Video consultations for soft tissue and bone tumor pathology during the Covid-19 pandemic: A single center experience in a developing country.

Abstract

Aim: Consultation in medical practice is an indispensable practice in all branches of medicine. In pathology in particular, it was mainly done face-to-face until the recent Covid-19 pandemic which necessitated physical distancing measures, lockdowns, and work-from-home arrangements. We had to embrace consultation via videoconferencing using Zoom® in our hospital during the peak of lockdown and beyond. This study describes our experience in Istanbul Medeniyet University Training and Research Hospital Goztepe, Istanbul. Material and Methods: One hundred bone and soft tissue slides received from the orthopedic oncology unit between March 2020 and January 2021 were reviewed by the hospital’s musculoskeletal pathologist (hosts) with an external pathologist (consultant) via Zoom® video conferencing. Results: Mean age of the patients was 32. 51 cases were male and 49 were female. Seventy cases were bone tissue lesions and 30 were soft tissue lesions. 36 specimens were resection materials, 42 of them were curettage materials and 22 of them were tru-cut biopsy materials. The number of slides examined per case ranged between 1 to 28. Conclusion: The most important advantage of dynamic nonrobotic telemicroscopy is the simultaneous interaction between the consultant, host pathologist, and other participants, effectively serving as a medium for teaching.

Keywords

• Consultation
• Telepathology
• Bone & Soft Tissue Tumors

COVID-19 salgını sırasında yumuşak doku ve kemik tümör patolojisi için video konsültasyonlar: Gelişmekte olan bir ülkedeki tek merkez deneyimi.

Abstract

Amaç: Tıp pratiğinde konsültasyon, tıbbın tüm dallarında vazgeçilmez bir uygulamadır. Özellikle patolojide, yakın zamana kadar genellikle yüz yüze yapılmıştır; ancak yakın zamandaki COVID-19 salgını, fiziksel mesafe önlemleri, karantinalar ve evden çalışma düzenlemelerini zorunlu kıldı. Biz de hastanemizde kapanmanın ve sonrasının yoğun olduğu dönemde Zoom® video konferansı kullanarak konsültasyonu benimsemek zorunda kaldık. Bu çalışma ile İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi Göztepe Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi’ndeki deneyimimizi aktarmak istedik. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Mart 2020 ile Ocak 2021 tarihleri arasında ortopedik onkoloji biriminden alınan 100 kemik ve yumuşak doku tümörü, hastanenin patoloğu ve konsültan patolog tarafından Zoom® video konferansı aracılığıyla gözden geçirildi. Bulgular: Hastaların yaş ortalaması 32 idi. 51'i erkek, 49'u kadındı. 70 vaka kemik lezyonu, 30 vaka ise yumuşak doku lezyonları idi. Spesmenlerin 36'sı rezeksiyon materyali, 42'si küretaj materyali ve 22'si tru-cut biyopsi materyaliydi. Vaka başına incelenen kesit sayısı 1 ila 28 arasında değişmekteydi. Sonuç: Dinamik olmayan robotik olmayan telemikroskopinin en önemli avantajı, danışman, ev sahibi patolog ve diğer katılımcılar arasında aynı anda gerçekleşen etkileşimdir; bu etkileşim, etkili bir şekilde öğretim aracı olarak hizmet etmektedir.

Keywords

• Konsültasyon
• Telepatoloji
• Kemik ve Yumuşak Doku Tümörleri

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