Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on general surgery trauma surgeries: a single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study

H.B. Demir, S. Kircicegi, G. Okut

Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, İzmir, Turkey. gokalp.okut@gmail.com

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• Infectious Diseases
• Surgery

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the impact of trauma surgeries performed in our clinic before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical indications, procedure types, perioperative course, and final outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective single-center clinical study. The study group (n=88) comprised trauma patients who presented to the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic and underwent emergency surgeries. The control group (n=115) consisted of trauma patients who sought emergency care and underwent surgeries in the same period of the previous year, before the pandemic. We compared the number of patients, demographic data, clinical findings, diagnoses, and surgical interventions.

RESULTS: The study group exhibited a 13.3% decrease in the number of patients compared to the control group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study group and control group had similar age and gender distributions. The study group had a lower rate of surgical intervention. Among the study group, liver laceration was the most common diagnosis in 19 patients (7.4%), compared to 30 patients (11.7%) in the control group. Mortality rates were 1.0% in the study group and 2.0% in the control group. There were no significant differences in mortality (p=0.632) or patient diagnoses (p=0.357) between the COVID-19 pandemic and control periods.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a decline in the number of trauma patients admitted to the hospital and undergoing surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has affected the management of patients requiring urgent surgical intervention, resulting in a lower rate of surgical procedures in the study group. However, despite the preference for medical treatment in trauma patients, surgical interventions remain necessary for appropriate indications.

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