Impact of COVID-19 on hand surgery in Italy: A comparison between the Northern and the Southern regions

6533b853fe1ef96bd12acbf1

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Impact of COVID-19 on hand surgery in Italy: A comparison between the Northern and the Southern regions

F. Toia M. Romeo M. Abate E. Avarotti B. Battiston G. Bruno F. Cannavò F C. Casamichele M. Colonna N. Catena M. Cherubino S. Coppolino N. Galvano G. Giuca S. Gullo G. Internullo A. Lazzerini I. Marcoccio M. Maruccia C. Melloni G. Pajardi P. Pugliese G. Risitano G. Spata M. Tripoli L. Troisi P. Tos A. Cordova

subject

medicine.medical_specialty Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)medicine.medical_treatment Personnel Staffing and Scheduling Hand surgery 030230 surgery Health Services Accessibility 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine COVID-19 Testing Emergency surgery Chirurgie de la main Surveys and Questionnaires Pandemic Chirurgie élective de la main medicine Humans Operations management Orthopedic Procedures Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Telematics Human resources Pandemics Physical Therapy Modalities Postoperative Care 030222 orthopedics Rehabilitation business.industry Emergency hand surgery Rehabilitation Chirurgie d'urgence de la main COVID-19 Hand surgery Hand Telemedicine Geography Work (electrical)Italy Elective Surgical Procedures COVID-19 Hand surgery Elective hand surgery Emergency hand surgery Elective hand surgery Original Article Surgery business

description

The aims of this study were to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency and elective hand surgery in four Italian regions that had either a high (Lombardy and Piemonte) or a low (Sicilia and Puglia) COVID-19 case load to discuss problems and to elaborate strategies to improve treatment pathways. A panel of hand surgeons from these different regions compared and discussed data from the centers they work in. The COVID-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on both elective and emergency surgery in Italy, not only in highly affected regions but also – and paradoxically even at a higher extent – in regions with a low COVID-19 case load. A durable and flexible redesign of hand surgery activities should be promoted, while changing and hopefully increasing human resources and enhancing administrative support. Telematics must also be implemented, especially for delivering rehabilitation therapy.

year	journal	country	edition	language
2021-04-01	Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation

10.1016/j.hansur.2020.11.005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hansur.2020.11.005