Impact of the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic on the Annual Thyroid, Parathyroid, and Adrenal Surgery Volume in a Tertiary Referral Endocrine Surgery Center in 2020

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on endocrine surgical volumes. METHODS: There were periodic surgical restriction sin our country in 2020 due to the pandemic. Endocrine surgery volumes at the Division of Endocrine Surgery, Istanbul Medical Faculty were compared between 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: The surgical volume reduction in 2020 compared to 2019 was 20%, 54.5%, and 40% for thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal surgery, respectively. Surgical volume for thyroidectomy for benign nodular goiter and parathyroidectomy significantly decreased, whereas adrenal surgery showed no significant difference in 2020 compared to 2019. No significant difference was found in the rates of thyroid cancer and adrenocortical cancer surgery in 2020compared to 2019. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 outbreak led to a significant reduction in the annual rates of parathyroidectomy and thyroidectomy for benign goiter, whereas the volume of thyroid cancer and adrenal surgeries were similar to the previous year.