COVID-19: impact on the urological service of the Russian Federation

Introduction. In a pandemic of COVID-19 the health systems of all countries are under high pressure and are forced to change depending on the epidemiological situation. Materials and methods. To improve care for patients with urological diseases, the authors created a survey for urologists and for heads of clinics. 1023 urologists from the Russian Federation took in this survey. The survey was posted on the Russian urological information portal Uroweb.ru during the period from 5th April to 7th April 2020. Urologists were asked to answer 6 questions about their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results. 19% of urologists noted a complete cessation of care, and 43% of urologists started to provide it remotely. The number of planned surgery has sharply decreased, only 8% of surveyed didn't note reducing of surgeries, and 55% answered that surgeries are not currently performing. 75% of doctors believe that testing for COVID-19 should be carried out before hospitalization of the patient, 6% - in a hospital setting, only 17% of respondents consider it is not necessary. Conclusion. Medical care standards for urological patients are undergoing changes due to the active spread of coronavirus infection. For today there are no strict recommendations on the timing of planned surgery. It is necessary to minimize the pressure on equipment, hospital bed capacity as well as on assisting doctors. Prevention of complications in patients whose treatment may be delayed is important so the decision to postpone operations should be carefully considered and rational.