National survey: Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular surgery services in Spain (SECCE-COVID19 Study)

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has put the Spanish health system in a situation of serious overload. As a consequence, the care of cardiovascular diseases has been affected. We want to quantify at the Spanish level the impact that the pandemic has on the number of surgical interventions, in order to be able to plan for the new post-pandemic normality.Methods: At the request of the Spanish Cardiovascular National Society, an anonymous telematic survey of 10 questions was sent to all Heads of Service in Spain. The study period was between January 1 and September 30, 2020 (9 months), and as a control period the same dates in 2019.Results: Data were received from 32 Hospital Centers. The 22% of all cardiovascular surgeons were infected with COVID-19, with an average of 1.3 +/- 1.5 infected surgeons/center. There were deaths on the waiting list in 46% of the centers, with a mean of 1.5 +/- 3.6 patients/center. There was a global decrease of 13% in the number of surgeries (43 less than average/center compared to 2019, p=0.03), from 300 (230-444) in 2019 to 253 (172-389) in 2020 (p=0.03), with an increase of 12% (+7 patients/center, p=0.68) on the waiting lists.Conclusions: There was a global decrease in surgeries of 13% compared to 2019, with a 12% increase in waiting lists. 22% of surgeons were infected with COVID-19. (C) 2021 Sociedad Espanola de Cirugia Cardiovascular y Endovascular. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.