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. 2021 Jun;73(6):1852-1857.
doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2020.12.087. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Effects of coronavirus disease 2019 on the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative arterial procedure registry

Jay P Natarajan  1 , Ashorne K Mahenthiran  2 , Daniel J Bertges  3 , Kristopher M Huffman  4 , Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen  5 , Gary W Lemmon  6
Affiliations

Effects of coronavirus disease 2019 on the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative arterial procedure registry

Jay P Natarajan et al. J Vasc Surg. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

In the present report, we have described the abrupt pivot of Vascular Quality Initiative physician members away from standard clinical practice to a restrictive phase of emergent and urgent vascular procedures in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization queried both data managers and physicians in May 2020 to discern the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately three fourths of physicians (74%) had adopted a restrictive operating policy for urgent and emergent cases only. However, one half had considered "time sensitive" elective cases as urgent. Data manager case entry was affected by both low case volumes and low staffing resulting from reassignment or furlough. A sevenfold reduction in arterial Vascular Quality Initiative case volume entry was noted in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. The downstream consequences of delaying vascular procedures for carotid artery stenosis, aortic aneurysm repair, vascular access, and chronic limb ischemia remain undetermined. Further ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown will likely be amplified if resumption of elective vascular care is delayed beyond a short window of time.

Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical practice shift; Physician survey; VQI arterial registry.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Graph showing Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) data of weekly vascular surgical procedure volumes during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Week 1, January 4; and week 5, February 1. Line at week 11 indicates steep decrease in case volume after March 15, 2020. CEA, Carotid endarterectomy; EVAR, endovascular aneurysm repair; INFRA, infrainguinal bypass; PVI, peripheral vascular intervention; VV, varicose vein.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Graph comparing 4-week average procedural volume in 2018 and 2019 for arterial registries to Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) data during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. Numbers on red and blue lines represent percentage of change in 4-week volume for during weeks 6 to 9 and weeks 10 to 13. Week 1, January 4; week 5, February 1; and week 11, March 15, when national shutdown occurred.
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References

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