The prevalence of burnout among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists pre- and post-COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) increased the already heavy workload in the pulmonary and respiratory departments, which therefore possibly increased the prevalence of burnout among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists. We aimed to compare the differences in burnout among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists pre- and post-COVID-19 by doing a systematic review with meta-analysis. We searched pulmonologist, or pulmonary, or respiratory, and burnout up to 29 January 2023 in six databases. We included studies investigating pulmonologists or respiratory therapists and reporting the prevalence of burnout among them. The risk of bias was assessed by a tool for prevalence studies. The overall prevalence of burnout was pooled. A total of 2859 records were identified and 16 studies were included in the final analysis. The included studies reported 3610 responding individuals and 2336 burnouts. The pooled prevalence of burnout was 61.7% (95% confidence interval (CI), 48.6–73.2%; <i>I</i>² = 96.3%). The pooled prevalence of burnout during COVID-19 was significantly higher than it was prior to the outbreak (68.4% vs. 41.6%, <i>p</i> = .01). The result of the meta-regression revealed that COVID-19 coverage was significantly associated with the prevalence of burnout (<i>p</i> = .04). Burnout was widely prevalent among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists and increasingly perceived during COVID-19. Therefore, interventions were needed to reduce burnout in this specialty.KEY MESSASGESThe coronavirus disease-19 increased the already heavy workload in the pulmonary and respiratory departments.Burnout was widely prevalent among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists and increasingly perceived during COVID-19. The coronavirus disease-19 increased the already heavy workload in the pulmonary and respiratory departments. Burnout was widely prevalent among pulmonologists or respiratory therapists and increasingly perceived during COVID-19.

新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）加重了呼吸与肺脏病科本已繁重的工作负荷，进而可能提升了肺科医师或呼吸治疗师的职业倦怠患病率。本研究旨在通过系统评价（systematic review）结合元分析（meta-analysis），对比新冠疫情前后肺科医师及呼吸治疗师的职业倦怠差异。
我们于2023年1月29日前，在6个数据库中以“肺科医师、肺脏病学、呼吸医学、职业倦怠”为核心检索词进行文献检索。纳入针对肺科医师或呼吸治疗师、并报告其职业倦怠患病率的相关研究。采用偏倚风险（risk of bias）评估工具对纳入研究进行偏倚风险评价，并合并计算职业倦怠的总患病率。
本研究共检索到2859条文献记录，最终纳入16项研究，涉及3610名受访对象，其中2336名存在职业倦怠。合并后的职业倦怠总患病率为61.7%（95%置信区间CI：48.6%~73.2%；I²=96.3%）。新冠疫情期间的职业倦怠合并患病率显著高于疫情暴发前（68.4% vs. 41.6%，p=0.01）。元回归分析结果显示，新冠疫情覆盖程度与职业倦怠患病率显著相关（p=0.04）。
肺科医师与呼吸治疗师群体中职业倦怠广泛流行，且在新冠疫情期间愈发凸显。因此，亟需制定针对性干预措施以降低该专科群体的职业倦怠水平。
【核心要点】
1. 新型冠状病毒肺炎加重了呼吸与肺脏病科本已繁重的工作负荷。
2. 肺科医师与呼吸治疗师群体中职业倦怠广泛流行，且在新冠疫情期间愈发凸显。
新型冠状病毒肺炎加重了呼吸与肺脏病科本已繁重的工作负荷。肺科医师与呼吸治疗师群体中职业倦怠广泛流行，且在新冠疫情期间愈发凸显。