Acute upper limb infections in a regional Scottish plastic surgery unit during COVID-19: Lessons learned.

Acute upper limb infections represent a large proportion of on-call referrals and emergency theatre time in plastic surgery. To enable us to maintain effective service provision despite reallocation of hospital resources as a result of COVID-19, and to minimise patient exposure in a hospital setting during the pandemic, we introduced a walk-in clinic and dedicated local anaesthetic (LA) operating theatre for these infections. In this work, we sought to analyse our service changes and resulting patient outcomes. Using electronic records, data from patients presenting with upper extremity infections was collected before the pandemic from 1st January to 30th March 2020, then for a period of three months from 30th March until 30th June 2020, after our changes were implemented. Seventy-two patients were included before 30th March 2020, and 49 patients after. Prior to our changes, most patients underwent surgery (n = 58, 80.6%), requiring overnight admission (n = 64, 88.9%), following mainly general anaesthetic procedures (n = 56, 96.6%). After our service changes, a similar percentage of patients were treated operatively (n = 41, 83.7%), but these procedures mostly utilised LA (n = 37, 90.2%) in the outpatient setting (n = 25, 51.0%). Despite this shift in management approach, no statistically significant difference in readmission rates was calculated between the two groups (p = 0.556) and post-operative complications were fewer in absolute terms. Our results suggest that in many instances, these infections can be managed in an outpatient setting without the need for inpatient care. Selective admission with strict follow-up of patients may be feasible, improving patient experience and reducing resource burden.

A case of rapidly progressive upper limb ischemic necrosis in a patient with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: For more than a year, health systems all over the world have been combating the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first described in the city of Wuhan in China, presenting as an atypical infection of the lower respiratory tract. METHODS: COVID-19 is characterized by multisystemic involvement, and mortality is attributed mainly to the respiratory system involvement, which may lead to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure. Several COVID-19-associated complications are being increasingly reported, including arterial and venous thromboembolic events that may lead to amputation of the affected limbs. So far, a large number of reports have described hypercoagulability crises leading to amputation of the lower limbs. However, a search of the National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) revealed no cases of urgent upper limb amputation in COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: This article describes a novel case of upper limb ischemia in a COVID-19 patient, with rapid progression to hand necrosis, requiring urgent through-arm amputation of the upper limb. CONCLUSIONS: This case emphasizes the need for anticoagulant therapy in COVID-19 patients and to maintain a constant awareness of the possible thromboembolic COVID-19-related sequelae.

Upper extremity arterial thromboembolism in a patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: A case report.

Although novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) primarily affects the respiratory system, it can affect multiple organ systems, leading to serious complications, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ failure. Nearly 20 to 55% of patients with COVID-19 experience coagulation disorders that cause high mortality in line with the severity of the clinical picture. Thromboembolism can be observed in both venous and arterial systems. The vast majority of thromboembolic events are associated with the venous system and are often observed as pulmonary embolism. Arterial thromboembolisms often involve the arteries in the lower extremities, followed by those in the upper extremities. Herein, we report a rare case of COVID-19 pneumonia whose left arm was amputated at the forearm level after arterial thromboembolism in the left upper extremity. This case report is valuable, as it is the first reported case of upper extremity arterial thromboembolism in Turkey, as well as the only case in the literature in which the patient underwent four surgical interventions and is still alive.

Injury patterns of patients with upper limb and hand trauma sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the UK: a retrospective cohort study.

