Effects of COVID-19 pandemic curfew on orthopedic trauma in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether various curfew practices affect trauma prevalence, epidemiological differences among the population admitted to hospital because of trauma, and treatment practices used after trauma. METHODS: Patients who suffered from fractures or soft-tissue trauma between March 21, 2020, and June 1, 2020, (group pandemic) and during the same period in 2019 (control group) were included in our single-center retrospective study. Each group was also divided into 3 subgroups according to the age of patients (≤ 20 years, 21–64 years, and ≥ 65 years). Data including anatomical region subjected to trauma, place of admission, mechanism of trauma, location of trauma, mode of treatment, type of surgery (if performed), duration of hospitalization (if hospitalized), time elapsed until surgery, and duration of postoperative hospitalization were collected and compared between groups. RESULTS: A total of 361 patients were admitted to the hospital with new trauma during the pandemic, and 708 patients had been admitted during the same period in 2019. The number of admissions decreased significantly by 50.9% (P < 0.001). The mechanism of trauma that occurred with low energy was significantly increased in the pandemic group (73.9%) compared with the control group (47.6%) (P < 0.001). Similarly, the distribution of trauma throughout the skeletal system, especially in the upper extremity, was significantly increased in the pandemic group (49.9% vs. 30.5%, P < 0.001). However, there was no significant decrease in individuals aged above 65 years (P = 0.115). Similar to the general outlook, the 3 groups differed in terms of the mechanism of trauma, location of trauma, and distribution of the anatomical region subjected to trauma (P < 0.001). Majority of the patients received inpatient treatment in all 3 groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the pandemic dramatically reduced the number of hospital admissions related to orthopedic trauma. The rate of low energy, upper extremity traumas that occurred indoors increased during the pandemic period compared with that of the previous year. However, the rate of hospital admissions did not differ in the ≥65-year-old subgroup during the pandemic period compared with that of the previous year. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, Diagnostic Study