COVID-19 Impact on Operative Management of Pediatric Neck Abscesses

Introduction For multiple reasons, elective pediatric otolaryngology surgical procedures have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The purpose of the present study was to assess whether the prevalence of pediatric neck abscesses managed with operative drainage decreased compared with previous years. Methods Medical records of all pediatric cases at a tertiary care children's hospital diagnosed with abscess of the neck and treated with incision and drainage were evaluated between the dates of April 1 and November 30 from 2015 to 2020. Outcomes were compared for each year from 2015 to 2019 to 2020, which included location, abscess size, duration of antibiotic treatment, microbiology, and the number of cases per year. Results A total of 201 cases were included. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) presenting age in the 2015 to 2019 group was 5.05 ± 5.03 years old and 2.24 ± 1.91 years old in the 2020 group. The mean number of cases between 2015 and 2019 was 35.6 ± 4.2, whereas the number of cases in 2020 was 23 (p = 0.002). Of those patients who underwent IV antibiotic therapy prior to presentation (n = 43), the mean number of days before admission was 1.98 ± 2.95 (n = 40) from 2015 to 2019 and 12.00 ± 10.39 (n = 3) in 2020 (p = 0.008). The percent of cases with multiple strains cultured between 2015 and 2019 was 13.4% versus 18.2% in 2020 (p = 0.007). Conclusion There was a decrease in the number of operative neck abscesses in 2020 compared with the mean number per year from 2015 to 2019. COVID-19 mitigation strategies leading to reduced transmission of other viral and bacterial illnesses and a tendency toward prolonged medical management to avoid surgery are two possible explanations.