Background: The rapid spread of COVID-19 has disrupted routine healthcare worldwide, resulting in widespread fear and anxiety. Recommendations were made to cancel or postpone elective surgery to minimize risk for the pandemic response. This retrospective analysis evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operating room services at our hospital and to identify the spectrum of surgical cases managed during this period.
Methods: Data were collected from 22,725 patients aged 0–100 years who underwent surgical procedures under anesthesia between March 1, 2019, and January 20, 2021. The patients were categorized into two groups based on the period during which their surgeries were performed. Patients who underwent surgery between March 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020 were categorized as Group I, whereas those who underwent surgery between March 1, 2020 and January 20, 2021 were categorized as Group II. Demographic data, comorbidities, the monthly volume of surgeries conducted at the surgical clinics, and the anesthesia techniques utilized were compared.
Results: During the pandemic, the number of surgeries in all surgical branches, especially ear–nose–throat (73.5%), cardiovascular surgery (59.4%), and plastic and reconstructive surgery (57.1%), decreased. Decreases in the number of certain surgical procedures, such as bone fracture repair (p=0.248), oncological surgery (p=0.210), urolithiasis (p=0.245), critical ophthalmological surgeries (p=0.575), and pediatric surgeries (p=0.415), were not significant.
Conclusion: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, adherence to triage protocols and postponement recommendations led to a significant reduction in the number of surgeries performed, with the exception of cesarean delivery and appendectomies. The performance-based supplementary payment system implemented for physicians in the Turkish healthcare, along with the increased elective caseload resulting from postponements, has led to the effective performance of specific elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key words: COVID-19; operating room services; pandemic; postpone; surgery; procedures; triage
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