ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an unprecedented burden on healthcare systems worldwide, changing the profile of interventional cardiology activity. OBJECTIVES: To quantify and compare the number of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) performed for acute and chronic coronary syndromes during the first COVID-19 outbreak with the corresponding period in previous years. METHODS: Data on PCI from the prospective multicenter Portuguese Registry on Interventional Cardiology (RNCI) were used to analyze changes in PCI for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS) and chronic coronary syndromes (CCS). The number of PCIs performed during the initial period of the COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal, from March 1 to May 2, 2020, was compared with the mean frequency of PCIs performed during the corresponding period in the previous three years (2017-2019). RESULTS: The total number of PCIs procedures was significantly decreased during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal (-36%, p<0.001). The reduction in PCI procedures for STEMI, NSTE-ACS and CCS was, respectively, -25% (p<0.019), -20% (p<0.068) and -59% (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the corresponding period in the previous three years, the number of PCI procedures performed for STEMI and CCS decreased markedly during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.