ArticleBone & joint open2021
Restoration of elective spine surgery during the first wave of COVID-19 : a UK-wide British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) prospective, multicentre, observational study.
Article in Bone & joint open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of COVID-19 on spine surgery: temporal trends in complications and patient-reported outcomes across a statewide cohort.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2026Article
- Trends in spinal surgery pre- and post-pandemic in a large metropolitan area.Neurosurgical review · 2025Article
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- Lumbar fusion during the COVID-19 pandemic: greater rates of morbidity and longer procedures.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2023Article
- The Effect of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Elective Cervical Spine Surgery Utilization and Complications in the United States: A Nationwide Temporal Trends Analysis.World neurosurgery · 2023Article
- A Retrospective Study of the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Related Administrative Restrictions on Spine Surgery Practice and Outcomes in an Urban Healthcare System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The impact of SARS-CoV-2 measures on patient samples and complication rates in spine surgery - A single center analysis.Frontiers in surgery · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsWith resumption of elective spine surgery services in the UK following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a multicentre British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) collaborative study to examine the complications and deaths due to COVID-19 at the recovery phase of the pandemic. The aim was to analyze the safety of elective spinal surgery during the pandemic.
methodsA prospective observational study was conducted from eight spinal centres for the first month of operating following restoration of elective spine surgery in each individual unit. Primary outcome measure was the 30-day postoperative COVID-19 infection rate. Secondary outcomes analyzed were the 30-day mortality rate, surgical adverse events, medical complications, and length of inpatient stay.
resultsIn all, 257 patients (128 males) with a median age of 54 years (2 to 88) formed the study cohort. The mean number of procedures performed from each unit was 32 (16 to 101), with 118 procedures (46%) done as category three prioritization level. The majority of patients (87%) were low-medium "risk stratification" category and the mean length of hospital stay was 5.2 days. None of the patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, nor was there any mortality related to COVID-19 during the 30-day follow-up period, with 25 patients (10%) having been tested for symptoms. Overall, 32 patients (12%) developed a total of 34 complications, with the majority (19/34) being grade 1 to 2 Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications. No patient required postoperative care in an intensive care setting for any unexpected complication.
conclusionThis study shows that safe and effective planned spinal surgical services can be restored avoiding viral transmission, with diligent adherence to national guidelines and COVID-19-secure pathways tailored according to the resources of the individual spinal units. Cite this article:
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