The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute coronary syndrome hospitalizations and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Greece

Kapelios, Chris J.; Siafarikas, Christos; Bonou, Μaria; Liatis, Stavros; Barbetseas, John

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.12.006

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“… 25 , 26 In Greece, a small study from a single hospital showed that the cases of OHCA transferred to the emergency room did not differ between the pre-pandemic and the COVID-19 era. 27 Consequently, we can hypothesize that many ACS patients did not reach emergency and hospital services. In addition, the number of deaths observed during 2020 (52 weeks) was higher than the previous year (130,288 versus 124,538; +4.62%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent decline of hospitalizations for acute stroke and acute coronary syndrome during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece: collateral damage unaffected

Katsouras

Tsivgoulis

Papafaklis

et al. 2021

Ther Adv Neurol Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: An alarming cerebro/cardiovascular collateral damage, reflected by a decline in admissions for acute stroke (AS) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), was observed during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby leading to a re-design of public campaigns. However, there are limited data regarding the AS and ACS hospitalization rates during the second wave of the pandemic, which was followed by re-imposition of lockdowns. Methods: We calculated the rate of AS and ACS hospitalizations from three representative tertiary care hospitals in Greece during a 2-month period (November–December 2020) of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the corresponding control period in 2019 from three representative tertiary care hospitals in Greece. This was a follow-up study with identical design to our previous report evaluating AS and ACS hospitalizations during the first wave of the pandemic (March–April 2020). Results: Compared with 2019, there was a 34% relative reduction of AS hospitalizations [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48–0.92, p = 0.013] and 33% relative reduction of ACS hospitalizations (IRR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.54–0.83, p < 0.001) during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The relative reduction was smaller and did not reach the level of statistical significance for the respective syndromes (haemorrhagic stroke: IRR 0.87, 95% CI: 0.41–1.82, p = 0.71; ST-elevation myocardial infarction: IRR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.57–1.14, p = 0.22). Conclusion: AS and ACS hospitalizations were persistently reduced during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 2019 in Greece. This decline was similar to the observations during the first wave despite the large differences in the epidemiological COVID-19 burden. Lockdowns, a common characteristic in both waves, appear to have a detrimental indirect impact on cerebro/cardiovascular diseases in the general population.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent decline of hospitalizations for acute stroke and acute coronary syndrome during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece: collateral damage unaffected

Katsouras

Tsivgoulis

Papafaklis

et al. 2021

Ther Adv Neurol Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Regarding the number of admissions for cardiac diseases to hospital services, 134 indicators were identified from 49 articles [ 10 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Most of the indicators concerned patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), heart failure, or cardiac arrythmia ( Figure 4 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the patients’ clinical severity, 136 indicators were identified from 38 articles [ 19 , 27 , 31 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 66 , 69 , 71 , 73 , 75 , 76 , 79 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 ]. Most of the indicators were markers for patients with ACS ( Figure 4 ), such as left ventricular ejection fraction, Killip class, or biomarkers at admission.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Services for Patients with Cardiac Diseases: A Scoping Review

Lange

Carvalho

Fernandes

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital cardiac care, as assessed by performance indicators. Scoping review methodology: performance indicators were extracted to inform on changes in care during January–June 2020. Database searches yielded 6277 articles, of which 838 met the inclusion criteria. After full-text screening, 94 articles were included and 1637 indicators were retrieved. Most of the indicators that provided information on changes in the number of admissions (n = 118, 88%) signaled a decrease in admissions; 88% (n = 15) of the indicators showed patients’ delayed presentation and 40% (n = 54) showed patients in a worse clinical condition. A reduction in diagnostic and treatment procedures was signaled by 95% (n = 18) and 81% (n = 64) of the indicators, respectively. Length of stay decreased in 58% (n = 21) of the indicators, acute coronary syndromes treatment times increased in 61% (n = 65) of the indicators, and outpatient activity decreased in 94% (n = 17) of the indicators related to outpatient care. Telehealth utilization increased in 100% (n = 6). Outcomes worsened in 40% (n = 35) of the indicators, and mortality rates increased in 52% (n = 31). All phases of the pathway were affected. This information could support the planning of care during the ongoing pandemic and in future events.

show abstract

“…Regarding the patients' in-hospital length of stay, 36 indicators were identified from 25 articles (36,39,46,50,54,55,57,59,61,64,68,75,77,79,(81)(82)(83)(84)(85)88,94,96,97,111,114). Most of the indicators reported on patients with ACS.…”

Section: Length Of Staymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding mortality rates, 60 indicators were identified from 37 articles (38)(39)(40)(41)43,44,(46)(47)(48)50,54,55,57,59,61,64,(66)(67)(68)73,75,77,79,81,82,87,92,93,(96)(97)(98)(99)102,103,111,112,121). The indicators mainly concerned in-hospital mortality or 30-day case mortality rates.…”

Section: Mortality Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital services for patients with cardiac diseases: a scoping review

Lange

Carvalho

Fernandes

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AimTo assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital care for cardiac patients.Methods and resultsScoping review, including studies with empirical data on changes in the use of health services measured by performance indicators during January - June 2020. Database searches yielded 6277 articles, of which 838 articles met the inclusion criteria during initial screening. After full-text screening, 94 articles were considered for data extraction. In total, 1637 indicators were retrieved, showing large variation in the indicators and their definitions. Most of the indicators that provided information on changes in number of admissions (n=118, 88%) signalled a decrease in admissions; 88% (n=15) of the indicators showed patients’ delayed presentation and 40% (n=54) showed patients in a worse clinical condition. A reduction in diagnostic and treatment procedures was signalled by 95% (n=18) and 81% (n=64) of the indicators reporting on cardiac procedures, respectively. Length of stay decreased in 58% (n=21) of the indicators and acute coronary syndromes treatment times increased in 61% (n=65) of the indicators. Outpatient activity decreased in 94% (n=17) of the indicators related with outpatient care, whereas telehealth utilization increased in 100% (n=6). Outcomes worsened in 40% (n=35) of the indicators, and mortality rates increased in 52% (n=31).ConclusionAll phases of the hospital cardiac care pathway were affected. This information could support the planning of care during the ongoing pandemic and in future events. Furthermore, to ensure continuity of care during crises, fostering the use of standardised indicators is paramount.

show abstract

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute coronary syndrome hospitalizations and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Greece

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Persistent decline of hospitalizations for acute stroke and acute coronary syndrome during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece: collateral damage unaffected

Persistent decline of hospitalizations for acute stroke and acute coronary syndrome during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece: collateral damage unaffected

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Services for Patients with Cardiac Diseases: A Scoping Review

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital services for patients with cardiac diseases: a scoping review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About