Impact of the first COVID-19 shutdown on traumatological patient volumes in Switzerland

Canal, Claudio; Scherer, Julian; Schlögl, Mathias; Ziegenhain, Franziska; Fahrner, René; Neuhaus, Valentin

doi:10.1016/j.sipas.2022.100063

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…These changes in trauma admissions ranged from a slight increase [26] to a decrease of up to 79.9% [6]. Our findings are in accordance with most publications, which reported a reduction of around 30% [2,5,8,13,27,28].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Who was at risk of trauma-related injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic? A retrospective study from a level 1 trauma centre in Switzerland

Flury,

Gerber,

Anwander

et al. 2023

Swiss Med Wkly

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INTRODUCTION: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly strict restrictions were imposed on the activities of the Swiss population, with a peak from 21 March to 27 April 2020. Changes in trauma patterns during the pandemic and the lockdown have been described in various studies around the world, and highlight some particularly exposed groups of people. The objective of this study was to assess changes in trauma-related presentations to the emergency department (ED) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to the same period in the previous year, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All trauma-related admissions to our ED in the first half of 2019 and 2020 were included. Patient demographics, trauma mechanism, affected body region, injury severity and discharge type were extracted from our hospital information system. Trauma subpopulations, such as interpersonal violence, self-inflicted trauma, geriatric trauma and sports-related trauma were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 5839 ED presentations were included in our study, of which 39.9% were female. Median age was 40 years (interquartile range: 27–60). In comparison to 2019, there was a 15.5% decrease in trauma-related ED presentations in the first half of 2020. This decrease was particularly marked in the 2-month March/April period, with a drop of 36.8%. In 2020, there was a reduction in injuries caused by falls of less than 3 metres or by mechanical force. There was a marked decrease in sports-related trauma and an increase in injuries related to pedal cycles. Geriatric trauma, self-harm and assault-related injuries remained stable. CONCLUSION: This study described changes in trauma patterns and highlighted populations at risk of trauma during the pandemic in Switzerland in the context of previous international studies.These results may contribute to resource management in a future pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Who was at risk of trauma-related injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic? A retrospective study from a level 1 trauma centre in Switzerland

Flury,

Gerber,

Anwander

et al. 2023

Swiss Med Wkly

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“…Also, particularly in lockdown periods, decreased mobility and restricted work and leisure activities led to a reduction in trauma patient admissions. For Switzerland, a decrease of 40 to 55% was noted during the spring 2020 lockdown [ 40 ], a trend that aligns with observations from other countries, including the US [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on inpatient health care in Switzerland 2020–2021—A descriptive retrospective study using admission data of all Swiss hospitals

Wirth,

Stucki,

Joerg

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Background As part of the Covid-19-restrictions in Switzerland, a federal ban on non-urgent examinations and treatments was applied to all hospitals during six weeks in spring 2020 (“spring lockdown”). The aim of this study was to comprehensively investigate the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on Swiss inpatient admissions based on data of all hospitals, focusing on selected procedures of different medical urgency. Methods The study includes all acute care inpatient cases (including Covid-19 cases, excluding cases in psychiatry and rehabilitation) according to the Swiss Medical Statistics of Hospitals. Besides the total number of admissions, subdivided by regions, hospital types and age groups, we focused on selected procedures representing different medical urgency: elective surgeries, cancer surgeries, and emergencies. Procedures were selected based on expert interviews. We compared the number of admissions during spring lockdown and for the whole years 2020 and 2021 in absolute numbers and in percentage changes to the corresponding periods in 2019 (baseline year). Results During spring lockdown, the number of admissions decreased by 47,156 (32.2%) without catch-up effect by the end of 2020 (-72,817 admissions/-5.8%). With procedure-specific decreases of up to 86%, the decline in admissions was largest for elective surgery, a decline that was only fully reversed in the case of a few procedures, such as joint arthroplasty. Strikingly, admissions due to emergencies also substantially decreased during spring lockdown (stroke -14%; acute myocardial infarction STEMI: -9%, NSTEMI: -26%). Results for the selected procedures in cancer surgery showed no consistent pattern. In 2021, admission numbers for most procedures reached or even exceeded those in 2019. Conclusions The substantial reduction in admissions, particularly in elective procedures, may reflect the impact of the triage in favor of anticipated Covid-19-cases during spring lockdown. By the end of 2020, admissions were still at lower levels relative to the previous, pre-pandemic year. The numbers in 2021 reached the same levels as those in 2019, which suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic only temporarily impacted inpatient health care in Switzerland. Long-term consequences of the observed reduction in admissions for emergencies and cancer surgery need to be investigated at the individual level.

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Retrospective registry-based nationwide analysis of the COVID-19 lockdown effect on the volume of general and visceral non-malignant surgical procedures

Fahrner,

Dohner,

Kierdorf

et al. 2024

Surgery in Practice and Science

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Impact of the first COVID-19 shutdown on traumatological patient volumes in Switzerland

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Who was at risk of trauma-related injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic? A retrospective study from a level 1 trauma centre in Switzerland

Who was at risk of trauma-related injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic? A retrospective study from a level 1 trauma centre in Switzerland

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on inpatient health care in Switzerland 2020–2021—A descriptive retrospective study using admission data of all Swiss hospitals

Retrospective registry-based nationwide analysis of the COVID-19 lockdown effect on the volume of general and visceral non-malignant surgical procedures

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