Abstract
The Coronavirus pandemic poses a significant threat to the healthcare sectors of some African countries due to poor healthcare organisation, financing, and reduced uptake of recent technological advancements. Surgical care of patients and surgical training of healthcare workers are considerably affected, due to the dearth of policies and strategic health plans, to ensure the provision of safe and affordable surgical care and continuity of training. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Surgery in Africa and to provide recommendations geared towards the current pandemic and for the future. This review involved a search of the electronic databases MEDLINE/PubMed and Google Scholar, and 31 papers from African countries which explored the impact of COVID-19 across different surgical specialities were screened. The cancellation rate of elective surgeries and benign conditions across some countries were seen to be as high as 74-81% with prioritisation of cancer patients and emergencies. The volume of emergency surgical cases presenting in some hospitals was reduced due to the associated lockdowns and fear of contracting the virus, while Telemedicine became increasingly adopted with newer platforms being used across some countries. The pandemic has exposed the inequities in health systems and further studies need to be done to evaluate its impact across more surgical specialities.
Highlights
In December 2019, health professionals from Hubei Province in Wuhan city, the most populous city in China, reported the first 27 cases of pneumonia with an unidentified aetiology [1]
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Surgery in Africa and to provide recommendations geared towards the current pandemic and for the future
The Africa Centre for Disease and Control jointly working with the Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control, various national public health agencies, and the World Health Organization (WHO), began reinforcing preparation efforts to handle the impact of the pandemic
Summary
In December 2019, health professionals from Hubei Province in Wuhan city, the most populous city in China, reported the first 27 cases of pneumonia with an unidentified aetiology [1]. An observational study conducted in Eastern Nigeria revealed that 88% of surgeons surveyed have not been involved in the treatment of COVID-19 virus-positive patients Reasons for this include the anxiety of getting infected by the virus, fear of infecting loved ones, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the increased number of surgeons living with some comorbid conditions. If or when laparoscopy or hysteroscopy is considered, health personnel in theatre must wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and all standard precautions should be observed to prevent COVID-19 infection [30] Another survey conducted in Nigeria across 120 paediatric surgeons from 50 centres revealed that Nine (18%) centres adopted new modalities for managing selected surgical conditions: non-operative reduction of intussusception in 1 (2%), antibiotic management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis in 5(10%), more conservative management of trauma and replacement of laparoscopic appendectomy with open surgery in 3(6%) respectively [31]. More studies should be conducted to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on Surgery in Africa and proffer solutions to the problems arising
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