COVID-19 Outbreak and Stoma Care on a Minor Island in Italy: Physically Far, Virtually Near

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has considerably stressed ordinary medical resources. In such a contest, Telemedicine (TM) was relevantly recommended by several surgical societies. A specific TM-based pathway was developed emergently to care outpatients with ileo- or colostomy living on a minor island of Southern Italy (Ischia (Naples)). We retrospectively analysed a short prospective series of 23 ileo- or colostomized patients referring to a single coloproctology out-patient clinic. Patients were followed up using TM from March 3rd to April 5th 2020, when local and national policy postponed any non-emergent and non-oncologic in-patient visit to a future date. Seventeen patients were eligible for observation. Tele-consulted patients were overall satisfied, with 14 of them choosing TM as their first option for a future consultation. All medical staff gave a positive feedback about TM project. The use of TM in stoma care was easily feasible in an emergent global context. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported experience of remote stoma care services during COVID-19 pandemic. The next challenge is to turn emergent actions into daily outpatient practice.