Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a pediatric cardiovascular surgery program of a public hospital from Argentina

Abstract

Objective. To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a pediatric cardiovascular surgery program and estimate the necessary time to reduce the surgery waiting list. Methods. Retrospective, descriptive study. Surgical outcomes from the pre-COVID-19 period and COVID-19 period were compared. A mathematical model was used to estimate the time necessary to reduce the waiting list. Results. Between March 23 rd and August 31 st , 2020, 83 patients underwent surgery, accounting for a 60 % reduction compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. Their median age was 6 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 25-75, 1.8 months to 2.9 years; p = 0.0023). The time necessary to eliminate the waiting list ranges from 10 to 19 months. Conclusions. There was a 60 % reduction in the program. The time required to clear the backlog of cases may range from, at least, 10 to 19 months.

Scoping review of modelling studies assessing the impact of disruptions to essential health services during COVID-19

“…The disruptions caused by COVID-19 have been studied for several health conditions (HIV infection (n=10), 2 5 12 16 20 24 41–43 52 tuberculosis (TB) (n=5), 2 27 49 50 54 and malaria (n=3)), 2 6 57 vaccine preventable (n=2) 39 44 and other infectious diseases (n=12), 11 15 18 19 21 26 29 47 48 51 53 56 cancers (n=11), 10 13 17 25 28 30 32 34 40 45 46 cardiovascular disease (n=2), 33 35 maternal and child health (n=2) 4 23 and many other disease conditions (n=7) 2 4 20 22 23 30 32 36 37 39 44 56 ( table 1 and online supplemental appendix table 5 ). Twelve (23.1%) studies modelled multiple health conditions 2 4 20 22 23 30 32 36 37 39 44 56 while remaining focused on specific health condition or area.…”