Impact of screening COVID-19 on orthopedic trauma patients at the emergency department: A consecutive series from a level I trauma center

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopedics and the Implications of Telemedicine: A Systematic Review of the Literature

This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the orthopedics field by focusing on multiple aspects, including orthopedic training and application, performance, work loading, change of practice, research work, and other psychological factors. Published articles were searched using the PubMed database. Articles were selected in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Of 58 studies published between 1 January 2020 and 1 October 2021, 57 peer-reviewed original articles were included. Nearly 90% of students experienced an impact of the pandemic on application. The impact on training stemmed from redeployment rates of 20.9–23.1%. The rate of emergency or outpatient visits decreased from 18% to 58.6%. The rates of all surgeries or emergency surgeries decreased by 15.6–49.4%, while the rates of elective surgeries decreased by 43.5–100%. The rate of work loading ranged from 33% to 66%. Approximately 50–100% of surgeons had a change of practice. A total of 40.5% of orthopedic surgeons experienced mild psychological pressure. Approximately 64% had stopped research participant recruitment. Most of the included studies were conducted in Europe, followed by Asia and North America. It is suggested orthopedic surgeons prepare more sufficient, flexible, and reservable staffing measures, proper preventive strategies and surgical scheduling algorithms, and set up dedicated venues and equipment for routine telemedicine with staff training for virtual teaching or consultations in case of future impacts on orthopedics.

Lockdown imposition due to COVID-19 and its effect on orthopedic emergency department in level 1 trauma center in South Asia

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus pandemic brought the entire world to a standstill. One of the most stringent lockdowns in the world was implemented in India. With the entire healthcare system being stretched, emergency orthopaedic services also take a hit. We studied the trends in patient presentation, testing, management, and restructuring of doctors at a tertiary care orthopaedic centre and compared them with the data from the same time period the previous year (2019).

METHOD

Data was collected separately for all the 5 different phases of lockdown and unlock, as well as for the same duration of months in 2019, and was analysed for epidemiological trends.

RESULTS

A rapid fall in the total number of cases was seen during the lockdown, followed by a skewed rise during the unlock. Forearm, wrist, and hip fractures were the most common fractures. Once nucleic acid testing of all patients intended to be admitted was started, a steep rise in coronavirus positivity was seen. There was a reduction in the total number of cases compared to 2019, but it was not as significant as would have been expected due to the complete standstill of activity during the lockdown.

CONCLUSION

During a pandemic, with the healthcare system under a crisis of workforce and infrastructure, there needs to be a separate task force for catering to orthopaedic emergencies since all fractures cannot be managed conservatively and the numbers of trauma-related patients did not show a stark fall as compared to normal months of last year.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 3 Retrospective Case Series.