Impact of COVID-19 on otolaryngology in Italy: a commentary from the COVID-19 task force of the young otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of Otolaryngology

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 is having a dramatic effect on most medical disciplines. Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery is one of the most engaged disciplines, and otolaryngology specialists are facing a radical change of their role and daily activities that will have severe impact on the return to the ordinary. In this paper, the COVID-19 Task Force of the Young Otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of Otolaryngology comment on the changes that occurred for otolaryngology in Italy during the pandemic with a special focus on the organizational rearrangement of Otolaryngology Units, including merges and closures that affected a significant portion of them; the reallocation of otolaryngology personnel, mainly to COVID-19 wards; the significant reduction of elective clinical and surgical activity, that was mainly limited to oncology and emergency procedures; and the execution of screening procedures for SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare providers and patients in otolaryngology units in Italy.