ABSTRACT
Introduction and objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection has saturated the Spanish health system, affecting the care of cardiovascular diseases. In this phase 2 of the SECCE-COVID-19 study we want to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the number of cardiac surgeries by analyzing the most prevalent diagnostic-related groups (DRGs) in our specialty. Methods: At the request of the Spanish Society of Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery (SECCE), all the centers in the national territory that wanted to participate were asked for the data of the DRG codes number 162 (surgery on heart valves with infarction or complex diagnosis), 163 (surgery on heart valves without infarction or complex diagnosis), 165 (coronary bypass with infarction or complex diagnosis), 166 (coronary bypass without infarction or complex diagnosis) and 167 (other cardiothoracic or thoracic vascular procedures) between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020 (7 months), and as a control period the same dates of the year 2019. Results: Data were received from 24 Hospital Centers, 22 public and 2 private. There was a global decrease in the number of interventions of 30% (Range -19 a -42%, p < 0.001) from 4648 in 2019 to 3262 in 2020 (-1386 difference), being +7% for the GRD 162 (p = 0.500), -37% for 163 (p = 0.001), -9% for 165 (p = 0,304), -32% for 166 (p = 0.001) and -16% for 167(p = 0.062). Conclusions: There was a statistical significant global decrease in surgeries in 2020 of 30% compared to 2019 between March 1 and September 30. © 2021 Sociedad Española de Cirugía Cardiovascular y Endovascular
ABSTRACT
The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is responsible for the current pandemic (COVID-19) and the consequent international health emergency. The clinical spectrum is broad, with recent reports of cases with cardiac involvement, mainly myocarditis, in COVID-19 patients. To date there are few reports of COVID-19 cases in need of heart surgery. The position of the Spanish Society of Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery (SECCE) has been to ensure the correct care of emerging and urgent patients, according to current clinical guidelines, however, in some cases the distinction between involvement of cardiac or pulmonary etiology can make the decision-making difficult. We present the case of a man with infective endocarditis and intercurrent infection with COVID-19, in which multidisciplinary consensus was essential to set the surgical indication, because his symptomatology generated controversy with current clinical guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) on infective endocarditis. We consider that the adaptation of the guidelines during the current health emergency and the multidisciplinary decision-making can facilitate therapeutic action in complex cases of cardiac pathologies with surgical indication and COVID-19 coinfection.