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Orthopaedic Trauma Never Sleeps: Resource Allocation Even During a Non-trauma Crisis
Risa Reid1, Tamar Roomian1, Madhav Karunakar1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Insights
Hospital resource use for orthopaedic trauma remained consistent during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. This suggests standard resource allocation is appropriate for future public health crises.
Area of Science:
- Orthopaedic surgery
- Trauma care
- Public health preparedness
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic prompted significant public health measures, including stay-at-home orders.
- Understanding the impact of such crises on specialized medical services like orthopaedic trauma is crucial for future planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate hospital resource utilization and injury epidemiology in an orthopaedic trauma service during the 2020 COVID-19 stay-at-home period.
- To compare this data with a pre-pandemic control period (2019).
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of adult patients (>18 years) with musculoskeletal trauma.
- Comparison of data from March 30 to May 8, 2020 (stay-at-home) versus March 30 to May 8, 2019 (control).
- Analysis included patient encounters, fractures, consultations, and surgeries.
Main Results:
- 182 patient encounters and 274 fractures in 2020; 210 encounters and 337 fractures in 2019.
- No statistically significant difference in the proportion of patient encounters between the stay-at-home period and the control period (p > 0.05).
- Similar volumes of consultations and surgeries were observed.
Conclusions:
- Orthopaedic trauma service resource utilization and patient volumes were comparable between the 2020 stay-at-home period and the 2019 control period.
- Standard resource allocation appears adequate for maintaining orthopaedic trauma services during non-trauma public health crises.
- Findings support informed planning for future large-scale emergencies impacting healthcare systems.
Abstract:
This study aimed to describe hospital resource utilization of an orthopaedic trauma service and the injury epidemiology during the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic to help plan future non-trauma crises. A retrospective chart review was performed on adult patients > 18 years of age who presented to our Level I Trauma Center for musculoskeletal trauma from March 30, 2020 to May 8, 2020 (stay-at-home order) and from March 30, 2019 to May 8, 2019 (comparison group). There were 182 patient encounters and 274 fractures in the 2020 stay-at-home period, and there were 210 patient encounters and 337 fractures in the 2019 control group. There was no statistical difference found comparing the proportion of patient encounters in the stay-at-home period to the control period (p > 0.05). The similar volume of consultations and surgeries justifies maintenance of standard resource allocation. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 32(2):102-106, 2023).
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