key: cord-0813340-5gtxf3zq
authors: Fujioka, Masaki; Fukui, Kiyoko; Noguchi, Miho; Yoshino, Kentaro
title: Mild trauma surgery has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic
date: 2021-12-22
journal: J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.102
sha: 4fe5bc2d860f1a5aba72472c3152f73b612f6ab0
doc_id: 813340
cord_uid: 5gtxf3zq

nan

Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2020), and would like to congratulate the authors on their interesting study 1) . They investigated 48 patients who attended one plastic surgery trauma clinic during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic for 25 days, and concluded that the pattern and volume of trauma remain similar to preceding years.

However, we feel that the number of consultations for trauma patients has decreased.

In Japan, the first COVID-19 patient was recognized in February 2020, and the number of patients has increased rapidly, so the government has declared a state of emergency three times: from April 15, 2020, to June 30, 2020, from July 20, 2020 to September 24, 2020, and from December 17, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Thus, the stay-at-home (SAH) order period lasted for 5 months in 2020. During this period, restrictions on daily life were requested, such as school closures and refraining from participating sports and concerts, and hospitals were also asked to postpone surgery COVID-19 has reduced trauma surgery 4 for non-urgent patients. We investigated the transition of trauma patients who visited in 2020 when COVID-19 was widespread at 12 regional core hospitals that treat emergency patients. We performed a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained trauma database at 12 general hospitals: Fukuoka Tokushukai Hospital (Table) Researchers in the United States and the United Kingdom reported that the number of emergency injuries decreased by 35-6% during the SAH order period. 3) . In our study, the reduction in surgical cases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was only 5.0% throughout the year. Since the SAH order period was 5 months in a year, it can be estimated that the rate of decrease in the number of surgeries during only SAH period is large. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was recommended to avoid COVID-19 has reduced trauma surgery 6 general anesthesia as much as possible to minimize the risk of exposure to aerosol development procedures 4) . However, this study did not show a significant decrease in the number of surgical cases involving general anesthesia. Therefore, the reduction in the total number of surgeries may be due to a significant reduction in the number of minor trauma treated with local anesthesia, rather than the number of serious injuries requiring general anesthesia.

One of the reasons for the decrease in minor trauma surgery is speculated that the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying SAH orders reduced the chances of going out and drinking alcohol, physical altercations, and participating in sports activities, which contributed to the reduction in the number of minor injuries.

The effect of the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown on plastic surgery trauma caseload?Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Plastic Surgery Consultations in the Emergency Department

Strategic planning of plastic surgery emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learnt from a tertiary plastic surgery center

Protecting against COVID-19 aerosol infection during intubation

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Drs. Gozo Nishimura, Katsuhiko Kamebuchi, Hiroki Yano, Hiroshi Nakagawa, Kuniaki Anraku, Motoi Nakano, Hiroyuki Tasaki, Takehiro Daian, Kouichiro Yoshimuta, Ritsuko Miyauci, and Shintari Ikenoya, for their kind cooperation in collecting and providing the clinical data.

The procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of our institutional COVID-19 has reduced trauma surgery

COVID-19 has reduced trauma surgery