This work aimed to identify the lead causes of upper limb injury presenting to a busy hand and major trauma unit during the UK COVID-19 domestic lockdown period, in comparison to a cohort from the same period one year previously. Hand and upper limb injuries presenting to the host organization during a pre-lockdown period (23rd March 2019-11th May 2019) and the formal UK lockdown period (23rd March 2020-11th May 2020) were compared, using data collated from the host institution's hand surgery database. The UK lockdown period was associated with a 52% fall in the number of patients presenting to the service with hand and upper limb injuries (589 pre-lockdown vs. 284 during lockdown). There was a significant increase in the proportion of injuries due to machinery use during lockdown (38, 6.5% pre-lockdown vs. 33, 11.6% during lockdown, P = 0.009), other etiologies were consistent. The proportion requiring surgical management were similar (n = 272, 46.2% pre-lockdown vs. n = 138, 48.6% during lockdown, P = 0.50). The proportion requiring overnight admission fell (n = 94, 16.0% pre-lockdown vs. 29, 10.2% during lockdown, P = 0.022). COVID-19 related lockdown in the UK resulted in a reduction in the presenting numbers of hand related injuries; however almost half of these patients still required surgery. These data may be of use to other hand surgery centers for resource planning during future lockdown periods, and for injury prevention strategies in the post-COVID-19 world.

Impact of the COronaVIrus Disease 2019 lockdown on hand and upper limb emergencies: experience of a referred university trauma hand centre in Paris, France.

PURPOSE: The lockdown imposed in France to cope with the COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has led to major changes in the lifestyle of French citizens. The aim of our study was to study its impact on activity related to emergencies in hand and upper limb trauma in comparison to the same reference period in 2019. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All consecutive patients consulting for upper limb injury requiring urgent care at Georges-Pompidou European Hospital (HEGP), France, during the lockdown period (case group) and the equivalent period in 2019 (control group) were included. In each group, the type of accident, the anatomical location of the injury, and the treatment were reported and compared. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-five patients were included in the case group in comparison to 784 patients in the control group. We observed a two-third decrease in the rate of upper limb emergencies (- 64.9%) in particular a drastic drop in the rate of road, work, and leisure accidents (10.4% vs 14.3%, p = 0.1151; 10.0% vs 22.6%, p < 0.0001; 13.1% vs 30.8%, p < 0.0001, respectively), and a clear increase in domestic accidents (66.5% vs 32.3%, p < 0.0001). The aetiologies were more dominated by lacerations of soft tissues (48.4%, vs 38.3%, p = 0.0034) and infections (8.7% vs 5.1%, p = 0.0299) with an increase in the indications for surgical management (51.2% vs 36.9%, p < 0.0001). Conversely, we observed fewer consultations for joint injuries (20.7% vs 30.7%, p = 0.0015) and fractures (22.2% vs 25.9%, p = 0.2210). CONCLUSION: The lockdown imposed in France has changes the etiologies and the management of hand and upper limb emergencies.

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing upper extremity surgery at the peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the UK: a national cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: This study reports the 30-day mortality, SARS-CoV-2 complication rate and SARS-CoV-2-related hospital processes at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in the UK. METHODS: This national, multicentre, cohort study at 74 centres in the UK included all patients undergoing any surgery below the elbow at the peak of the UK pandemic. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The secondary outcomes were SARS-CoV-2 complication rates and overall complication rates. A clinician survey relating to SARS-CoV-2 safety processes was carried out for each participating centre. RESULTS: This analysis includes 1093 patients who underwent upper limb surgery from the 1 to 14 April 2020 inclusively. The overall 30-day mortality was 0.09% (1 pre-existing SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia) and the mortality of day case surgery was zero. Most centres (96%) screened patients for symptoms prior to admission, only 22% routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2 prior to admission. The SARS-CoV-2 complication rate was 0.18% (2 pneumonias) and the overall complication rate was 6.6% (72 patients). Both SARS-CoV-2-related complications occurred in patients who had been hospitalised for a prolonged period before their surgery and a total of 19 patients (1.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive. CONCLUSIONS: The SARS-CoV-2-related complication rate for upper limb surgery even at the peak of the UK pandemic was low at 0.18% and the mortality was zero for patients admitted on the day of surgery. Urgent surgery should not be delayed pending the results of SARS-CoV-2 testing. Routine SARS-CoV-2 testing for day case upper limb surgery not requiring general anaesthesia may be excessive and have unintended negative impacts.