key: cord-0874779-seyum47s
authors: Gomes, Ana Paula Neutzling; Schuch, Lauren Frenzel; Tarquinio, Sandra Beatriz Chaves; Etges, Adriana; Vasconcelos, Ana Carolina Uchoa
title: Reduced demand for oral diagnosis during COVID‐19: A Brazilian center experience
date: 2020-08-04
journal: Oral Dis
DOI: 10.1111/odi.13547
sha: d1b4fc6b37810cd9a5634be1648b2268f3195a1e
doc_id: 874779
cord_uid: seyum47s

Brazil represents the new epicenter of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), surpassing the mark of more than one million cases and 50,000 deaths. Despite these terrible numbers, experts estimate that the real size of the epidemic may be up to seven times higher (Hallal et al., 2020). Also, Brazilian people with mild symptoms rarely get tested. While the country and world engage in the fight against the pandemic of COVID-19, it remains vital for our health care system to continue caring for all patients.

estimate that the real size of the epidemic may be up to seven times higher (Hallal et al., 2020) . Also, Brazilian people with mild symptoms rarely get tested. While the country and world engage in the fight against the pandemic of COVID-19, it remains vital for our healthcare system to continue caring for all patients. Since the first official Brazilian case of the disease was reported in February 2020, there was a change in normal life. The pandemic scenario caused Universities around Brazil to close their doors. In our country, public dental schools represent important reference centers for oral medicine diagnosis. With the suspension of clinical activities, the demand for the pathology service decreased considerably. Several groups of different parts of the world have been demonstrated their concerning on reduction in oral medicine care (Alves et al., 2020; Arduino, Conrotto, & Broccoletti, 2020; Sardella et al., 2020) . In this letter, we share our experience at a South Brazilian center of oral medicine. Table S1 ). This decrease in oral diagnosis is clearly associated with the pandemic scenario.

The proportion of malignancy in the sample was 9.26% in 2019 and 20% in 2020. Interestingly, despite the reduction in the number of oral diagnoses in our Service, malignant lesions apparently did not fail to be diagnosed. This information justifies the crucial continuity of the DCOD, even with the real risk of contamination by technicians and pathologists. In this respect, efforts are being made to reduce possible damage. DCOD recommends that (a) all personnel who transport specimens are trained in safe-handling practices, (b) place specimens for transport in leak-proof specimen bags, and (c) obligatorily record suspected cases of potential COVID-19 on the laboratory request forms. In addition, laboratory workers should wear appropriate personal protective equipment and decontaminate work surfaces and equipment after specimens are processed (Henwood, 2020; WHO, 2020) .

DCOD represents a reference center for the diagnosis or oral diseases not only for the city of Pelotas, but also for neighboring cities. The choice not to interrupt the laboratory activities has permitted continuous diagnosis and consequently the treatment of malignant conditions, attesting to the relevance of the oral pathology service. There has been evident accumulation of oral diseases during this period, and based on what we see in the DCOD, at the end of the current scenario many benign injuries will be requiring attention.

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to predict the return to normality, especially in Dental Schools, and the postpandemic scenario is uncertain.

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