The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Electively Scheduled Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Patients in the United States

Abstract

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in the United States were recommended to stop performing elective procedures. This stoppage has led to the cancellation of a large number of hip and knee arthroplasties. The effect of this on patients' physical mental and economic health is unknown. Methods: A survey was developed by the AAHKS Research Committee to assess pain, anxiety, physical function, and economic ability of patients to undergo a delayed operation. Six institutions conducted the survey to 360 patients who had to have elective hip and knee arthroplasty cancelled between March and July of 2020. Results: Patients were most anxious about the uncertainty of when their operation could be rescheduled. Although 85% of patients understood and agreed with the public health measures to curb infections, almost 90% of patients plan to reschedule as soon as possible. Age and geographic region of the patients affected their anxiety. Younger patients were more likely to have financial concerns and concerns about job security. Patients in the Northeast were more concerned about catching COVID-19 during a future hospitalization. Conclusions: Patients suffering from the pain of hip and knee arthritis continue to struggle with pain from their end-stage disease. They have anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. Few patients feel they will be limited financially and 90% want to have surgery as soon as possible. Age and physical location of the patients affect their causes for anxiety around their future surgery.

Assessing the Attitudes, Awareness, and Behavioral Alterations of Patients Awaiting Total Hip Arthroplasty During the COVID-19 Crisis

“… 8 Brown et al noted that 90% of patients who had arthroplasty surgery cancelled were keen to undergo arthroplasty surgery as soon as possible, with only 6% of patients wishing to postpone their operation for fear of COVID-19 infection. 7 The perceived threat of COVID-19 infection in our cohort was low, with over 85% of patients reporting that they were at little or no risk of contracting COVID-19.…”

“…Similar results have been found in both European and American cohorts. 7 , 8 Endstrasser and colleagues noted that 79% of patients awaiting hip and knee arthroplasty would be keen to undergo surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. 8 Brown et al noted that 90% of patients who had arthroplasty surgery cancelled were keen to undergo arthroplasty surgery as soon as possible, with only 6% of patients wishing to postpone their operation for fear of COVID-19 infection.…”

“…Research in both the European and American context has shown that in spite of the ongoing pandemic the majority of patients are keen to undergo arthroplasty surgery as soon as possible. 7 , 8 Naturally, some patients will have been daunted by the shocking images published in print media and reported in the news depicting extremely ill patients in overrun hospitals. We hypothesized that this may lessen their desire to undergo a hip replacement in the current climate.…”

Neurosurgical Procedures and Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case-Control Multicenter Study

“…[14][15][16][17][18] The literature describing the changes in surgical services during outbreaks, including COVID-19, is limited to subjective retrospective evaluations using questionnaires and surveys. [19][20][21][22][23][24] The reported observations from those studies have described increased surgical cancellation rates and a decline in the number of elective cases, on the basis of subjective survey responses from surgeons. In this unmatched case-control study, we objectively analyzed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurosurgical services.…”

Cirugía de cadera ante la pandemia COVID-19

“…4 Las artroplastias de cadera y rodilla son dos de los procedimientos electivos que más se realizan en Estados Unidos con alrededor de 1.5 millones de procedimientos anualmente, por lo que nos hemos visto obligados a rediseñar los procesos de atención. 5 Se proyecta que este año se van a cancelar 481,771 reemplazos de cadera primaria y 1,078,359 reemplazos de rodilla primaria durante 2020 en EUA. 6 INDICACIONES PARA CIRUGÍA DE CADERA Debido a la pandemia COVID-19, la cirugía electiva de cadera será cancelada incluyendo la artroscopia y los reemplazos articulares primarios y de revisión.…”