IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SURGICAL PROCEDURES IN BRAZIL: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Bárbara Okabaiasse Luizeti; Victor Augusto Santos  Perli; Gabriel Gonçalves da Costa; Igor da Conceição  Eckert; Aluisio Marino  Roma; Karina Miura da Costa

doi:10.17765/2176-9192.2021v23n2e10408

Bárbara Okabaiasse Luizeti Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4194-0069
Victor Augusto Santos Perli Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3895-6628
Gabriel Gonçalves da Costa Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1141-7827
Igor da Conceição Eckert Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre - UFCSPA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5228-9059
Aluisio Marino Roma Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0518-9095
Karina Miura da Costa Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9880-192X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17765/2176-9192.2021v23n2e10408

Keywords: COVID-19, Elective surgical procedures, Hospitalization, SARS-CoV-2, Surgery

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected medical practice, and conducts o minimize the overload of healthcare services were necessary. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the pandemic in the practice of surgical procedures in Brazil. This is a descriptive study with data about hospitalizations for surgical procedures in Brazil from 2016 to 2020, collected from the Department of Informatics of Brazil’s Unified Health System (DATASUS). Primary analysis describes the variations in the number of elective, urgent and other types of surgical procedures performed during this period, by comparing the mean number of hospitalizations from 2016 to 2019 with the absolute number from 2020. Secondary analysis describe the variations in hospitalizations for surgical procedures during this period in each of Brazil’s geographical regions, and variations in different surgical procedure subgroups. There was a decrease of 14.88% [95% CI: 14,82-14,93] in hospitalizations for surgical procedures in 2020, when comparing to the mean between 2016-2019. Decrease rates were 34.82% [95% CI: 34,73-34,90] for elective procedures and 1.11% [95% CI: 1.07-1.13] for urgent procedures. Surgical procedure subgroups with highest decrease rates were endocrine gland surgery, breast surgery, oral-maxillofacial surgery and surgery of upper airways, face, head and neck. The overload of healthcare facilities demanded reductions in non-urgent activities to prevent services’ collapse. Further studies are needed to evaluate the social and clinical impact of such reductions and support the development of precise criteria defining which procedures should be prioritized.

Author Biographies

Bárbara Okabaiasse Luizeti, Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR

Acadêmica do curso de Graduação em Medicina da Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR, Maringá (PR), Brasil

Victor Augusto Santos Perli, Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR

Acadêmico do curso de Graduação em Medicina da Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR, Maringá (PR), Brasil.

Gabriel Gonçalves da Costa, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ

Mestrando em Química Biológica pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (URFJ), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brasil.

Igor da Conceição Eckert, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre - UFCSPA

Bacharel em Nutrição pela Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil

Aluisio Marino Roma , Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR

Docente do curso de Graduação em Medicina da Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR, Maringá (PR), Brasil

Karina Miura da Costa, Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR

Doutora em Clínica Cirúrgica pela FMRP-USP/SP. Docente do curso de Graduação em Medicina da Universidade Cesumar - UNICESUMAR, Maringá (PR), Brasil

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