Abstract
Abstract Background Social practices, hospital guidelines, and government regulations in response to COVID-19 have influenced orthopaedic practice volumes. The widespread cessation of non-essential surgeries has greatly decreased elective practices, but the extent to which trauma volumes diminish remains unknown. Access to common sites of orthopaedic injury were limited during this period, including organized sports, play grounds, and travel. Methods To examine the effect of COVID-19 in pediatric and adult practices, considering local responses to the pandemic, weather effects, and school activity. We retrospectively examined orthopaedic clinic changes for the first five months of the year in 2019 and 2020. An administrative data base was used to obtain volume data for OR cases, OP visits, and OP clinic procedures. Temperature and precipitation records were collected for the same period. Results All aspects of the adult practice greatly decreased in March, April, and May compared to the previous year. The largest decreases in OR cases occurred in April for adults, with a slight increase in May, but volumes remained decreased compared to the previous year. Pediatric and adult OP visits and OR cases dropped similarly in March and April. This trend continued into May for OP visits, but only pediatric OR visits increased in May. Conclusions Practice trends from 2019 to 2020 established in January and February abruptly altered in the following months. Institutional cessation of elective procedures and government issued statewide stay-at-home orders greatly impacted orthopaedic volumes during this period. Decreased opportunity for social activity contributed to drops in pediatric and adult trauma. Proactive responses by local schools aided in a more rapid decline of pediatric trauma compared to adults in the month of March.
Highlights
Social practices, hospital guidelines, and government regulations in response to COVID-19 have influenced orthopaedic practice volumes
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated the development of novel hospital guidelines across a wide variety of specialties and clinical environments
The purpose of this study is to report the effect of COVID-19 in pediatric and adult orthopaedic practices considering weather patterns, work and school activity, as well as social, government, and hospital guidelines
Summary
Hospital guidelines, and government regulations in response to COVID-19 have influenced orthopaedic practice volumes. The widespread cessation of non-essential surgeries has greatly decreased elective practices, but the extent to which trauma volumes diminish remains unknown. Surgeons have been profoundly affected in many areas due to the widespread cessation of non-essential surgeries across the country. This has been notable for orthopaedic surgeons, as elective surgeries compromise approximately 47% of orthopaedic care expenditures [1]. The extent to which elective practices diminish is unknown, but a decline in volume is nearly certain It remains unclear how our hospital, social, and government responses will affect trauma volumes and care
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