Impact of SARS-Cov-2 pandemic on Emergency General Surgery. A single-center observational study

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Several articles have been published on impact COVID-19 infection about reduction of surgical activity. We have focused on the differences between our surgical activity in an Emergency General Surgery department in "Cardarelli" Hospital in Naples. METHODS: This retrospective study compared the patients treated from March 9, 2020 to April 27, 2020 (Italian lockdown time) and the patients treated in the same period of 2019. We recruited 75 patients in Group A (2020) and 165 patients in Group B (2019). RESULTS: There was a reduction in hospitalizations for non-trauma disease (69 in group A and 122 in group B with p 0.001), a reduction in transfers from other hospitals (2 patients in group A and 17 in group B with p. 0.04) and a reduction in hospitalizations for trauma disease (6 in group A and 43 in group B with p 0.001). The severity of the disease in 2020 was greater than in the same period in 2019 and there was a higher rate of high-grade complications CONCLUSION: From data analysis, we conclude that there has been a reduction in hospitalizations and surgical interventions in our emergency surgery department. The patients, however, had a much more severe disease that resulted in a greater number of complications in the peri and post-operative time. KEY WORDS COVID-19, Lockdown, Emergency Surgery, Severity of disease.