• D J Laäs, Z Farina, and D G Bishop.
• Discipline of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. daniel.j.laas@gmail.com.
• S. Afr. Med. J. 2020 Dec 14; 111 (2): 120-123.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of restrictive policies on theatre procedures, with profound impacts on service delivery and theatre output.ObjectivesTo quantify these effects at a tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.MethodsA retrospective review of morbidity and mortality data was conducted. The effects on emergency and elective caseload, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions from theatre, theatre cancellations and regional techniques were noted.ResultsTheatre caseload decreased by 30% from January to April 2020 (p=0.02), ICU admissions remained constant, and theatre cancellations were proportionally reduced, as were the absolute number of regional techniques.ConclusionsThe resulting theatre case deficit was 1 260 cases. It will take 315 days to clear this deficit if four additional surgeries are performed per day.

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