The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mortality of Patients Hospitalized in Surgical Services in Romania: A Cross-Sectional Study of a National Survey

Abstract

Surgical practice worldwide has changed rapidly in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality, in hospitalized patients, in Romanian surgical services. We have developed our research on a national survey of the consecutive records of hospitalizations, surgical interventions and deaths performed in Romania between March and August 2020. Results show that 47 surgical departments responded to the request. The admissions in the period March–August 2020 represented 52% of that from the similar period of 2019. In the studied period, the share of surgical interventions in patients admitted to non-COVID-19 centres was 98.7%, respectively 78.2% in COVID-19 support hospitals (p < 0.05), and emergency interventions of 43.4% in non-COVID-19 hospitals, respectively 84.8% in COVID-19 support hospitals (p < 0.05). Overall mortality in this period was 5.82%, compared to 3.28% in a similar period in 2019, (p < 0.05). Postoperative mortality in COVID-19-positive patients was 19%. In conclusion, in the hospitals in Romania included in the survey, the overall mortality in the studied period was higher than in a similar period in 2019. In patients with COVID-19 positive, the recorded postoperative mortality was higher than overall mortality.