An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Elective arthroplasty in Romania has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects are not quantified so far. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of COVID-19 on arthroplasty interventions and how they varied in Romania. &l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/2/314 |
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| author | Flaviu Moldovan Adrian Gligor Liviu Moldovan Tiberiu Bataga |
| author_facet | Flaviu Moldovan Adrian Gligor Liviu Moldovan Tiberiu Bataga |
| author_sort | Flaviu Moldovan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: Elective arthroplasty in Romania has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects are not quantified so far. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of COVID-19 on arthroplasty interventions and how they varied in Romania. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We performed a national retrospective analysis of patients who underwent primary and revision elective hip and knee interventions at the 120 orthopedic-traumatology hospitals in Romania that are registered in the National Endoprosthesis Registry from 1 January 2019 to 1 September 2022. First, we examined the monthly trend in the number of surgeries for seven categories of arthroplasties. We calculated the percentage change in the average number of cases per month and compared them with other types of interventions. We then examined the percentage change in the average monthly number of arthroplasty cases, relative to the number of COVID-19 cases reported nationwide, the influence of the pandemic on length of hospital stay, and the percentage of patients discharged at home who no longer follow recovery protocols. Finally, we calculated the impact of the pandemic on hospital revenues. <i>Results</i>: There was an abrupt decrease in the volume of primary interventions in hip and knee patients by up to 69.14% with a low degree of patient care, while the average duration of scheduled hospitalizations increased. We found a 1–2-day decrease in length of hospital stays for explored arthroplasties. We saw an increasing trend of home discharge, which was higher for primary interventions compared to revision interventions. The total hospital revenues were 50.96% lower in 2020 compared to 2019, and are currently increasing, with the 2022 estimate being 81.46%. <i>Conclusions</i>: The conclusion of this study is that the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the volume of arthroplasty of the 120 hospitals in Romania, which also had unfavorable financial implications. We proposed the development of new procedures and alternative clinical solutions, as well as personalized home recovery programs, to be activated if necessary, for possible future outbreaks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:27:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7809f90b4618418a9179fd35583ff8f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:27:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicina |
| spelling | doaj.art-7809f90b4618418a9179fd35583ff8f42023-11-16T22:00:03ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442023-02-0159231410.3390/medicina59020314An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in RomaniaFlaviu Moldovan0Adrian Gligor1Liviu Moldovan2Tiberiu Bataga3Department of Orthopedics-Traumatology, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gh. Marinescu Street, 540142 Targu Mures, RomaniaBiomedical Research Center, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 1 Nicolae Iorga Street, 540088 Targu Mures, RomaniaFaculty of Engineering and Information Technology, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 1 Nicolae Iorga Street, 540088 Targu Mures, RomaniaDepartment of Orthopedics-Traumatology, “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gh. Marinescu Street, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania<i>Background and Objectives</i>: Elective arthroplasty in Romania has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects are not quantified so far. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of COVID-19 on arthroplasty interventions and how they varied in Romania. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: We performed a national retrospective analysis of patients who underwent primary and revision elective hip and knee interventions at the 120 orthopedic-traumatology hospitals in Romania that are registered in the National Endoprosthesis Registry from 1 January 2019 to 1 September 2022. First, we examined the monthly trend in the number of surgeries for seven categories of arthroplasties. We calculated the percentage change in the average number of cases per month and compared them with other types of interventions. We then examined the percentage change in the average monthly number of arthroplasty cases, relative to the number of COVID-19 cases reported nationwide, the influence of the pandemic on length of hospital stay, and the percentage of patients discharged at home who no longer follow recovery protocols. Finally, we calculated the impact of the pandemic on hospital revenues. <i>Results</i>: There was an abrupt decrease in the volume of primary interventions in hip and knee patients by up to 69.14% with a low degree of patient care, while the average duration of scheduled hospitalizations increased. We found a 1–2-day decrease in length of hospital stays for explored arthroplasties. We saw an increasing trend of home discharge, which was higher for primary interventions compared to revision interventions. The total hospital revenues were 50.96% lower in 2020 compared to 2019, and are currently increasing, with the 2022 estimate being 81.46%. <i>Conclusions</i>: The conclusion of this study is that the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the volume of arthroplasty of the 120 hospitals in Romania, which also had unfavorable financial implications. We proposed the development of new procedures and alternative clinical solutions, as well as personalized home recovery programs, to be activated if necessary, for possible future outbreaks.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/2/314orthopedicsCOVID-19coronaviruspandemicelective hip surgeryelective knee surgery |
| spellingShingle | Flaviu Moldovan Adrian Gligor Liviu Moldovan Tiberiu Bataga An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania Medicina orthopedics COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic elective hip surgery elective knee surgery |
| title | An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania |
| title_full | An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania |
| title_fullStr | An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania |
| title_short | An Investigation for Future Practice of Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasties during COVID-19 in Romania |
| title_sort | investigation for future practice of elective hip and knee arthroplasties during covid 19 in romania |
| topic | orthopedics COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic elective hip surgery elective knee surgery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/2/314 |
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