Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric fractures: a 4-year evaluation of epidemiology and delayed treatment from prepandemic to pandemic period at a tertiary referral hospital

BACKGROUND: Definitive fracture surgery should be performed as soon as the patient’s condition allows. However, there may be some delays in the treatment during a pandemic. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate and compare the epidemiology and delays in pediatric fracture management during the pandemic and prepandemic periods in terms of how many cases were delayed, how long were the delays, and the causes for the delays of fracture treatment. METHODS: This comparative-retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The authors included all patients who presented to the hospital from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2021 (pandemic group period) and from 1 December 2017 to 30 November 2019 (prepandemic group period). The collected data included: patients’ age and sex, fractured bone, fracture type, concurrent fracture, hospital stay duration, treatment, need for multidisciplinary treatment, interval from arrival to treatment, and reasons for delayed surgical treatment. The data were obtained from the patients’ medical records. RESULTS: Results showed a decrease in the pediatric fracture cases during the 2 years pandemic period compared to the prepandemic period (75 vs. 135 cases). There was no significant difference in the evaluated parameters of demographic, fractured bone and type, hospital stay duration, treatment, other department involvement, and delayed surgical treatment for the fracture. The most common reason for the definitive surgical management delay was the need for medical condition improvements (n=63, 79.7%) and it was significantly associated with the need for multidisciplinary treatment approach (22.83 in isolated orthopedic cases vs. 87.5% in multidisciplinary cases; P=0.000). CONCLUSION: There was a decrease in the pediatric fracture cases during the 2-year pandemic period compared to the prepandemic period. The delay in definitive surgical management was mainly due to the need for the medical condition improvements and it was associated with the need for a multidisciplinary treatment approach.