The Effect of Disruption Due to COVID-19 on Operating Room Utilization: Experience from a Secondary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Overview

Journal J Family Med Prim Care

Specialty Public Health

Date 2022 Dec 12

PMID 36505539

Authors

Mamdouh F Althaqeel

Mohammad N Alshanwani

Khalid Alqahtani

Mohammad Shibly Khan

Zeidan A Zeidan

Noorulzaman K Mohaideen

Khalid Albahooth

Walid Altassan

Assem S A Alzoman

Abdulaziz S Alkhaldi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction/background: The disruption caused due to corona virus disease-2019 (Covid-19) has affected the overall health care delivery worldwide. The elective services were foremost to face the restrictions and closure, subsequently they were resumed only after adoption on newer protocols.

Aims: We aimed to estimate the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on operative room utilization.

Methodology: This is a retrospective descriptive study. The surgical volume indicators were calculated and a comparison was made between pre-COVID-19 (April-June 2019) and COVID-19 phase (April-June, 2020). Pre-operative covid assessment through the RT-PCR test among the cases waiting for elective surgeries.

Results: Overall surgical volume decreased by 53%, which included 87% decrease in elective procedures and 8% decrease in emergency procedures. The overall OR utilization reduced by 63%. Highest reduction in the surgical volume was noted in bariatric surgery (no surgeries conducted in the COVID-19 phase), ophthalmology (99% reduction), and Ear, Nose and Throat surgery (ENT) surgery (92% reduction). Six patients tested positive for pre-operative RT-PCR from the sample of 261 cases posted for elective surgery during resumption phase of elective services, thereby giving the positivity rate of about 2.2%.

Conclusion: We found a high level of reduction in the operating room utilization in a secondary care public sector hospital. The pre-operative assessment has enabled to find out the COVID-19 cases and hence preventing the unwanted spread of infection during the surgical procedures.

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