Severity of Prior COVID-19 Infection is Associated with Postoperative Outcomes Following Major Inpatient Surgery

To determine the association between severity of prior history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and postoperative outcomes following major elective inpatient surgery.

Surgical guidelines instituted early in the COVID-19 pandemic recommended delay in surgery up to 8 weeks following an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given that surgical delay can lead to worse medical outcomes, it is unclear if continuation of such stringent policies is necessary and beneficial for all patients, especially those recovering from asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID-19.

Utilizing the National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C), we assessed postoperative outcomes for adults with and without a history of COVID-19 who underwent major elective inpatient surgery between January 2020 and February 2023. COVID-19 severity and time from SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery were each used as independent variables in multivariable logistic regression models.

This study included 387,030 patients, of which 37,354 (9.7%) had a diagnosis of preoperative COVID-19. History of COVID-19 was found to be an independent risk factor for adverse postoperative outcomes even after a 12-week delay for patients with moderate and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with mild COVID-19 did not have an increased risk of adverse postoperative outcomes at any time point. Vaccination decreased the odds of mortality and other complications.

Impact of COVID-19 on postoperative outcomes is dependent on severity of illness, with only moderate and severe disease leading to higher risk of adverse outcomes. Existing wait time policies should be updated to include consideration of COVID-19 disease severity and vaccination status.