Changes in Orthopedic Services in Two Indonesian Tertiary-referral Hospitals during the Coronavirus-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Many countries report decreasing on the number of hospital visit even on the emergency cases.
 AIM: This study aims to reveal the important data on how big the impact of coronavirus-19 pandemic on orthopedic services in two Government’s tertiary-referral hospitals.
 METHODS: This research is a comparison study to measure the trend of orthopedic services, the monthly orthopedic surgical load and outpatient visit were examined during the period of March to May 2020 (the early pandemic period) then compared to the same period in the 2019.
 RESULTS: The lowest number of outpatient visits occurred during May 2020 with 715 total number of outpatient visit. The lowest number of orthopedic surgery occurred during May 2020 with 167 total number of orthopedic surgery. Significant decrease of outpatient visits is recorded in 3 months of early pandemic period compared to the same period in 2019 (p < 0.005). Regarding the orthopedic surgical loads, the data show significant decrease in number of orthopedic surgeries in early pandemic period compared to those months in 2019 (p < 0.005). The largest declines were in visits for post-operative control patient (–179), spinal problem (–127,33), and osteoarthritis (–91,33).
 CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference in outpatient visit and orthopedic surgery number in the early pandemic period compared to the period before the pandemic occur.
 The largest drops in outpatient visit were in visits for post–operative control patient and spinal problem.

Changes in Pediatric Fracture Cases during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: Data from a National Referral Orthopedic Hospital in Indonesia

“…In the shoulder, upper arm, forearm, wrist, hand, and femur groups, there was a significant reduction in cases. These results are in line with a study that showed a considerable difference in the number of outpatient visits and orthopedic surgery procedures during the beginnings of the pandemic relative to the time before the outbreak [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]. In contrast, the decrease was not significant in the lumbar spine, pelvis, lower leg, and ankle.…”

“…COVID-19 pandemics have caused substantial disruptions to orthopedic and trauma services with more pronounced reductions in elective surgery [24]. Early data from Indonesia revealed dramatic declines in the number of surgery loads in March, April, and May 2020 [19]. Pediatric orthopedic practice has also been seriously affected, as the number of elective surgeries and outpatient clinics have had to be reduced [18].…”

Effect of Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic to the Volume of Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Surgical Service: Experience from a Single Tertiary Orthopedic Hospital in Indonesia

“…Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Indonesia in early March 2020, all aspects of medical services in Indonesia have been affected [8]. It is ranged from primary care service until surgery service [9], [10], [11]. There were several previous papers that reported the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic to THA/TKA surgical service from other countries [12], [13].…”

A One-year COVID-19 Pandemic Effect on the Orthopaedic Field in Indonesia: A Cross-sectional Multi-center Study

“…A significant reduction in surgical caseload for orthopedic trauma has been reported in Singapore [6]. A short study conducted in Indonesia found a noticeable difference in the number of outpatient visits and orthopedic surgery procedures during the early pandemic era compared to before the pandemic [7].…”