ArticleCytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology2026
COVID-19's Shadow: The Effect of COVID-19 on Cytopathology Specimens Received at an Academic Laboratory in Central South Africa.
Article in Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted healthcare delivery worldwide, including cytopathology services essential for timely diagnosis and management of malignancies. This study evaluated the pandemic's impact on cytopathology specimen trends at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) Universitas Academic Hospital laboratory in central South Africa.
methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on adult non-gynaecological cytology specimens from March 2018 to April 2024, divided into pre-COVID-19, COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 eras. Specimens were categorised into fine needle aspirates (FNAs) and other non-gynaecological specimens, and stratified by anatomical site and diagnosis (benign, malignant, and suspicious for malignancy). Unsatisfactory, paediatric, and inadequate samples were excluded. Time series analysis was used for comparisons.
resultsSpecimen volumes declined significantly during the COVID-19 era (p < 0.001) and did not recover in the post-pandemic era. Although the proportion of FNAs remained consistent, specific trends were observed, including a marked decline in breast FNAs and benign diagnoses, with a concurrent increase in malignant and cases that were suspicious for malignancy. Respiratory tract FNAs increased during the COVID-19 era, reflecting a shift in clinical priorities.
conclusionCytopathology services in central South Africa experienced sustained reductions in the volume of specimens received during and after COVID-19. Increased malignant diagnoses may reflect delayed presentations and diagnostic backlogs created by the lockdown periods. These findings highlight the importance of resilient diagnostic services during health crises, as well as the importance of relying on more cost-effective and faster diagnostic tools, such as cytopathology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.