The orthopaedic and traumatology scenario during Covid-19 outbreak in Italy: chronicles of a silent war.

BACKGROUND: From February 21, the day of hospitalisation in ICU of the first diagnosed case of Covid-19, the social situation and the hospitals' organisation throughout Italy dramatically changed. METHODS: The CIO (Club Italiano dell'Osteosintesi) is an Italian society devoted to the study of traumatology that counts members spread in public and private hospitals throughout the country. Fifteen members of the CIO, Chairmen of 15 Orthopaedic and Trauma Units of level 1 or 2 trauma centres in Italy, have been involved in the study. They were asked to record data about surgical, outpatients clinics and ER activity from the 23rd of February to the 4th of April 2020. The data collected were compared with the data of the same timeframe of the previous year (2019). RESULTS: Comparing with last year, overall outpatient activity reduced up to 75%, overall Emergency Room (ER) trauma consultations up to 71%, elective surgical activity reduced up to 100% within two weeks and trauma surgery excluding femoral neck fractures up to 50%. The surgical treatment of femoral neck fractures showed a stable reduction from 15 to 20% without a significant variation during the timeframe. CONCLUSIONS: Covid-19 outbreak showed a tremendous impact on all orthopaedic trauma activities throughout the country except for the surgical treatment of femoral neck fractures, which, although reduced, did not change in percentage within the analysed timeframe.

How the pandemic spread of COVID-19 affected children's traumatology in Italy: changes of numbers, anatomical locations, and severity.

BACKGROUND: The study aim is to share our experience in hospital re-organization and management of paediatric traumatology in the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic. We centralized paediatric traumatology supposing a reduction of ER admissions, with increased severity of conditions, and a change in fracture patterns and consequently re-organized our structure. The COVID-19 epidemic in Europe has seen Italy as the first focus starting from the 21st of February 2020. Lombardy has been the most affected area. The initial NHS approach determined a high percentage of hospital admissions that led to early overload of hospitals, and we had to reorganize our structure to face the emergency. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the admission and treatment data to observe the epidemiological evolution of paediatric trauma during the lockdown ordinance and compared them with the same period in 2019. RESULTS: We found a reduction of 78% paediatric visits in the ER but no decrease in the amount of paediatric fractures, rather we found a rate of paediatric fractures increased by 21,62 %. The upper limb fractures being the most representative. CONCLUSIONS: Our expectations were confirmed. We believe that the reorganization and the guidelines by us designed has been effective to spare resources and subtract the paediatric traumatology load from those hospitals dealing with an unexpected number of critical COVID-19 patients. Even if we experienced a significant reduction of paediatric admissions to our trauma E.R., the presence of a determined number of fractures justifies the necessity of a specialized hub to collect all paediatric fractures.

Management of orthopaedic and traumatology patients during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in northern Italy.

PURPOSE: This article aims to share northern Italy's experience in hospital re-organization and management of clinical pathways for traumatic and orthopaedic patients in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Authors collected regional recommendations to re-organize the healthcare system during the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020. The specific protocols implemented in an orthopaedic hospital, selected as a regional hub for minor trauma, are analyzed and described in this article. RESULTS: Two referral centres were identified as the hubs for minor trauma to reduce the risk of overload in general hospitals. These two centres have specific features: an emergency room, specialized orthopaedic surgeons for joint diseases and trauma surgeons on-call 24/7. Patients with trauma without the need for a multi-disciplinary approach or needing non-deferrable elective orthopaedic surgery were moved to these hospitals. Authors report the internal protocols of one of these centres. All elective surgery was stopped, outpatient clinics limited to emergencies and specific pathways, ward and operating theatre dedicated to COVID-19-positive patients were implemented. An oropharyngeal swab was performed in the emergency room for all patients needing to be admitted, and patients were moved to a specific ward with single rooms to wait for the results. Specific courses were organized to demonstrate the correct use of personal protection equipment (PPE). CONCLUSION: The structure of the orthopaedic hubs, and the internal protocols proposed, could help to improve the quality of assistance for patients with musculoskeletal disorders and reduce the risk of overload in general hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.