P036 IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON HERNIA SURGERY IN A SWEDISH HEALTH-CARE REGION WITHOUT LOCKDOWN: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Abstract

AimDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Swedish health care centers were restructured. This was accompanied by changes in the surgical programme. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of COVID-19 on emergency and elective hernia surgeries in a Swedish health-care region.Material and MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational cohort study. Data from inguinal and ventral hernia surgeries were retrieved from a medical database using procedure codes from all three hospitals in Region Jönköping County from March 1, 2019 to January 31, 2021. The participants were divided into two groups: COVID-19 group (March 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021) and reference group (March 1, 2019 - January 31, 2020). The incidence rate (IR) and relative risk (RR) of operations over different time frames were analyzed.ResultsA total 1351 participants met the inclusion criteria. 590 were operated during the COVID-19 period and 761 during the reference period. The IR of elective operations was decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic; 146 operations/100.000 population vs 192 operations/100.000 population during the reference period. RR was 0,76 (95% CI 0.6813-0.8545, p < 0.0001). Moreover, IR of emergency operations decreased insignificantly during the COVID-19 pandemic; 17,5 operations/100.000 population vs 19,4 operations/100.000 population during the reference period. RR was 0,9 (95% CI 0.6404- 1.2649, p 0.5441). No significant variations in the emergency operations have identified when different time frames were compared.ConclusionsThere is no evidence to support that COVID-19 pandemic has increased emergency hernia operations during the studied period despite the significant reduction of elective operations.