An Evaluation of Orthopaedic Trauma Patients Presenting at the Emergency Department During Lockdown in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Aim: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19 disease, which started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, rapidly affected the whole world and many precautions were taken in Turkey, as in other countries. The first case was recorded in Turkey on 11 March 2020, and the first COVID-19-related death on 15 March 2020. From that date, precautions were taken to prevent the spread of the disease, including the implementation of lockdowns and curfews. Although it was aimed to slow down public life during this period, orthopaedics and traumatology departments continued to function actively. The aim of this study was to evaluate orthopaedics and traumatology patients who presented at the Emergency Department (ED) during this period of lockdown. Material and Method: The study included orthopaedic and traumatology patients who presented at the ED of Samsun Ondokuz Mayis University between 16 March and 1 June 2020, when there was a general lockdown. The data of these patients were retrospectively examined and were compared with the same period in 2019. Results: During the specified period of the pandemic, 82 orthopaedics and traumatology patients presented at the ED, and in 2019, 109 patients presented. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in respect of age, gender, and the need for surgical procedure (p >0.05). Although there was no statistically significant difference in age distribution, there was a decrease in the number of patients in the children age group during the pandemic period. No significant difference was found between the two groups in respect of the mechanism of injury, with the most frequent being a fall from a height of <1m and the least common was firearms injury. Conclusion: Although there were small differences between the two periods examined in respect of the mechanism of injury of orthopaedic and traumatology patients, there was no significant difference. Therefore, in a pandemic period, treatment plans should be reviewed by taking appropriate precautions and establishing new algorithms.