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. 2020 Dec;35(12):2219-2225.
doi: 10.1007/s00384-020-03697-6. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Oncological colorectal surgery during the COVID-19pandemic-a national survey

Maximilian Brunner  1 , Christian Krautz  1 , Stephan Kersting  1 , Georg F Weber  1 , Benno Stinner  2 , Stefan R Benz  3 , Robert Grützmann  4
Affiliations

Oncological colorectal surgery during the COVID-19pandemic-a national survey

Maximilian Brunner et al. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify the surgical supply situation of oncological colorectal patients in Germany during limitations of the OR caseload due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Between 11th and 19th April 2020, all members of a consortium of German colorectal cancer centers were invited to participate in a web-based survey on the current status of surgical care situation of colorectal cancer patients in Germany.

Results: A total of 112 colorectal surgeons of 101 German hospitals participated in the survey. Eighty-seven percent of the participating hospitals had to reduce their total surgical caseload and 34% their surgical volume for oncological colorectal patients during COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions of the surgical caseload were independent of the size of the hospital and the number of cases of COVID-19 in the federal state of the hospital. Sixteen percent of colorectal surgeons consider surgical limitations to be not justified and 78% to be justified only if the care of oncological patients is ensured. Ninety-five percent of the colorectal surgeons interviewed stated that all oncological colorectal patients with an indication for surgery should be operated in time, despite the current reservations for COVID-19 patients. For the majority of the respondents (63% and 51%, respectively), an extended waiting time for surgery of up to 2 weeks was acceptable for non-metastatic and metastatic patients, respectively.

Conclusion: In Germany, there is a temporarily relevant reduction of surgical volume in oncological colorectal patients. Most colorectal surgeons stated that oncological colorectal surgery should not be compromised despite the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Colorectal surgery; Oncological surgery; SARS-CoV-2 infection; Surgical caseload.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of participating hospitals to the different federal states in Germany and frequency of patients with COVID-19 in the different federal states (status in April 23, 2020; red = high frequency of COVID-19 (≥ 150 cases per 100,000 residents, green = low frequency of COVID-19 (< 150 cases per 100,000 residents); BA = Bavaria, BER = Berlin, BR = Brandenburg, BRE = Bremen, BW=Baden-Württemberg, HA = Hamburg, HE = Hesse, LS = Lower Saxony, NRW=North Rhine-Westphalia, RP = Rhineland Palatinate, SA = Saxony, SAA = Saarland, SAAN=Saxony-Anhalt, SH=Schleswig Holstein, TH = Thuringia, MWP = Mecklenburg Western Pomerania
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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