results. 2485 patients from 11 departments were included. Thyroid pathology was the most frequent (62.9%), followed by aerodigestive tract pathology (10.8%). The consultation was efficient in 99% of cases, with a resolution capacity of 96.4%. 1.4% had difficulties on the platform and 8.3% of patients required an in-person. When there was difficulty in reviewing exams or an inadequate functional inspection, it was 30 times more likely to not be able to efficiently be resolved. Conclusion. Telemedicine provides an efficient alternative for care in head and neck surgery, especially in thyroid pathology controls, avoiding unnecessary travel. In the aerodigestive tract, where the physical examination is essential, its usefulness is limited to the possibility of performing a subsequent endoscopic examination that allows adequate staging and facilitates in-person assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]