P-BN44 The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on waiting lists for laparoscopic cholecystectomy and its effect on patient care and outcomes

Abstract

Background It has been widely reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on waiting lists for elective surgery in the NHS. Delays in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) are likely to prolong suffering for symptomatic patients and risk increasing complications for patients which may then require emergency care and intervention. In this study we aim to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elective waiting lists and to assess what implications this might have on patient care and outcomes. Methods Electronic health records were retrospectively interrogated for patients undergoing LC in both March 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and March 2021. The following data was captured: age, gender, elective vs emergency operation, laparoscopic vs open, total vs subtotal cholecystectomy, use of drains, length of stay/daycase rates, the number of emergency presentations prior to operation and the number of days between being listed for surgery and their operation. The results were analysed using SPSS Statistics (IBM, New York). Results 111 patients were included in the study (25 male and 86 female). Of these, 60 had their LC in 2019, and 51 in 2021. The age and gender distribution of the patients in both time periods were similar. The median number of days on the waiting list was significantly higher (P < 0.001) for patients in 2021 at 379.5 days, compared with 153 days in 2019. There was a significant increase in the number of emergency presentations prior to LC in 2021 (P = 0.025) with an average of 0.7 presentations per patient compared with 0.45 in 2019. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number of emergency LC performed in 2021 (P = 0.002), with 15 performed compared with 4 in 2019, representing 29.4% and 6.7% of all LC respectively. There was no significant change in rates of conversion to open, drains or subtotal cholecystectomy. There was no significant difference in daycase rates for elective patients in either period (55% vs 58%). Conclusions Whilst there has been no change in the operative outcomes for patients undergoing LC, there has been a stark increase in the length of time patients are on a waiting list prior to undergoing elective LC. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of emergency presentations and the number of emergency LC performed. This study demonstrates the wider impact of increasing waiting list times beyond the prolonged suffering of symptomatic patients. A significant reduction in waiting list times would be beneficial to both patients and healthcare providers, with the aim of reducing the number of emergency presentations. A reduction in these would have a positive impact on acute services and on the associated cost implications.