Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Elective and Emergency Surgical Procedures in a University Hospital

OBJECTIVE: to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on abdominal wall hernia repair surgeries and cholecystectomy in a referral center hospital. METHODS: a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study carried out at Hospital Universitário Evangélico Mackenzie (HUEM), in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Data obtained through electronic medical records of patients who underwent cholecystectomy and abdominal wall hernia repair from March to December 2019 and 2020 at HUEM were included. Data were analyzed using Pearsons Chi-Square test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: a total of 743 medical records were analyzed, with a 63.16% drop in the total number of surgeries in 2020. There was a 91.67% increase in the number of ICU admissions in 2020, as well as a 70% increase in average length of stay. A greater number of complications was observed (in 2020, 27% had complications, while in 2019 this figure was 18.8%) and an increase in mortality (in 2019, this rate was 1.3% and in 2020, 6.5%). There were 6 cases of COVID-19 in 2020, so that of these, 5 patients died. CONCLUSION: during the COVID-19 pandemic, an important reduction in the number of abdominal wall hernia repair surgeries and cholecystectomy was observed. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase in postoperative complications, mortality rate and length of stay in 2020.