The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons: A Follow-Up Survey After One Year.

Study design: Comparative cross-sectional.

Objective: To measure the impact that COrona VIrus Disease-19 (COVID-19) has had on craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgeons after 1 year and compare it with 2020 data by (1) measuring access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), (2) performance of elective surgery, and (3) the vaccination status. This should be investigated because most CMF surgeons felt that hospitals did not provide them with adequate PPE.

Methods: The investigators surveyed the international AO CMF membership using a 30-item online questionnaire and compared it to a previous study. The primary predictor variable was year of survey administration. Primary outcome variables were availability of adequate personal protective equipment (adequate/inadequate), performance of elective surgery (yes/no), and vaccination status (fully vaccinated/partly vaccinated/not vaccinated). Descriptive and analytic statistics were computed. Binary logistic regression models were created to measure the association between year and PPE availability. Statistical significance level was set at P < .05.

Results: The sample was composed of 523 surgeons (2% response rate). Most surgeons reported access to adequate PPE (74.6%). The most adequate PPE was offered in Europe (87.8%) with the least offered in Africa (45.5%). Surgeons in 2021 were more likely to report adequate PPE compared to 2020 (OR 3.74, 95% CI [2.59-4.39]). Most of the respondents resumed elective surgery (79.5% vs 13.3% in 2020) and were fully vaccinated (59.1%).

Conclusions: Most CMF surgeons now have access to adequate PPE, resumed elective surgery, and are either fully or partly vaccinated. Future studies should investigate the long-term impact of the fast-evolving COVID-19 pandemic on CMF surgeons.