Introduction
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), whose first cases were noted in
Wuhan, China in December 2019, is the third coronavirus epidemic after
severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory
syndrome.1 The epidemic quickly spread worldwide from
the moment the first diagnoses were established and the disease affected
people from all nations; consequently, it was deemed a pandemic by the
World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. On the same day, the first
case of COVID-19 was reported by the Ministry of Health in
Turkey.2
Surgical operations have been delayed according to a specific algorithm
worldwide and urological procedures in Turkey have been limited to
urgent condition and selected oncological surgeries in accordance with
available guidelines for COVID-19 treatments.3Included in the limited surgeries is the prostate cancer (PCa) surgery.
The diagnosis of PCa itself negatively affects the mental well-being and
quality of life of patients, and postponing the operations of patients
diagnosed with cancer for various reasons may increase the anxiety
levels of the patients.4 Therefore, we aimed to
evaluate the anxiety and depression status of PCa patients whose
robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) operations
haves been postponed in the urology clinic of our hospital, which is
serving as a pandemic hospital in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic.