Evaluation of Emergency Operations and Anesthesia Preferences in the Early COVID-19 Pandemic and Before the Pandemic: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

ABS TRACT Objective: During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, elective surgical operations were postponed, affecting emergency operations. This study aims to compare emergency surgical operations, anesthesia preferences, and patient outcomes in the early pandemic period with the pre-pandemic period and to investigate the effect of the pandemic on emergency operations. Material and Methods: Emergency surgical operations, surgical techniques, anesthesia preferences, and patient outcomes performed in the pandemic period between March 15-April 15, 2020, were compared with the emergency surgeries in the same period of 2019, which is the pre-pandemic period. Results: Demographic data were similar between groups. A 30% decrease was observed in the emergency surgeries performed in the pandemic group (n=236) compared to the pre-pandemic group (n=337). Although the cesarean section was the most common emergency surgery in both periods, a decrease was observed in emergency operations other than cesarean section during the pandemic. While trauma surgery, open surgical technique, spinal anesthesia preference, length of stay in the service, and mortality were high in the pandemic group, the length of stay in the intensive care unit was low. 7.2% of the patients (n=17) in the pandemic group were COVID-19 positive. Trauma surgery was not encountered in these patients, and all surgeries were performed with an open technique. Conclusion: In the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease has been observed in the number of emergency surgical operations and emergency operations other than cesarean section, with the effect of medical treatment and follow-up. However, while more trauma surgery was performed during the pandemic, mortality was higher. While the laparoscopic technique decreased significantly, the preference for spinal anesthesia increased significantly.