The effect of COVID-19 on orthopedic elective/emergency procedures in a tertiary hospital Riyadh Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in late December 2019 created a worldwide emergency. It affected most surgical subspecialties in many ways. Therefore, we aimed to quantitate the early effect of COVID-19 on elective and emergency orthopedic surgeries. Moreover, to identify the most affected orthopedic subspecialties during this crisis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. We included all patients who underwent orthopedic procedures from January 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020, with the same period of 2019 for comparison. Emergency procedures were considered if a patient had an acute fracture, joint dislocation, compartment syndrome, infection, and infected non-union. RESULTS: The impact of procedure cancellation in the early COVID-19 phase was significant. Our department procedures decreased in the 2nd quarter of 2020 by 75.6% from the previous quarter of the same year and 61.1% from the 2nd quarter of 2019. No admission restrictions were made for oncology and trauma patients, though they had a reduction in their cases. The most affected subspecialties in our study were sports medicine, upper limb, arthroplasty, and pediatrics. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 crisis, elective surgeries were held in our hospital and most of Saudi Arabia. Our cohort showed a significant decrease during this period. All subspecialties were affected by elective procedure cancellation, but some were affected more because of the elective nature of their operations, such as sports and upper limb, pediatric, and arthroplasty.