The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Characteristics of Inpatients at the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Clinic in a Secondary Care Public Hospital in Turkey

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate patients who were hospitalized at an orthopaedics and traumatology clinic in a secondary care public hospital in Turkey during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a cross-sectional and retrospective study that included a total of 7439 patients - those who had been hospitalized between 11 March 2020, the date of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Turkey, and 10 March 2022 (2949 patients), and those hospitalized in the same clinic between 11 March 2018 and 10 March 2020, designated as the pre-pandemic group (control group; 4490 patients). Patients were divided into three groups: <18 years old, 18-65 years old and >65 years old and compared separately in terms of clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics as pandemic patients and control group. Results Despite the decline in both the number of admissions to the emergency service and visits to the outpatient clinic among inpatients during the pandemic period, the rate of admissions to the emergency department remained higher than that of the control group throughout the pandemic period (p<0.001). Surgical procedures were lower both numerically and proportionally in the patients who presented during the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period (p<0.001). While the rate of traumatic surgery was higher in the pandemic group (29%) than in the pre-pandemic group (26.7%), the rate of elective surgery was higher in the pre-pandemic group (71.3%) than in the pandemic one (67.5%) (p=0.037 and p=0.001).The number of patients with fractures in all age groups decreased numerically in the pandemic cohort. While no significant difference was observed between pandemic and pre-pandemic cohorts in terms of the length of hospitalization in all age groups, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospitalization rate was found to have increased significantly in adult and elderly patient groups during the pandemic (p<0.001). Conclusion In our study, when the number of patients who underwent orthopaedic surgical treatment, in general, was examined, it appeared that the number of both traumatic and elective surgeries decreased during the pandemic significantly. It was found that the ICU stay rate increased significantly in adult and elderly patient groups during the pandemic. Although there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the patients included in the study, it is known that the pandemic and especially the lockdown periods adversely affected the mental, physical and biological health of individuals. In this context our study will be able to serve as a guide for taking measures like: 1. increasing the ICU capacity of hospitals, 2. providing in-service training to improve the experience of nurses, doctors or other healthcare workers, especially in specialized units such as ICUs, operating rooms and emergency services, considering the number of personnel who may be affected by the pandemic, and 3. ensuring a balanced distribution of orthopaedic operations in private and public hospitals, to reduce the negative effects on orthopaedic health services of other pandemics that may arise in the future.