Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown Strategy on Vascular Surgery Practice: More Major Amputations than Usual.
Ann Vasc Surg
; 69: 74-79, 2020 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-764229
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown period on the number and type of vascular procedures performed in the operating theater.METHODS:
A total of 38 patients who underwent 46 vascular procedures during the lockdown period of March 16th until April 30th, 2020, were included. The control groups consisted of 29 patients in 2019 and 54 patients in 2018 who underwent 36 and 66 vascular procedures, respectively, in the same time period. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics.RESULTS:
Our study shows that the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant increase in the number of major amputations (42% in 2020 vs. 18% and 15% in 2019 and 2020, respectively; P-value 0.019). Furthermore, we observed a statistically significant difference in the degree of tissue loss as categorized by the Rutherford classification (P-value 0.007). During the lockdown period, patients presented with more extensive ischemic damage when than previous years. We observed no difference in vascular surgical care for patients with an aortic aneurysm.CONCLUSIONS:
Measurements taken during the lockdown period have a significant effect on non-COVID-19 vascular patient care, which leads to an increased severe morbidity. In the future, policy makers should be aware of the impact of their measurements on vulnerable patient groups such as those with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. For these patients, medical care should be easily accessible and adequate.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Aortic Aneurysm
/
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Social Control, Formal
/
Vascular Surgical Procedures
/
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
/
Peripheral Vascular Diseases
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Amputation, Surgical
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Ann Vasc Surg
Journal subject:
Vascular Diseases
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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