Retrospective registry-based nationwide analysis of the COVID-19 lockdown effect on the volume of general and visceral non-malignant surgical procedures

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute virus infection, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The Swiss government decreed a public lockdown to reduce and restrict further infections. The aim of this investigation was to analyze the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on the performance of general and visceral surgery procedures.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective study was performed on the basis of the surgical registry of the working group for quality assurance in surgery (“Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Qualitätssicherung in der Chirurgie” or AQC). All patients with specific surgical diagnoses (complicated gastric or duodenal ulcer, acute appendicitis, hernia, diverticular disease, gallstone disease, pilonidal sinus, cutaneous and perianal abscess) were analyzed during 2019 and the corresponding lockdown period of March 14 through April 26, 2020. Data regarding patients’ characteristics, diagnoses, and treatments were analyzed.

Results

In total, 3,330 patients were analyzed, with 2,203 patients treated in 2019 and 1,127 patients treated in 2020. There was a reduction in the number of all investigated diagnoses during the pandemic period, with statistically significant differences in acute appendicitis, hernia, diverticular disease, gallstone disease, pilonidal sinus (all p < 0.001), and cutaneous abscess (p = 0.01). The proportion of complicated appendicitis (p = 0.02), complicated hernia (p < 0.001), and complicated gallstone disease (choledocholithiasis p = 0.01; inflammation, p = 0.001) was significantly higher during the lockdown period. The surgical urgency rate in all patients was higher during the lockdown period compared to the control period (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The socioeconomic lockdown significantly impacted the number of general and visceral surgery procedures in Switzerland. The reasons for the reduction are multifactorial.