Abstract
BackgroundEver since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic, worldwide efforts are being made to “flatten the curve”. Israel was amongst the first countries to impose significant restrictions. As a result, cardiac surgeons have been required to scale down their routine practice, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of cardiac surgeries. The aim of this study is to characterize the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac surgery in Israel.MethodsThis is a retrospective observational study performed in two cardiac surgery departments in Israel and includes all patients who underwent cardiac surgery in March and April during the years 2019 and 2020. The patient cohort was divided into two groups based on the year of operation. Analysis of the patients’ baseline characteristics, operative data, and postoperative outcome, was performed.ResultsThe 2019 group (n = 173), and the 2020 group (n = 108) were similar regarding their baseline characteristics, previous medical history, and rates of previous revascularization interventions. However, compared to the 2019 group, patients in the 2020 group were found to be more symptomatic (NYHA class IV; 2.4% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.007). While all patients underwent similar procedures, patients in the 2020 group had significantly longer procedural time (p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality rate was found to be significantly higher in group 2020 (13% vs. 5.2%, p = 0.037).ConclusionsWhile the number of patients undergoing cardiac surgery declined during the outbreak period, the rate of surgical mortality increased. One explanation for this might be delayed hospital arrival.
Highlights
Towards the end of 2019 a new disease emerged in Wuhan, China, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1,2,3]
One of the primary goals of the system was to anticipate the influx of patients arriving at medical centers in order to prevent a collapse of medical resources, including exhaustion of personnel, lack of equipment, protective gear, mechanical ventilators, surgical drapes, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines
The aim of this study is to characterize the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac surgery discipline by comparing the same time periods from different years within two major cardiac surgery departments in Israel. This is a retrospective observational study performed in two cardiac surgery departments in Israel: the Leviev Heart Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, the largest tertiary hospital in Israel, located in the center of the country, and the Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya, which is located in the north of the country
Summary
Towards the end of 2019 a new disease emerged in Wuhan, China, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1,2,3]. 3 months later, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was announced by the World Health Organization as a Israel was amongst the first countries to close its borders and impose significant restrictions on its population, comprising personal movement restrictions, social distancing and cancellation of public transportation. Cardiac surgeons were requested to scale down their clinical practice and adapt to a new hospital policy [4,5,6]. From fear of getting infected, a new phenomenon of avoiding medical care emerged, and non-COVID19 patients requiring cardiac surgery refrained from requesting help. Cardiac surgeons have been required to scale down their routine practice, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of cardiac surgeries. The aim of this study is to characterize the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac surgery in Israel
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
