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COVID-19: The impact on urolithiasis treatment in Brazil
Fernando Korkes1, Khalil Smaidi1, Matheus Pascotto Salles1
1Disciplina de Urologia, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC - FMABC, Santo André, SP, Brasil.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced hospital admissions for urolithiasis in Brazil, impacting women and older adults most. Urgent procedures increased, highlighting the need for recovery plans to address surgical backlogs.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread healthcare system strain globally.
- Urolithiasis management requires timely interventions to prevent complications.
- Brazil's public healthcare system faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admissions for urolithiasis in Brazil.
- To analyze changes in admission rates across different demographic groups.
- To identify trends in urgent urolithiasis procedures during the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study analyzing hospital admissions for urolithiasis (ICD-10 N20).
- Data sourced from the Brazilian Public Health Information system.
- Inclusion period: March 2017 to February 2021.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in overall hospital admissions for urolithiasis was observed during the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak (p<0.0001).
- Women and patients at the extremes of age (younger than 20 and older than 60) experienced a more pronounced reduction in admissions.
- There was a notable increase in urgent urolithiasis procedures compared to the preceding three-year average.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial decline in urolithiasis treatment admissions within Brazil's public healthcare system.
- Specific demographic groups, including women and the elderly, were disproportionately affected by reduced access to care.
- The rise in urgent cases necessitates strategic recovery plans to manage the backlog of surgeries and ensure continued patient care.
Introduction:
It has been more than a year since the first case of Covid-19 was diagnosed in Brazil, and its most problematic feature is the oversaturation of the healthcare system capacity. Urolithiasis is a disease that requires timely and appropriate management. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic in hospital admissions for urolithiasis in the Brazilian public healthcare system.
Materials And Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, hospital admissions were obtained from the Brazilian Public Health Information system. All hospital admissions associated with urolithiasis diagnosis (ICD-10 N20) between March 2017 and February 2021 were analyzed.
Results:
During the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a significant decrease in hospital admissions (p<0.0001). More than 20.000 patients probably did not have the opportunity to undergo their surgeries. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on women's admissions was significantly more intense than for men, reducing from 48.91% to 48.36% of the total (p=0.0281). The extremes of age seemed to be more affected, with patients younger than 20 years and older than 60 years having a significant reduction in access to hospital services (p=0.033).
Conclusions:
In conclusion, we have noticed a considerable reduction in overall admissions for the treatment of urolithiasis in the Brazilian public healthcare system during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Women and individuals older than 60 years were especially affected. In contrast, we noted a rise in urgent procedures, comparing with the average of the corresponding period of the three previous years. Recovery plans will be needed while returning to activities to handle the impounded surgical volume.
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