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Impact of COVID-19 Governmental Restrictions on Emergency General Surgery Operative Volume and Severity
Sarah Lund1, Taleen MacArthur1, Marianna Martini Fischmann1
1Department of General Surgery, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced emergency general surgery operations by 65% during lockdowns. Patient outcomes, including disease severity and mortality, remained unchanged compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Area of Science:
- Surgical outcomes
- Public health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic prompted governmental shutdowns, impacting healthcare services.
- Emergency general surgery (EGS) operative volumes may have been affected during these restrictions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EGS operative volumes.
- To compare disease severity, morbidity, and mortality in EGS patients during pandemic-related shutdowns versus previous years.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study comparing EGS operations from March 1st to May 31st, 2020 (pandemic group) and 2019 (control group).
- Analysis of average daily emergent cases.
- Secondary analysis of disease severity, morbidity, and mortality.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in average daily EGS operations was observed during the pandemic period (2.5/day in 2020 vs. 3.0/day in 2019, P = .03).
- No significant differences in presenting disease severity, morbidity, or mortality were found between the two groups.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 65% reduction in EGS operations during governmental restrictions.
- This decrease in surgical procedures was not associated with adverse changes in patient outcomes.
Background:
To describe the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency general surgery operative volumes during governmental shutdowns secondary to the pandemic and characterize differences in disease severity, morbidity, and mortality during this time compared to previous years.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study compares patients who underwent emergency general surgery operations at a tertiary hospital from March 1st to May 31st of 2020 to 2019. Average emergent cases per day were analyzed, comparing identical date ranges between 2020 (pandemic group) and 2019 (control group). Secondary analysis was performed analyzing disease severity, morbidity, and mortality.
Results:
From March 1st to May 31st, 2020, 2.5 emergency general surgery operations were performed on average daily compared to 3.0 operations on average daily in 2019, a significant decrease (P = .03). No significant difference was found in presenting disease severity, morbidity, or mortality between the pandemic and control groups.
Discussion:
This study demonstrates a decrease of 65% in emergency general surgery operations during governmental restrictions secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decrease in operations was not associated with worse disease severity, morbidity, or mortality.
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