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. 2022 Mar 8;19(6):3172.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063172.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Services for Patients with Cardiac Diseases: A Scoping Review

Mats de Lange  1 , Ana Sofia Carvalho  1   2 , Óscar Brito Fernandes  1   3 , Hester Lingsma  2 , Niek Klazinga  1 , Dionne Kringos  1
Affiliations

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Services for Patients with Cardiac Diseases: A Scoping Review

Mats de Lange et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital cardiac care, as assessed by performance indicators. Scoping review methodology: performance indicators were extracted to inform on changes in care during January-June 2020. Database searches yielded 6277 articles, of which 838 met the inclusion criteria. After full-text screening, 94 articles were included and 1637 indicators were retrieved. Most of the indicators that provided information on changes in the number of admissions (n = 118, 88%) signaled a decrease in admissions; 88% (n = 15) of the indicators showed patients' delayed presentation and 40% (n = 54) showed patients in a worse clinical condition. A reduction in diagnostic and treatment procedures was signaled by 95% (n = 18) and 81% (n = 64) of the indicators, respectively. Length of stay decreased in 58% (n = 21) of the indicators, acute coronary syndromes treatment times increased in 61% (n = 65) of the indicators, and outpatient activity decreased in 94% (n = 17) of the indicators related to outpatient care. Telehealth utilization increased in 100% (n = 6). Outcomes worsened in 40% (n = 35) of the indicators, and mortality rates increased in 52% (n = 31). All phases of the pathway were affected. This information could support the planning of care during the ongoing pandemic and in future events.

Keywords: COVID-19; acute coronary syndrome; cardiovascular diseases; continuity of patient care; performance indicator; quality of health care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of the literature search. Abbreviations: OECD—Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Countries reported on in the included articles (including articles reporting on multiple countries), color-graded according to the number of included papers (n = 109).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Categorization of indicators according to different phases of the hospital cardiac care pathway. Abbreviations: ACS—Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Admission and diagnosis indicators by disease. Abbreviations: ACS—Acute coronary syndromes; NSTEMI—Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarctions; SPECT-MPI—Single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging; STEMI—ST-elevated myocardial infarctions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Treatment and outcome indicators by disease. Abbreviations: ACS—Acute coronary syndromes; AMI—Acute myocardial infarction; CABG—coronary artery bypass graft; HF—Heart failure; ICU—Intensive care unit; NSTEMI—Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarctions; PCI—Percutaneous coronary intervention; STEMI—ST-elevated myocardial infarctions; SPECT-MPI—Single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Hospital Cardiac Care Pathway Indicators’ Trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic’s early stages (January–June 2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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