Effect of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on cardiothoracic hospitalization rates and emergency services: the collateral damage

Abstract

Background The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a great toll on the already strained healthcare services. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalization rates for cardiac emergencies in our high-flow tertiary center. Patients and methods A retrospective nonrandomized descriptive study was conducted on urgent and emergency cardiovascular hospitalization rates from October 2019 to September 2020, which were compared with the data from the same time of the previous year. Results The total number of patients with acute mechanical valve thrombosis significantly decreased from 11 patients in the year before the pandemic to only one in April 2020 (P<0.001). Acute type A aortic dissection patient numbers decreased significantly from 16 to eight patients (P<0.05). Lastly, both urgent and emergency thoracic procedures decreased significantly during the COVID-19 year, which was evident from April to July 2020 (P<0.001). Conclusions Critical healthcare conditions should not be overshadowed by newly emerging pandemics. Future developed healthcare strategies should accommodate the increasing numbers of patients and ensure a reliable ‘safe zone’ for patients to avoid nosocomial infections.