Abstract: Objective To confirm the changes in the disease spectrum in the department of otorhinolaryngology and whether the demand for emergency treatment of Suzhou citizens had been ensured during the epidemic. Methods Patients who underwent electronic nasopharyngoscopy in the department of otolaryngology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during the epidemic when only emergency service was available were selected as the study group. Meanwhile, patients who underwent electronic nasopharyngoscopy during the normal prevention and control of the epidemic in the same period in 2021 were selected as the control group. The clinical data of the two groups of patients were collected for statistical analysis. Results The study and control groups included 1 393 and 2 457 patients, respectively. The proportion of acute and severe cases was higher, showing an increase by 22.7%, in the study group than in the control group; the difference was statistically significant(P<0.001). The difference between the number of daily cases was also statistically significant(P<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of daily acute and severe disease cases(P>0.05)between the groups. Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences between the number of foreign bodies in the pharynx, malignant tumors of the pharynx and laryngopharynx, laryngeal paralysis, and nasopharyngeal neoplasm and epistaxis(P>0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the number of daily non-acute and non-serve disease cases(P<0.001)between the groups. Among these, statistically significant differences were observed for the number of pharyngitis, precancerous laryngeal lesions, benign lesions of the larynx and laryngopharynx, chronic inflammation of the larynx, laryngeal cyst, postoperative reexamination, and others(P<0.01). A statistically significant difference was also found in the age distribution between the two groups(P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the proportion of patients in the study group decreased 1.8% among patients aged 18 or younger, 1.7% among patients aged 46-60, and 3.3% among patients aged 61 or older respectively. Meanwhile, the proportion increased 6.8% among patients aged 19-45. Conclusion During the epidemic in Suzhou in 2022, citizens’ acute and severe medical needs in the department of otorhinolaryngology were ensured. However, the diagnosis and treatment of some patients with chronic inflammatory diseases or precancerous laryngeal lesions may be delayed. Compared with young people, minors, middle-aged, and older adults were less likely to go to the hospital. We can consider promoting telemedicine services to meet the public's need for medical treatment while reducing unnecessary contact.

Key words: Nasopharyngoscopy, Novel coronavirus, Emergency, Acute and severe diseases