Abstract
ObjectivesTo determine the safety of urological admissions and procedures during the height of the COVID‐19 pandemic using “hot” and “cold” sites. The secondary objective is to determine risk factors of contracting COVID‐19 within our cohort.Patients and methodsA retrospective cohort study of all consecutive patients admitted from March 1 to May 31, 2020 at a high‐volume tertiary urology department in London, United Kingdom. Elective surgery was carried out at a “cold” site requiring a negative COVID‐19 swab 72‐hours prior to admission and patients were required to self‐isolate for 14‐days preoperatively, while all acute admissions were admitted to the “hot” site.Complications related to COVID‐19 were presented as percentages. Risk factors for developing COVID‐19 infection were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis.ResultsA total of 611 patients, 451 (73.8%) male and 160 (26.2%) female, with a median age of 57 (interquartile range 44‐70) were admitted under the urology team; 101 (16.5%) on the “cold” site and 510 (83.5%) on the “hot” site. Procedures were performed in 495 patients of which eight (1.6%) contracted COVID‐19 postoperatively with one (0.2%) postoperative mortality due to COVID‐19. Overall, COVID‐19 was detected in 20 (3.3%) patients with two (0.3%) deaths. Length of stay was associated with contracting COVID‐19 in our cohort (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.13‐1.39).ConclusionsContinuation of urological procedures using “hot” and “cold” sites throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic was safe practice, although the risk of COVID‐19 remained and is underlined by a postoperative mortality.
Highlights
The spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in the United Kingdom in the week commencing 27th January 2020 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020 (1) (2)
Procedures were performed in 495 patients of which 8 (1.6%) contracted COVID-19 post-operatively with 1 (0.2%) post-operative mortality due to COVID-19
Length of stay was associated with contracting COVID-19 in our cohort
Summary
Pulmonary complications related to COVID-19 reported by the COVIDSurg collaborative, an international multicentre observational study found post-operative respiratory complications occurred in half of patients that had contracted COVID-19 peri-operatively (from 7 days preoperatively to 30 days post-operatively) and found 30-day mortality to be 23.8%. (5) Given these outcomes it is imperative to prevent peri-operative contraction of the virus and our centre has developed ‘hot’ sites for acute admissions and ‘cold’ sites for elective admissions requiring patients to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days and produce a negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab prior to procedure. Contracting COVID-19 peri-operatively has been associated with a mortality rate as high as 23%, making prevention vital
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
