The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on waiting times for elective surgery patients: A multicenter study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A concern has been that health care reorganizations during the first COVID-19 wave have led to delays in elective surgeries, resulting in increased complications and even mortality. This multicenter study examined the changes in waiting times of elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland.

Methods

Data on elective surgery were gathered from three Finnish public hospitals for years 2017-2020. Surgery incidence and waiting times were examined and the year 2020 was compared to the reference years 2017-2019. The mean annual, monthly, and weekly waiting times were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The most common diagnosis groups were examined separately.

Findings

A total of 88 693 surgeries were included during the study period. The

SUBMITTER: Uimonen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8259989 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature