Early Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes in COVID-19 Infected Patients: A Case Series

Orthopaedic trauma presents a unique and complex challenge in the initial phase of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) global crisis. Little is currently known about the surgical practices in orthopaedic emergencies in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak (1). This is a retrospective case series of 10 orthopaedic trauma patients who underwent fracture fixation in March 2020. Of the 10 patients testing COVID-19 positive, there were a total of 16 long bone fractures, 5 pelvic ring fractures, and 1 lumbar burst fracture. There were 7 (70%) males in this cohort. Two (20%) of the COVID-positive patients did not develop fever, leukocytosis, respiratory insufficiency, or positive imaging findings and were younger (average age 25.5 years) with fewer comorbidities (average 0.5) compared with the 8 symptomatic COVID-19-positive patients (56.6 years with 1.88 comorbidities). Advancement of COVID-19 pathogenesis with lung opacities and prolonged intubation occurred in all 5 patients who remained on ventilation postoperatively (range 9 hours-11 days). At the time of most recent follow-up, all patients survived, 1 continues to require ventilation support, 1 remains admitted without ventilation support, and 8 (80%) were discharged to home. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.