Increased Complications of Emergent Surgical Procedures During the First Wave of COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Based on recommendations by CMS elective surgery was stopped during the first wave of COVID-19. Despite hospitals being open for emergent surgery, there were some studies that showed a decrease in surgical volume. METHODS: A retrospective analysis for all surgeries from 185 affiliated hospitals from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to May 2020) and as a comparison the previous year, March 2019 to May 2019 were obtained. Five surgeries were further analyzed: appendectomies, cholecystectomies, craniotomies, exploratory laparotomies, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs). RESULTS: Between March 2019 and May 2019, 326,726 surgeries were performed, and between March 2020 and May 2020, 237,809 surgeries were performed. The highest specialty for both years was gastroenterology. In 2020, 15.7% of the patients were admitted to the ICU versus 13.7% in 2019. For appendectomies, cholecystectomies, craniotomies, exploratory laparotomies and ERCPs, there was an increase from 2019 to 2020 in acute kidney injuries rate, infection, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and sepsis. All the changes in surgical volumes for the five surgeries from 2019 to 2020 were significant. For appendectomy, the statistically significant complications were infection and SIRS and sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Across the board, there was a decrease in surgical volume during the COVID-19 pandemic first wave. There was a statistically significant decrease in appendectomy, cholecystectomy, exploratory laparotomy, craniotomy, and ERCP. For all five surgeries, we did see an increase in mortality rates and several complications. The only statistically significant complications were infection and SIRS and sepsis, for appendectomy.

Coronavirus-Associated Coagulopathy After Trauma.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is linked with a hypercoagulable state called COVID-19-associated coagulopathy (CAC). Due to elevated levels of factor VIII and fibrinogen as well as inflammation-linked hyperviscosity of blood, the risk for venous thromboembolism is increased in patients who have CAC. We report the case of a patient with recent COVID-19 infection and no other past medical history who presented after a motorcycle collision with left middle and distal femur fractures, who underwent retrograde intramedullary nailing, and then developed immediate massive bilateral pulmonary emboli. The patient was treated with tissue plasminogen activator administration via bilateral pulmonary artery thrombolysis catheters without improvement, and was then placed on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for subsequent cardiogenic shock. During a 58-day hospital stay, the patient recovered and was discharged with a good long-term prognosis. In this report, we discuss CAC, the role of surgical critical care in the management of the disease, and issues specific to this patient's disease process and treatment.

Unscreened: Urgent and Emergent Surgical Outcomes in the Early COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background Creating useful recommendations for changes in surgical protocols during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been difficult due to a lack of studies based on representative samples. This study evaluates the clinical outcomes and characteristics of patients undergoing urgent or emergent surgeries. Methods This is a multi-center (eight-hospital), retrospective, observational study of urgent and emergent surgical patients from Colorado and Kansas, the United States, in the early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Patient groups were divided based on their coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) status: positive, negative and untested. COVID-19 testing was performed after the surgery if patients were symptomatic. Results The analysis includes 5,547 patients who underwent surgery from March 1, 2020 to May 17, 2020. Seventy-four percent (4,096) were not tested for COVID-19 due to lack of symptoms. Out of the 1,451 tested patients, 1,412 tested negative, and 39 tested positive. Out of all the patients who tested positive, 69.23% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), whereas 16.72% of untested and 21.25% of the negative patients. The invasive ventilation rate for the patients that tested positive was 46.15%, 4.22% for untested, and 8.85% for patients who tested negative. The mortality rate in the positive group was 7.69%, 1.10% in the untested group, and 1.56% in the positive group.    Conclusion Patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had worse clinical outcomes than patients who tested negative and untested. We recommend creating criteria for testing based on patient characteristics and surgical procedure rather than testing all patients awaiting surgery; this would allow us to conserve resources moving forward.