An Assessment of the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on a Level 1 Trauma Center Including Subgroup Analysis of Orthopedic Injuries and Mechanism of Injury

Abstract

Background and objectiveThere is a paucity of medical literature describing the preparedness of hospital institutions to withstand the population effects of a pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had a global impact on all facets of medicine, which has ultimately affected the medical community in a significant manner. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of research regarding the effects of COVID-19 on trauma and acute care surgery injury and admission rates. We conducted this study to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on both pediatric and adult trauma admissions, injury types, and mechanisms of injury. Materials and methodsData from the Trauma Registry was extracted for all adult (>15 years) and pediatric (<15 years) patients who consulted trauma surgery, acute care surgery, or orthopedic surgery at our center in the year immediately prior to the pandemic (

Influence of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalisations at a paediatric traumatology department during 2020: a single-centre observational study and comprehensive literature review

“…We did not evaluate the detailed causes of these injuries in our patients, but there are reports that traffic restrictions resulted in a reduction in fractures associated with traffic accidents [ 48 ]. However, due to reduced public transport, children and young people were likely to use bicycles more often, so bicycle injuries were significantly higher during the pandemic [ 57 – 60 ].…”

Increased unintentional drowning deaths in 2020 by age, race/ethnicity, sex, and location, United States

“…Several efforts have been made to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on general injury trends globally, with countries reporting both increases and decreases in injuries. For example, studies found significant increases in trauma patient admissions from May to June of 2020 in Italy and from March 2020 to February 2021 in the United States ( Giudici et al, 2021 , Moore et al, 2022 ) and significant increases in unintentional injury deaths from March to August 2020 in the United States ( Faust et al, 2021 ). However, other studies found the number of injuries seen in some trauma centers significantly decreased while local COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were in place in the United States and England ( Sherman et al, 2021 , Sephton et al, 2021 ) and all-cause injury mortality significantly declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in Guangdong, China ( Zheng et al, 2021 ).…”