Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on In-Patient Treatment of Peripheral Artery Disease in Germany during the First Pandemic Wave

Abstract

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) belong to a vulnerable population with relevant comorbidity. Appropriate care and timely treatment are imperative, but not readily assured in the current pandemic. What impact did the first wave have on in-hospital treatment in Germany? Nationwide healthcare remuneration data for inpatient care of the years 2019 and 2020 were used to compare demographic baseline data including the assessment of comorbidity (van Walraven score), as well as the encoded treatments. A direct comparison was made between the first wave of infections in 2020 and the reference period in 2019. The number of inpatient admissions decreased by 10.9%, with a relative increase in hospitalizations due to PAD Fontaine IV (+13.6%). Baseline demographics and comorbidity showed no relevant differences. The proportion of emergency admissions increased from 23.4% to 28.3% during the first wave to the reference period in 2019, and in-hospital mortality increased by 21.9% from 2.5% to 3.1%. Minor and major amputations increased by 24.5% and 18.5%. Endovascular and combined surgical/endovascular treatment strategies increased for all stages. Already in the first, comparatively mild wave of the pandemic, significantly fewer patients with predominantly higher-grade PAD stages were treated as inpatients. Consecutively, in-hospital mortality and amputation rates increased.