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. 2024 Sep 9:22925503241276544.
doi: 10.1177/22925503241276544. Online ahead of print.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Case Volume and Wait Times of Elective Hand Procedures: A Retrospective Chart Review Study

Kathryn Uhlman  1 , Isabella Churchill  2 , Robert Dydynsky  3 , Stepfanie Johnston  3 , Cameron Leveille  4 , Mark McRae  1   4 , Matthew McRae  1   4
Affiliations

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Case Volume and Wait Times of Elective Hand Procedures: A Retrospective Chart Review Study

Kathryn Uhlman et al. Plast Surg (Oakv). .

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has decreased the number of surgeries performed in North America. The purpose of this study was to compare the number of elective hand surgeries performed during the pandemic to a corresponding pre-pandemic time period and to quantify the impact to the surgical backlog in hand surgery. Methods: Patient health records for individuals who underwent surgical management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), Dupuytren's disease (DD) or stenosing tenosynovitis (time periods: March 11, 2018 to July 1, 2019 [pre-pandemic] and March 11, 2020 to July 1, 2021 [pandemic]) were retrieved from two academic institutions. The primary outcome was number of surgeries performed in each time period. Secondary outcomes included wait times for each time period; and variables as predictors of wait times, including a) age; b) gender; c) socioeconomic status; d) geographic location; and, e) comorbidities. Results: Seven-hundred-and-fifteen cases were included (447 CTR cases, 135 fasciotomy/subtotal palmar fasciectomy cases and 133 pulley release/tendon release cases). Two-hundred-and-sixty-four elective hand procedures were performed during the COVID-19 time period, compared to 451 in the pre-pandemic time period (n = 187 surgeries, 41.5%). Mean surgical wait times decreased for CTS and DD and increased for stenosing tenosynovitis during the pandemic compared to the corresponding pre-pandemic time period. No association or variation in wait times was found in regard to the aforementioned variables. Conclusions: During the pandemic, a decreased total number of elective hand surgeries were performed when compared to the corresponding pre-pandemic period. This contributes to a backlog of elective surgical procedures.

Introduction : La pandémie de COVID-19 a réduit le nombre d’opérations en Amérique du Nord. La présente étude visait à comparer le nombre de chirurgies non urgentes de la main effectuées pendant la pandémie au nombre correspondant avant la pandémie et à en quantifier les effets sur l’attente pour les chirurgies de la main. Méthodologie : Les chercheurs ont extrait les dossiers de santé des patients qui ont subi une intervention du syndrome de canal carpien (SCC), de la maladie de Dupuytren (MD) ou de la ténosynovite sténosante (du 11 mars 2018 au 1er juillet 2019 [avant la pandémie] et du 11 mars 2020 au 1er juillet 2021 [pendant la pandémie]) de deux établissements universitaires. Le résultat primaire était le nombre d’opérations effectuées pendant chacune des deux périodes et le résultat secondaire, les temps d’attente au cours de chaque période de même que les variables prédictives des temps d’attente, y compris a) l’âge; b) le genre; c) la situation socioéconomique; d) le lieu géographique et e) les affections connexes. Résultats : Au total, 715 cas ont été inclus (447 cas de SCC, 135 cas de fasciotomie et de fasciectomie palmaires subtotales et 133 cas d’élongation de la poulie ou du tendon. Ainsi, 264 interventions non urgentes de la main ont été effectuées pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, par rapport à 451 avant la pandémie (n = 187 opérations, 41,5 %). Le temps d’attente moyen avant l’opération a diminué dans le cas du SCC et de la MD et augmenté dans celui de la ténosynotive sténosante pendant la pandémie par rapport à la période correspondante avant la pandémie. Aucune association ou variation des temps d’attente n’a été observée à l’égard des variables précédentes. Conclusions : Pendant la pandémie, le nombre de chirurgies de la main non urgentes était limité par rapport au nombre correspondant avant la pandémie, ce qui a contribué à un retard des chirurgies non urgentes.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; hand; surgical case volume; wait time.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Consort diagram of patient charts.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Elective hand surgical cases per month 2018-2019 versus 2020-2021.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
2020-2021 COVID cases and elective hand surgeries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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