The following is a summary of “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric rheumatology practice: an international, cross-sectional survey study,” published in the October 2023 issue of Rheumatology by Batu et al.

This study aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric rheumatology practice. The Pediatric Rheumatology European Society’s Emerging RheumatoloGists and rEsearchers (EMERGE) group developed an online survey comprising 22 questions and conducted it via SurveyMonkey. The survey received responses from 469 pediatric rheumatologists (F/M: 2.9) representing 70 countries. Results indicated that drug prescription practices remained relatively unaffected by the pandemic, with 65.3% of respondents reporting no impact. 

However, 24.3% mentioned prescribing biologic drugs less frequently, while 16.5% reported reduced corticosteroid prescriptions. Moreover, over 40% of participants observed more patients presenting with vasculitis or chilblains during the pandemic. Approximately one-third of respondents noted no changes in their clinical practice even after 2.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who did adapt, telemedicine was a prominent adjustment, constituting ≥10% of clinical practice for around one-third of the participants. 

However, 35.5% of respondents acknowledged persistent delays in patient care due to the ongoing pandemic. Despite this, nearly 90% of pediatric rheumatologists believe their practice is gradually reverting to pre-pandemic routines. These findings shed light on the varied responses and adaptations made within pediatric rheumatology in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0049017223001312