ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Cardiovascular surgery during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic
Tolga Baş1, Deniz Çevirme1, Ahmet Zengin2, Hakan Baltacı1, Rezan Aksoy1, Kaan Kırali1
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kartal Koşuyolu High Specialized Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hakkari Yüksekova State Hospital, Hakkari, Türkiye
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2023.23909
Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate primary outcomes and main characteristics of emergency and elective/urgent cardiovascular surgeries which were performed in the first three months of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in our center.

Methods: Between March 11th, 2020 and June 11th, 2020, a total of 209 patients (44 males, 165 females; mean age: 57.3±12.8 years; range, 20 to 80 years) who underwent emergency or elective/urgent surgery with cardiovascular pathologies were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were classified as emergency and elective/urgent according to the level of necessity of the surgical procedure at the time of hospital admission. Pre-, intra-, and postoperative data of the patients were recorded.

Results: During the study period, 156 elective/urgent and 74 emergency cardiovascular surgeries were performed. Six COVID-19 (+) patients were operated emergently. The number of acute aortic dissection and peripheral vascular surgery was higher in the emergency group (p<0.05). Two patients who were COVID-19 (?) preoperatively became COVID-19 (+) in the postoperative period. In these patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome developed, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support was needed. Four patients who needed post-cardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support due to low cardiac output were COVID-19 (?) both in the pre- and postoperative periods. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 9.1%.

Conclusion: Even during pandemic such as COVID-19, referral centers with experienced personnel can provide non-pandemic healthcare with a quality close to the daily routine.

Keywords : Cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19, outcome assessment
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