COVID-19 pandemic did not affect emergency theatre patient demographic and length of stay in the first phase of UK countrywide lockdown in a district general hospital.
Ann R Coll Surg Engl
; 103(6): 404-411, 2021 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33955242
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
We aim to identify any changes in outcome for patients undergoing nonelective surgery at the start of the UK pandemic in our district general hospital. This was a single-centre retrospective cohort review of a UK district general hospital serving a population of over 250,000 people.METHODS:
Participants were all patients undergoing a surgical procedure in the acute theatre list between 23 March to 11 May in both 2019 and 2020. Primary outcome was 90-day postoperative mortality. Secondary outcomes include time to surgical intervention and length of inpatient stay.RESULTS:
A total of 132 patients (2020) versus 141 (2019) patients were included. Although overall 90-day postoperative mortality was higher in 2020 (9.8%) compared with 2019 (5.7%), this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.196). In 2020, eight patients tested positive for COVID-19 either as an inpatient or within 2 weeks of discharge, of whom five patients died. Time to surgical intervention was significantly faster for NCEPOD (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death) code 3 patients in 2020 than in 2019 (p=0.027). There were no significant differences in mean length of inpatient stay.CONCLUSIONS:
We found that patients were appropriately prioritised using NCEPOD classification, with no statistically significant differences in 90-day postoperative mortality and length of inpatient stay compared with the 2019 period. A study on a larger scale would further elucidate the profile and outcomes of patients requiring acute surgery to generate statistical significance.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Surgical Procedures, Operative
/
Communicable Disease Control
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Emergency Treatment
/
COVID-19
/
Hospitals, District
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Hospitals, General
/
Length of Stay
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged80
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Ann R Coll Surg Engl
Year:
2021
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom