loading page

No delay in surgery for thoracic and lumbar vertebral fractures admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic: A single centre’s experience
  • +4
  • Yong Yao Tan,
  • Zhihong Chew,
  • Mon Hnin Tun,
  • Omar El Dishish,
  • Hong Lee Terry Teo,
  • Kuei Siong Andy Yeo,
  • Shree Kumar Dinesh
Yong Yao Tan
Changi General Hospital

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Zhihong Chew
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile
Mon Hnin Tun
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile
Omar El Dishish
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile
Hong Lee Terry Teo
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile
Kuei Siong Andy Yeo
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile
Shree Kumar Dinesh
Changi General Hospital
Author Profile

Abstract

Study Design Retrospective cohort Objective To determine if time from admission to surgery for thoracic and lumbar vertebrae fractures was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Summary of Background Data At our institution, a specialised workflow was established for emergency spinal surgeries to take place safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods All patients admitted via the emergency department with thoracic or lumbar Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) type A fractures and underwent single stage instrumentation from August 2015 to August 2022 at our institution were included in this study. The COVID-19 period was defined as the months from February 2020 to August 2022. The variables of interest included age, gender, date of admission, date of surgery and time from admission to surgery. Results From February 2020 to August 2022, 38 patients were identified. From August 2015 to January 2020, 102 patients were identified. The median number of days from admission to surgery was six for both the pre COVID-19 and COVID-19 period. During the COVID-19 period, more surgeries took place over the weekend (42.1% vs 12.8%, p<0.05). Conclusions The median time from admission to surgery was not affected by the pandemic. However, there was a significant increase in the proportion of weekend surgeries being performed during the COVID-19 period.