Effect of COVID-19 pandemic decisions on tertiary-level surgical services in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
S Afr Med J
; 0(0): 13182, 2020 12 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-984482
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of restrictive policies on theatre procedures, with profound impacts on service delivery and theatre output.OBJECTIVES:
To quantify these effects at a tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.METHODS:
A retrospective review of morbidity and mortality data was conducted. The effects on emergency and elective caseload, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions from theatre, theatre cancellations and regional techniques were noted.RESULTS:
Theatre caseload decreased by 30% from January to April 2020 (p=0.02), ICU admissions remained constant, and theatre cancellations were proportionally reduced, as were the absolute number of regional techniques.CONCLUSIONS:
The resulting theatre case deficit was 1 260 cases. It will take 315 days to clear this deficit if four additional surgeries are performed per day.
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Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Surgery Department, Hospital
/
Tertiary Healthcare
/
Infection Control
/
Elective Surgical Procedures
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
S Afr Med J
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
South Africa
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