Does the Lockdown Influence the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service in a Level 1 Trauma Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

The pandemic status of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 has affected many countries around the world, due to the high virulence of the SARS-CoV-2, the recommended protocol to prevent infection is social isolation. The purpose of this study was to compare the number of patients admitted and their epidemiological data on a Level 1 Trauma Hospital after the declaration of the pandemic status and the first week of mandatory lockdown, with the same period of time in the last year. This was a retrospective study of medical records from the patients admitted in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Joa ˜o XXIII Hospital, between the March 24 and March 31 of 2020 and the same period of the last year. There was a 52.27% decrease in the total number of patients and 76.34% decrease in the total consultations of the service of oral and maxillofacial surgery during the lockdown. All the groups presented a decrease in significance with motor vehicle accidents events, the group 11 to 20 years old presented an increase on the correlation with violence (P ¼ 0.019) and falls (P ¼ 0.002). When comparing both sex with the etiologies, the male one presented an increase in the correlation with violence and falls. The female sex presented correlations only with the minor causes. No valid significance was observed when comparing females with violence events. The lockdown is an effective way to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19, the hospital usage and occupation.

1-Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: Changes in the Epidemiology of Maxillofacial Trauma

“…Interestingly, the reduction of 66.7 % in facial surgical activity observed in our hospital matched those described in other Western European countries: -65.5 % in France 9 , -69.1 % in Italy 10 and -71.4 % in the United Kingdom 11 . In contrast, reduction of surgical activity in Brazil and USA ranged only from -27.5 % to -52.3 % when compared to the equivalent period of the previous one or two years [12][13][14] .…”

Impact of prolonged wearing of face masks – medical and forensic implications

“…On January 2020, WHO (World Health Organization) declared it an "infectious disease pandemic" after thousands of cases were reported across the world [14]. The universal wearing of face masks and physical or social distancing [15,16] is safeguarding the world population. This is because the mode of transmission of COVID-19 is airborne, as the viral particles are shed from the nose and mouth of asymptomatic and infected person through respiratory droplets [17].…”

Twenty-one Days of Solitude

“…In a study from Brazil, the authors questioned if the lockdown during pandemic influenced the oral and maxillofacial surgery services? 6 They found a 52.27% decrease in the total number of patients and a 76.34% decrease in the total consultations of the service of oral and maxillofacial surgery during the lockdown. They concluded that the lockdown was an effective way to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19, the hospital usage, and occupation.…”