ArticleCureus2022
The Impact of COVID-19 on Acute Surgical Admissions at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Article in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose It has been noted in international literature that acute surgical admissions and number of operations reduced as a result of coronavirus disease2019 (COVID-19). This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of acute surgical admissions, operations, and length of stay (LoS) at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH), Queensland, Australia. Methodology A retrospective study was conducted on patients admitted to the Acute Surgical Unit (ASU) during March and April for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Admission data for ASU patients in 2018 and 2019 were combined (pre-COVID) and compared with 2020 (COVID) to determine impact of the pandemic on presentations and procedures. Results ASU admissions reduced in 2020 (461 patients) compared with pre-COVID years (mean: 545 patients per year). There was an increase in the number (%) of operations performed in 2020, 175 patients (38%) compared with pre-COVID years, mean 158 patients (29%), p = 0.001. There was a significant decrease in the number (%) of functional presentations in 2020, 29 patients (6.3%) compared with pre-COVID years, mean 105 patients (9.6%), p = 0.04. LoS was not significantly different (52 hours vs. 54 hours, p = 0.11). Conclusion COVID-19 has reduced the absolute number of acute surgical admissions at SCUH. This effectively reduced triage workload. Contrary to the literature, this study did not demonstrate a reduction in the number of operations or change in LoS. These data could be used by health administrators to help with resource allocation during future pandemics.
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