Safe urodynamic practices in times of COVID-19: What can be accomplished and what can be added?

Abstract

Aim: To present feedback, after applying national and international urodynamic study (UDS) recommendations for safe practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We created a checklist to assess the feasibility of performing UDS recommendations for safe practice during the COVID-19 pandemic from the first week of May 2021 to the last week of July 2021.

Results: One hundred patients were analyzed during the study period. We observed that all preventive recommendations for the steps that precede UDS could be followed in full. However, some guidelines for performing the exam were not feasible in all patients. We have successfully adopted other safety measures for all patients.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic will likely persist for several more years. We believe that continuous improvement, revision, and updating of existing protocols and guidelines for the safe practice of UDS in times of COVID-19, as we propose in this study, should be encouraged.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; guideline; urodynamic study.