Evaluation of Hospital Avoidance at Department of Hand Surgery in Tertiary Hospital after Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Abstract

초록 전체 아래 내용으로 교체해주세요.Purpose: To compare the impact of hospital avoidance on the department of hand surgery at a tertiary hospital in Daejeon in the wake of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) and COVID-19 outbreaks.Methods: This is a retrospective comparative study of patients who were treated at the department of hand surgery in a tertiary hospital of a local community. We analyzed patients who were treated during the MERS-CoV and COVID-19 outbreaks. Controls included patients who were treated in the previous year during the same months. The number of outpatient visits and surgeries were compared to examine the difference from the previous year during the epidemic period of each infectious disease, and changes in demographic factors, the ratio of first and second visits, and the ratio of scheduled and emergent surgeries.Results: Under MERS-CoV, outpatient visits decreased by 9.7% and surgeries by 26.5% for three months. In June 2015, when MERS-CoV was widespread in Daejeon, the number of outpatients and surgeries dropped by 25.3% and 42.8%, respectively. During COVID-19, outpatient visits decreased by 4.3% and surgeries increased by 2.9%. However, when COVID-19 was most prevalent in Daejeon, the number of outpatients and surgeries increased by 36.6% and 31.1%, respectively.Conclusion: The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 on the department of hand surgery at a tertiary hospital in Daejeon was limited, compared to the MERS-CoV epidemic in 2015, which can be attributed to improved infectious disease response capabilities.