• Stefano Rausei, Francesco Ferrara, Tommaso Zurleni, Francesco Frattini, Osvaldo Chiara, Andrea Pietrabissa, Giuliano Sarro, and for Italian Association of Hospital Surgeons, and Collected Data Contributors.
• From the General Surgery Unit (S.R.), ASST Valle Olona, Gallarate, Varese; General Surgery Unit (F. Ferrara), San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan; General Surgery Unit (T.Z.), ASST Valle Olona, Busto Arsizio; General Surgery Unit (F. Frattini), ASST Settelaghi, Tradate, Varese; General Surgery and Trauma Team (O.C.), ASST Niguarda, Milan; General Surgery Unit (A.P.), IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia; and General Surgery Unit (G.S.), ASST Ovest Milanese, Magenta, Milan, Italy.
• J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2020 Dec 1; 89 (6): 1085-1091.

BackgroundDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, a general decrease in surgical activity was observed. There is perception that this phenomenon has involved also surgical emergency, but no extensive data have been presented to date. The aim of this study was to analyze the real number of admissions and procedures for emergency surgical disease during COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis is a multicenter study including 18 general surgery units performing emergency surgery in hospitals of the "Red Zone" in Lombardy. Data about admissions from emergency department and surgical emergency procedures performed during March 2019 and March 2020 were collected in an online database. Additional data were collected according to the different indications for surgical treatment. The primary outcomes were the overall rate of admissions for emergent surgical disease and the overall rate of emergency surgical procedures in the study periods. The secondary outcome was the overall surgical rates (among all the diagnosed surgical diseases).ResultsEmergency surgical admissions and surgical operations significantly decreased with a fall in value of 45% (p < 0.001) and 41% (p = 0.001), respectively. This reduction was confirmed by the analysis according to different surgical indications, with the exceptions of admissions and operations for gastrointestinal bleeding and operations for abdominal trauma. The overall ratio between surgical procedures and diseases was not significantly different (54% vs. 63%; p = 0.619). This ratio was significantly different only for bowel obstruction and for gastrointestinal perforation.ConclusionsIt seems correct to consider "true" the dramatic decrease of surgical problems during COVID-19 outbreak, despite any therapeutic strategies and logistic difficulties.Level Of EvidenceEpidemiological, level III.

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