Abstract
Objective: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, wearing masks and frequent
hand washing have become common phenomena. The purpose of this study was
to explore the impact of such lifestyle changes on adenoid hypertrophy
in children in Beijing. Methods: Baidu Index platform was used to search
with adenoid hypertrophy as the keyword, and the search volume of terms
from 2017 to 2021 was recorded weekly. Meanwhile, the visits to adenoid
hypertrophy in the otolaryngology department of Children’s Hospital,
Capital Institute of Pediatrics in the same period were collected and
compared, and analyzed. Results: (1) Baidu index indicated that the
following group of adenoid hypertrophy was mainly parents of
childbearing age, and female parents paid more attention; (2) From 2017
to 2019, the online attention and outpatient visits to adenoid
hypertrophy increased year by year. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the
increasing trend declined and stagnated. Conclusions: After the outbreak
of COVID-19, epidemic prevention policies (wearing masks, hand hygiene,
reducing movement of people, etc.) have a certain inhibitory effect on
adenoid hypertrophy. Keywords: adenoid hypertrophy, COVID-19, Baidu
Index platform, masks, hand hygiene Key points: Adenoid hypertrophy may
be associated with recurrent respiratory infections in childhood. After
the onset of COVID-19, China enacted many epidemic prevention policies.
Wearing masks and hand hygiene may reduce the incidence of respiratory
infections. Web data provides insight into the real needs of the
population. After the onset of COVID, there was a stagnation in network
attention and outpatient visit rates for adenoid hypertrophy.