The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast Outpatient Clinics: A Retrospective Analysis of 928 Patients

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GÜZELYÜZ B., kocael p.

Akdeniz Tıp Dergisi, cilt.12, sa.1, ss.1-6, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

ABSTRACT Objective The present study aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19 on breast outpatient clinic admissions in terms of visit rates, reasons for visits, associated diseases and outcomes. Material and Methods We retrospectively compared patients who presented to the breast outpatient clinic in a tertiary care center during the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic period. Age, sex, family history, reasons for admission (routine follow-up, first-time visit, referral from other clinics, active complaints), and the presence of BIRADS-5 lesions were recorded. IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 (IBM SPSS,Turkey) was used for statistical analysis. Quantitative variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, whereas qualitative variables were analyzed using the Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact test. Results with p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The number of admissions was 561 during the pre-pandemic period and 367 during the pandemic. Age, sex, family history, BIRADS-5 lesions, and the proportion of patients admitted for a first-time visit were similar in both periods (p>0.05). The proportion of admissions for routine follow-up was 25.9% (n=95) and referrals to other clinics were 14.7% (n=54) during the pandemic, both rates were higher than in the pre-pandemic period (p=0.047, p=0.001, respectively). The proportion who admitted with active complaints was 52.9% (n=194) during the pandemic which was lower than pre-pandemic period (p=0.001). However, the proportion of active complaints remained the most common reason in both periods (66% and 52.9%, respectively). Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption in outpatient clinic admissions among patients with active breast complaints, but this impact was not observed during routine follow-up visits.