Surgical activity in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide observational cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A significant proportion of healthcare resource has been diverted to the care of those with COVID-19. This study reports the volume of surgical activity and the number of cancelled surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

We used hospital episode statistics for all adult patients undergoing surgery between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 in England and Wales. We identified surgical procedures using a previously published list of procedure codes. Procedures were stratified by urgency of surgery as defined by NHS England. We calculated the deficit of surgical activity by comparing the expected number of procedures from 2016 to 2019 with the actual number of procedures in 2020. Using a linear regression model, we calculated the expected cumulat

SUBMITTER: Dobbs TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8277602 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature