Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on a general surgery clinic

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on global health, social and economic well-being worldwide. In addition to the direct effects of the disease on patients infected with the virus, this pandemic has severely affected the activity of surgical clinics around the world. One of the significant issues was an important decrease in the number of surgeries performed even in countries with highly performant medical systems. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the pandemic on the 1(st) General Surgery Clinic in Timisoara County Hospital, compared to 2018–2019. In order to conduct this study, data regarding the activity of the clinic in the pandemic period and 2018–2019 was collected and analyzed from a statistical point of view, considering a p<0.05 as statistically significant. There were significant differences between the 2 periods regarding the number of hospitalized patients, the number of patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery, and the total number of surgeries performed. Due to the restrictions imposed, there was an increase in the average monthly mortality rate and a decrease in the average length of hospital stay. Covid-19 pandemic led to a severe activity restriction of the surgery clinics due to the restrictions imposed by the authorities and the reorganization of the clinics to comply with the epidemiological requirements. Also, the limitation of patients' access to surgical treatment and their fear of coming in contact with the hospital environment led to their presentation in more advanced stages of the disease, with more severe symptoms and a higher mortality rate during the pandemic.