Variations in orthopedic trauma presentation during COVID-19 lockdown

Chaudhry, M. N.; Ahmad, M.; Butt, A.

Introduction: The first national lockdown was imposed in Ireland from 27th March 2020, to combat the spread of Coronavirus. All nonessential travel, businesses, sporting activities and schools were closed. The elderly were advised to cocoon. The roadmap to easing the restrictions started in May. The lockdown measures resulted in people spending more time indoors, with impact on social and personal wellbeing This had the potential to increase alcohol consumption, self inflicted injuries and neglect. The purpose of our study is to analyze the variations in orthopedic trauma presentations during the pandemic compared to similar period in 2018 and 2019 Method: Retrospective data was collected from Orthopedic theatre registry of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co Louth, Ireland Patients operated by orthopedic trauma team in three months period (March, April & May) in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were selected for analysis and comparison Result: Total number of surgeries performed in March-May 2018, 2019 and 2020 were 551, 505 and 373 showing a significant reduction in 2020 as compared to previous years. Trauma surgeries performed on children in March-May 2018,2019 and 2020 were 132,131 and 90 respectively showing a similar downward trend. Surgeries were further categorized into Major +, Major, Intermediate and Minor according to their level of complexity. Although there was a significant reduction seen in Major, Intermediate and Minor surgeries, no significant difference was observed in Major + surgeries (73 in March-May 2020 vs. 79 in March-May 2019 and 57 in March-May 2018) Conclusion: Significant reduction was seen in overall trauma surgeries which is attributable to lockdown measures. The difference in trend between Major + and other categories of surgeries can be explained by the reduction in sporting injuries and injuries in children whereas no significant difference was noted in hip fractures .