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Abstract
Introduction and Objective: The Pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus
(COVID-19) impacted healthcare, which led surgical services to adapt their functional
structure according to the different temporal phases.
This paper aims to analyze the pandemic's impact on outpatient care and surgical
interventions in the Cardiac Surgery Service of a third-level public hospital in the
Southern area of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Methods: The consecutive medical records of 561 operated patients and the office
records of 943 patients treated were retrospectively evaluated from March 2018 to
December 2022. The number of consultations and surgeries, the epidemiological
parameters, and the postoperative evolutions were analyzed.
Results: During the pandemic, concerning the pre-pandemic period, a significant
decrease in the monthly number of consultations (18.9 vs. 14.8; p <0.05) and of
surgeries (12 vs. 8.3; p <0.0001) was recorded. A significant increase in patients
referred from the Intensive Care Unit before surgery was also observed (p <0.005).
Among the presurgical risk factors, a significantly higher prevalence of acute
myocardial infarction (AMI) and insulin-requiring diabetes (IR-DBT) was found, as well
as a more significant number of patients with deterioration of left ventricular systolic
function (LVSF) (p <0.005). The total amount of infections increased significantly (p
<0.05), with respiratory infections as the primary cause (p <0.05). However, this cause
was associated with COVID-19 in only one patient.
Conclusions: During the pandemic, consultations and surgeries decreased in the
Cardiac Surgery Service, with more patients referred from intensive care areas.
The patients who underwent surgery had a more significant history of AMI, DBT,
and impaired LVFS. Infections increased, predominantly due to respiratory causes,
although unrelated to COVID-19.
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